Water represents about 60% of the male body weight and 50% of the female one, and for this reason it is a fundamental element for well-being and general health.
According to the World Health Organization, an adult man should drink about 2.9 liters of water a day, a woman 2.2, while for children the amount varies from 0.8-1 liter in the range between six months and a year. of age, up to 2.1 for males and 1.9 for females between 9 and 13 years.
In parallel to these indications, there are no official guidelines regarding the recommended temperature at which it should be ingested.
There is no doubt, however, that many people prefer it cold and it is therefore essential to understand if there are risks in carrying on this habit or not.
.
Digestive problems
Drinking cold water with or after meals can cause stomach pain, bloating, and digestive difficulties.
This can happen because our organism, and especially the stomach, has a precise internal temperature, which should remain unchanged and constant as much as possible, but which becomes unbalanced with the intake of cold water. Furthermore, invaded by liquids at temperatures stiff, some foods tend to increase in volume and load the stomach with too much work to be digested.
In this sense, it is not surprising that this practice is also discouraged by Chinese medicine and by many passages of the Ayurvedic tradition, which aiming at achieving a well-being that combines body and mind, recommend drinking only hot water or at room temperature, in the belief that that cold, together with the digestive fire, extinguish the vital energy.
Pain in the teeth and head
Cold water is also not recommended if you suffer from sensitive teeth or gums and sore throat because it could accentuate the symptoms. In addition, it seems to trigger migraines in people who already suffer from it, worsen some symptoms of chronic diseases and strain the heart, engaged in a extra work to get the body back to its standard temperature.
Worsening of flu symptoms
Following a recent study involving 15 people, it was found that drinking cold water would make nasal mucus thicker and more difficult to clear through the airways. This practice, therefore, is particularly not recommended in case of flu or cold symptoms.
In these situations, on the contrary, the recommendation that emerged from the same research is to drink hot water or other high-temperature liquids such as meat or vegetable broth, which instead would help you breathe more easily, cure colds or flu, improve digestion, help circulation and the body in general get rid of toxins faster.
Dehydration
When you are very thirsty, the instinct is to pounce on a glass of frozen water, in the belief that it quenches thirst more than one at room temperature.
However, this is a false myth.Not only that: drinking water at too low a temperature could paradoxically lead to a mild form of dehydration, which in turn can generate migraines, fatigue, exhaustion and other symptoms typical of the lack of fluids in the body.
Congestion
Even when you are very hot or have returned from a great deal of physical exertion, you tend to drink a large quantity of cold water quickly.
In this case, the lurking enemy is congestion, also caused by the too sudden temperature change inside the stomach. For this reason, if you are hot, it is better to prefer water at room temperature or slightly cool, drinking it without haste but in small sips.
, but it can also lead to several benefits, especially if you don't drop too much with temperatures.
Improve sports practice
Water is rich in minerals so it is essential to drink it constantly throughout the day, both in summer and in winter, because it helps you stay hydrated and maintain a high level of these precious elements for health.
This is especially true while playing sports, so as not to risk that the body runs out of minerals and energy. Sipping it fresh, in addition to serving this purpose, would help prevent the body from overheating and make the training session more effective.
Useful to improve sports practice and to rebalance the elements lost during training, is coconut water.
Helps to lose weight
Drinking water regularly improves the digestive process and helps maintain a balanced weight, regardless of the temperature.
However, it seems that drinking it cold can help burn a few more calories during digestion because the body is subjected to a greater effort to keep its internal temperature constant. In this case, however, it is always better not to overdo it, in order to avoid causing all those discomfort due to this physiological mechanism.
.jpg)
