You open the fridge and get a bottle of cold water to quench your thirst. It’s one of the greatest pleasures in this world. But does it pose health risks? Should you avoid cold water and switch to warm water? You don’t have to worry as you are about to find the answer to all of your questions through this page of the Tahoe Springs Water. Science will tell you the cold water benefits and risks.
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Drinking cold water risks
Drinking cold water could affect your body in a few ways. According to K Saketkhoo and his team’s research in 1978, drinking “cold water can make your nasal mucous thicker. This makes it more difficult to pass through the respiratory tract.”
According to Healthline, researchers also found out that when you have the flu or cold, hot water or cold can help you feel better. They can help you breathe easier, but cold water could worsen the congestion.
Also, some health conditions could get worse by drinking cold water. According to P Mattsson’s research in 2001, drinking cold water was connected to causing migraine in people who already suffered migraine.
There is another study in 2012 called “Response of esophagus to high and low temperatures in patients with achalasia” by Yutang Ren and his team. It revealed that achalasia could get worse by drinking cold water with your meal. It’s a condition that the body’s ability to pass food through the esophagus or food pipe is limited. It’s a rare condition, and people have difficulty swallowing food. The mentioned study also found out that drinking warm water helped people relax the food pipe and made drinking or eating easier.
According to Avicenna (Ibn Sina), the father of early modern medicine who lived in the Islamic golden age, drinking cold water is not recommended even in the hot season. Some people say that drinking cold water is not helpful to quench your thirst in the hot season, but there is no science or research to prove it. Also, traditional medicine in Persia strongly prevents putting ice cubes in water. But the scene has not been investigated yet,
Also, traditional Chinese medicine prohibits drinking cold water, and Chinese food is served with warm water.
You might have heard people complaining about sore throat after drinking cold water or getting cold in some cases. But there is no evidence to prove this claim, or no one has looked into it.
Also, some people report dental sensitivity after drinking cold water. It could happen by drinking warm water or drinks. There are various reasons for dental sensitivity, and you can treat it at home, or you might have to visit a dentist. These are some of the causes;
- Tooth Decay.
- Gum Disease.
- Brushing too hard.
- Teeth grinding and clenching.
- Gum tissue recession.
- Cracks in teeth.
If you suffer from dental sensitivity, you should reconsider drinking cold or warm water or finding a cure for it.
According to research at the National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine in Taiwan, drinking cold water can lower heart rates. It was compared to the applicant who drank the temperature room. Moreover, there was another study at the University of Fribourg Department of Medicine in Switzerland. It found that drinking cold water increased expenditure and decreased the heart workload. It means the heart had to work harder after drinking cold water.
In some cases, drinking cold water can reduce the immune system’s ability. If you live or spend time in cold weather conditions, drinking cold water can lead to ‘cold stress.’ This is when your body can not warm itself. Your body’s immune system might not be able to respond enough, and the number of white blood cell counts will be reduced.
Drinking cold water benefits
There are some reported benefits of drinking cold water as well.
According to Danielle LaFata and his team’s study in 2012, drinking cold water during work out can prevent overheating and help you have a better practice. It could help your body to keep a lower temperature while working out and sweating.
You might have heard about drinking cold water and losing weight. According to R. An and J. McCaffrey’s study, drinking water can help you lose weight. This is because water has no calories, and when you drink water, you receive no calories. It’s simple; no calories equals losing weight. Compare it to when you take energy or sugary drinks. Also, water is a natural appetite suppressor. It could help you reduce your hunger and eat less. This is why it’s recommended to drink a cup or glass of water before your meals. Moreover, often your body mistakes thirst for hunger. It means your body is thirsty but signals to be hungry. You are thirsty, but you think you need something to eat.
Drinking water is necessary and could help with weight loss. Drinking cold water could help better with weight loss as your body has to work harder and burn more calories to keep the temperature balanced. But engrave this point to your mind that drinking water or cold water is not the secret formula to weight loss.
There was research by Dr. Michael Boschmann and his colleagues at the at Humboldt-University in Berlin. It was revealed that drinking cold water could release more energy. As explained, this is because your body has to work harder to warm up the drank water to keep the temperature balanced with the body, and it boosts metabolism. The effect could be higher in cold weather, but you should be careful with it. It could harm your health. You should read the above section.
Should you drink cold water or warm water?
There is no definite answer to this question. Cold water and warm water have their own features and benefits; one can not say which is better. But this article provided you with the advantages and disadvantages of cold and warm water. The essential point is that you need to drink enough water every day to ensure your hydration.
You’d better read the above section one more time and see if you have any health conditions that might be affected by warm or cold water. For instance, if you suffer from dental sensitivity, you’d better drink room-temperature water, find the root reason and treat it.
Drinking warm or cold water is often a personal choice but if you suffer from a medical condition, you’d better consult with your doctor or a health expert and consider the consequences mentioned in this article. If drinking cold water can worsen the symptoms of eating food or cause headaches, you’d better avoid it.
Science and researchers have not found a definitive answer to whether you should drink warm or cold water. It’s a bit different for each person.
The final word on cold water benefits and risks
This article brought you the benefits and risks of drinking cold water. Also, it compared them with warm water. Now you can decide better which one is appropriate for your conditions. There is no definite answer to whether you should drink cold or warm water. But you can decide by considering your health conditions and the information in this article.
Whether you drink warm or cold water is up to you. But drinking enough water every day is essential. You need to ensure to drink enough water every day. The recommended amount of water is 155 cups of water for men and 11.5 cups of water for women.
As the taste of tap water might not be very good particularly in areas like Las Vegas, you might not drink enough water every day. The answer is bottled water from a reliable water company.
Tahoe Springs Water has provided the best of alkaline, spring, and purified drinking water in Las Vegas since 1994. Give us a call at +702-903-1433 and order your water option now.