First, we are going to ask you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine the following scenery:
It is spring and you are standing on a wooden dock that extends into a high mountain lake. You feel the temperature in the air through your hair to be fairly warm, the top layer of the lake has only recently melted and you notice by the color of the crystal clear blue water that it is not warm at all. Close your eyes and dive in.
What does your skin and body do? Are you open and relaxed, or constricted and tight?
“You probably know that cold water closes your pores and constricts your skin, while warm water opens your pores and makes your skin feel looser. And you know what? Drinking cold water does exactly the same thing to your digestive tract!”
What Happens When You Drink Cold Water
- Drinking cold water after a meal creates excess mucus in your body, which can lead to a decrease in immune system function, making it easier to catch illnesses and colds.
- Your blood vessels shrink, when you drink cold beverages, your hydration is hindered and digestion becomes restricted.
- If you eat food while drinking cold beverages or immediately after, the water temperature solidifies fats from the foods we’ve just eaten and the body in turn finds it hard to digest the unwanted fats from our bodies.
- Instead of working to absorb the nutrients and digest the food to create energy, your body is wasting energy to regulate your temperature. This can only lead to water loss.
Some people say that because ice water burns more calories, is beneficial for drinking. We argue with that statement because we do not want to make our digestive system to work harder; we want to makes things as easy on it as we can. There are many other ways to burn calories!
Benefits to Drinking Warm Water
Here are of the benefits of drinking water that is room temperature or lukewarm:
- Your bowels move better (warm water with lemon in the morning is great for this!)
- Increased + Faster hydration
- It increases your bodies natural detoxification processes and purifies your blood via your skin, lymphatic system and kidneys
- Your digestion is enhanced because the natural digestive enzymes are stimulated
- Food breaks down more easily
Once you get into the habit of drinking warm water or at room temperature, you will notice a drastic improvement in your digestion and the way your body feels while eating and after the meal. There are also reports stating that there has been reduction in the sugar cravings.
So, the smart thing to do next time you eat out is, to ask your server to “Hold the Ice!”
