The Benefits of Drinking Warm Water
How Drinking Warm Water Can Empower Your Health
Getty/Maryna Andriichenko
The Ayurvedic practice of drinking warm water has shown to impact digestion, improve skin health, and promote weight loss.
When I was a little girl, I remember my mother would dissuade us from drinking ice-cold water. She maintained it was disruptive for digestion and terrible for the skin. As a rebellious 14 year old, I didn’t necessarily see the wisdom in her words. Not all the time, at least, because they weren’t always backed by science. Fast forward to becoming an adult, eventually studying Ayurveda, and learning that Mom was right. There really are benefits of drinking warm water.
Our digestion impacts the quality of our skin. Glowing skin is a sign of an effective digestive system and digestive fire. That is why one of the first things I tell all my clients to do is to drink a glass of warm water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You don’t have to fancy it up by adding lemon or ginger or honey to it if you don’t have the time or inclination. But hold off on the coffee or tea until you get in a drink of warm to hot water.
It’s not a case of hotter is better. You don’t want to burn yourself and damage the epithelial cells in your mouth and throat. Research says that the appropriate temperature might be around a maximum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. But lower the temperature depending on your tolerance and comfort level.
Drinking warm water in the morning helps to flush toxins from the body, assists with bowel movements, and cleanses your intestines. If you suffer from gas or bloating or constipation, tepid water is your best friend. It can relieve the symptoms and help with peristalsis. Drinking warm water can also help in proper digestion and speed up metabolism, which eventually promotes weight loss.
Warm to hot water raises your body temperature, which increases your metabolic rate and helps you burn more calories. On the other hand, cold water douses the digestive fire and decreases the blood supply to various organs of the body, further leading to constipation.
Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder that leads to difficult, infrequent, or incomplete defecation and is highly prevalent in the United States. According to the American Journal of Gastroenterology, CIC impacts 9 percent to 20 percent of the population in the United States and decreases patient productivity by 25 percent.
According to Ayurveda, aside from the recognized benefits of drinking warm water—removing toxins and aiding in digestion—sipping warm or hot water every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the day is recommended because it is the best lymph-moving rehydration technique. This is important because one of the most common causes of lymph congestion is dehydration. Drinking warm to hot water also improves circulation and eliminates tissue sludge, which aids in weight loss.
Try drinking warm water if you get cramps during your periods or have joint aches and pains. Heat is known to have a calming effect on the abdominal muscles, which can help reduce spasms in the muscles of organs. Some other benefits of drinking warm water include increased blood flow to the tissues, allowing muscles to relax. Hot water is a vasodilator, which means it can expand the blood vessels, increasing blood flow.
Drinking enough water can support skin, muscle, and joint health. Water helps the body’s cells absorb nutrients and fight infections. It can help strengthen the respiratory tract and keep the sinuses clear.
A few glasses of warm water each day might offer even more benefits than you can think. It enhances your blood circulation, which is important for proper muscle and nerve activity. It keeps your nervous system healthy by working on the adipose tissues around it. It also helps to fight dry skin and slows aging. Drinking warm water before going to bed may help you fall asleep faster.
Ayurveda tells us that how much water we should drink depends on various factors, such as age, workload, stress levels, weather, diet, and constitutional type. What type of water is also influenced by your doshas or your Ayurvedic constitution. If you are a high Pitta individual, you should be extremely careful about drinking hot water. Ask your Ayurvedic practitioner first. Avoid drinking warm to hot water after excessive alcohol intake or if you have diarrhea or dizziness.
It’s more important than ever to stay healthy and strengthen the immune system. Are you ready to reap the benefits of drinking warm water?
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About the Author
Sweta Srivastava Vikram is an international speaker, best-selling author of 13 books, and Ayurveda and mindset coach who is committed to helping people thrive on their own terms. Sweta is a trained yogi and certified...
