Water is major constituent of human body, ranges from 50% to 70% of human body is of water, based upon age and gender. So, it is important to hydrate your body through out the day. But what should we drink, cold water or warm water? Is there any health benefits of drinking warm water or cold water? What are the advantages or disadvantages on selecting one over other? Here i am picking five health benefits of drinking warm water over cold water.
Let’s find out.
Digestion: Our internal body temperature is around 37.0 °C and our digestive system needs temperature for digestion of foods we eat. Drinking cold water with food has adverse effect in digestion. It creates digestive stress, may cause digestive disorder. Drinking warm water helps to retain the digestive temperature.
Improves blood circulation: When you drink cold beverage, your inner body temperature falls, contracts muscles of inner organs, blood vessel shrinks. On the other hand warm water helps to maintain the inner body temperature and more free blood flow, helps in delivering nutrients to body cells and cleaning waste product.
Remove toxin: Water removes toxin. Drinking warm water improves blood circulation than cold water and maintains inner body temperature, gives better result in detoxification of body in a natural way. Detoxification further helps to slow down aging.
Constipation: One factor of constipation is dehydration. Warm water stimulates blood circulation and better effects in intestine and helps in better bowl movement than cold water. Drinking warm water in the morning is a good practice to start the day.
Smoother to your throat: Warm water has natural smoother effects in throat than cold water.
Bottom line:
It is good practice to start the day with drinking warm water with few drops of lemon and honey. You can also choose one teaspoon of organic amla juice instead of lemon.
Lemon is an excellent stimulant to the liver and also has antibacterial properties. It contains vitamin C. Vitamin c intakes lowers wrinkles appearance –as study of The American Journal of Clinical Research revealed.(1)
However intake of lemon may go into either way. If you have ulcer or citrus allergy, don’t go for it. Some may get benefited from it as citric acid present in lemon has alkaline effect in digestion. So, if you experience no heart burn you can continue it. After drinking lemon water always wash your mouth, as citric acid present in lemon may erode tooth enamel. Pregnant women should take lemon in moderation and should consult with healthcare provider before taking lemon.
Daily recommendation of intake of vitamin C:
| Life Stage | Recommended Amount |
| Birth to 6 months | 40 mg |
| Infants 7–12 months | 50 mg |
| Children 1–3 years | 15 mg |
| Children 4–8 years | 25 mg |
| Children 9–13 years | 45 mg |
| Teens 14–18 years (boys) | 75 mg |
| Teens 14–18 years (girls) | 65 mg |
| Adults (men) | 90 mg |
| Adults (women) | 75 mg |
| Pregnant teens | 80 mg |
| Pregnant women | 85 mg |
| Breastfeeding teens | 115 mg |
| Breastfeeding women | 120 mg |
I hope you have got some idea about health benefits of drinking warm water. Drink water at least one hour after meal and avoid drinking water just before meal.
Source: National Institute of Health
