Warm or Cold Water- Which is best for Your Health?

We all know the importance of staying hydrated, as our health and overall wellbeing greatly depends on it. However, the unfortunate thing is, most of us don’t drink the appropriate levels of fluid, and this leaves a negative effect on our health.

Drinking water has a lot of benefits. For instance, it boosts our immunity, flush out toxins, promotes weight loss and improves our complexion. For years, there’s been a debate going on the optimal temperature for the consumption of water. If you think the temperature doesn’t matter, think again! Both, cold and warm water have a lot of health benefits, but, having said that, let me clear that there is an optimal time for both.

THE BEST TIME TO DRINK WARM WATER

The first thing you should do when you wake in the morning is to drink a glass of warm water. Doing so will kick start your metabolism! Secondly, it is believed to drink warm water when eating as this helps to keep everything fluid, protecting your internal organs. Do you know that drinking warm water will improve the circulation of the blood too, thus boosting the overall circulation. The important thing to remember is, to stay hydrated, regardless of the temperature of the water.

Benefits of Drinking Warm Water

Although some people find warm water tasteless, it has a lot of benefits for the human body. Therefore, try to incorporate warm water in your diet too.

1. Helps in digestion: as mentioned earlier, warm water flushes out toxins when taken the first thing in the morning. It also breaks down food and keeps the digestive system healthy. When taken with food, warm water improves the breaking down of food, thereby, making it easier to digest the food you had just consumed.
2. Helps in detoxification: a glass of warm water can detoxify your system well. These toxins usually enter through the food we eat, the environment we live in, and when we drink warm water, these toxins dissolve in the water and detoxifies the body. To improve the taste of the detox water, add lemon juice, cucumber, and some mint. This will enhance the flavor.
3. Relief from Pain: Warm water stimulates the flow of blood, making it an ideal choice for treating headaches and inflammation. The next time you have a headache, switch to warm water and see the magic.

Benefits of Drinking Cold Water

1. When hitting the gym, make sure you carry a bottle of chilled water because when you indulge in heavy exercises, your body temperatures rise, and drinking cold water will help bring down the body temperature.
2. Consuming cold water during summers is proven to be beneficial as it helps in reducing the chances of a heat stroke. Your body absorbs the cold water more easily, (as compared to warm water in summers) and soothes the body, thereby reducing the risk of a heat stroke.
3. For those who are looking for shedding that extra weight, drinking cold water is what you should be doing. This boosts your metabolism and burns the extra calories from the body.

Times when You Should Avoid Cold/ Warm Water?

1. Do not drink warm water after a session of exercise, or when you get back home from the blazing sun. Since your body temperature is already high, drinking warm water will further increase the temperature, causing harm to your body.
2. Do not drink cold water after eating. The reason is, when we eat, we want to quicken the digestion, which is only possible by drinking warm water. When you consume cold water after food, it takes longer to digest and you might end up with indigestion.

To end my blog, I would like to add something; according to Ayurveda (Indian system of medicine), drinking cold water in a big NO at all times. They believe that when you consume cold water it contracts your muscles. Whereas, drinking warm water improves the circulation of the blood, and protects the internal organs. Thus, you may find many people recommending warm water over the cold one. Since warm water has more benefits than drinking cold water, make sure you switch to warm water to lead a health life.

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