Hydration is an essential practice to keep up with good health. However, things get even better when you consider the benefits of drinking hot water instead of regular or cold water. It can help you improve your digestive habits, address congestive issues, or encourage mental relaxation. Several medical experts and nutritionists have championed drinking hot water because of its incredible after-effects.
As per popular surveys, the widespread practice of drinking hot water early in the morning has its roots in the Far East. Modern-day medical practitioners state that this practice can effectively contribute to bettering your metabolism. While there is no shortage of beverage options, you will find it easy to have hot water early in the morning for personal health advantages.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of all significant benefits that come from good drinking water habits.
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Weight Loss
One of the biggest pros of drinking hot water is weight loss. Hot water helps in preparing the gut to initiate the weight loss process. You will have your inner intestines cleared, preventing bloating, and thereby avoiding surplus water weight via contracting the bowels. Furthermore, hot water intake benefits in increasing body temperature, thereby triggering the body to start metabolism.
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Nasal Congestion
Nasal congestion often forces people to resort to hot food and beverage options, as the heat helps in clearing the nasal channels. However, one exciting study has come up with the results that hot water can be equally effective. According to the study, hot water can boost nasal mucus velocity to affect some popular hot food. Furthermore, the results are superior to cold water.
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Circulation
Drinking hot water can accelerate your blood circulation in the body. Similar to warm bathing, sipping in desirable water benefits the circulation process through the arteries and veins. The improved blood circulation will eventually result in healthy blood pressure, thereby avoiding any heart disease risk.
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Dental Health
A good standard of drinking water habits can benefit your dental health as well. Excessive cold water drinking can affect your dental filling to break off, thereby damaging the dental work. It’s overall helpful to adapt to warm water for dental exercises. This applies to regular tooth brushing as well.
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Digestion
Another significant benefit of drinking hot water is improved digestion. It will expand your blood vessels to better digestion. You can note the results as soon as you start drinking water right after waking up in the morning. It contributes to emulsifying the fat inside, thereby further improving digestion. Additionally, consuming hot water before going to bed at night prevents the urge for late-night snacking.
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Muscle Relief
Moving on to the next benefit, drinking hot water daily can contribute to muscle relief as well. It increases the blood flow in your body, thereby relaxing your muscles. This goes in complete contrast to what cold water does, by contracting your strengths instead. It is essential to mention that relaxing muscle can be beneficial if you struggle with either menstrual cramps or arthritis.
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Mood
There are also various reports stating that drinking hot water can help in maintaining a good mood. This is further substantiated by the information that it also contributes to increased sleep.
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Toxins
While it’s already mentioned that drinking hot water increases the human body temperature, it also activates the endocrine system. With a triggered endocrine system, you will have increased body sweat, thereby releasing toxins through the skin.
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Achalasia
Medical professionals have also stated that drinking hot water can increase swallowing ability, especially for people who struggle with achalasia. For a simple understanding, achalasia means having issues in eating due to the non-relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
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Constipation
Lastly, hot water consumption can help in improving constipation issues. Already mentioned, they make good for bowel contractions, which in turn smooth defecation. Experts and nutritionists express that hot water drinking is one of the more acceptable practices that you should adopt to maintain your fitness and health.
Ayurvedic Benefits of Drinking Hot Water
Like medical science, you can find fantastic health benefits of drinking hot water in Ayurveda. As per Ayurveda experts, you must drink hot water that has been boiled for more than ten minutes to treat Agni first hand. Furthermore, this effectively contributes to eradicating water-soluble toxins from the dhatus, i.e., body tissue.
Additionally, you can also opt for organic spices and herbs for diluting in hot water. While it can necessarily bring some taste, it will most certainly trigger your senses through its distinct aroma.
Here are three recipe suggestions that you can try to achieve a physical balance along with mental peace.
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Vata- Balancing Hot Water
Start by boiling two liters of water for more than ten minutes. Once reaching the necessary temperature, take the water off the fire and put some mint leaves. Continue putting the ingredients with half a teaspoon of both fennel seed and marshmallow root. Keep the solution inside a flask for the entirety of the day, and only drink in intervals to balance your Vata dosha.
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Pitta- Calming Hot Water
Begin by boiling two liters of water for five minutes. Once reaching the necessary temperature, take the water off the fire and put a quarter a teaspoon of fennel seed, few petals of a rose, and one clove. Keep the solution inside a flask for the entire day, and only drink in intervals to pacify the pitta dosha.
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Kapha- Balancing Hot Water
Start by boiling two liters of water for more than ten minutes. Once reaching the necessary temperature, take the water off the fire, put three Tulsi leaves, 1-inch fresh ginger, a quarter of a teaspoon of jeera seed, and half a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Keep the solution inside a flask for the entire day, and only drink in intervals to balance your Kapha dosha.
Suggested Timing for Drinking Hot Water
It is essential that you stick to the high standard rules of Ayurveda when seeking its excellent benefits. Ayurveda puts a great deal of importance on hot water consumption. Ayurveda strongly recommends people drink hot water both in between and along with meals.
This is a general practice if you look into the Far East Asian cultures, particularly in China or Japan, where people generally rely on warm tea. It’s essential to mention that the tea discussed here is much different from the general beverage available in a café. Instead, the Ayurveda-inspired tea is hot water with green tea leaves on top.
Moving onto Japan, you will find that people over there follow a traditional ‘Water Cure’ for centuries. To put it, they drink warm water routinely in the morning.
Suggested Consumption Limit
It would help if you had a complete understanding of your physicality, diet, and any potential health issues while determining your consumption limit for hot water. Experts and nutritionists suggest that one glass of hot water in the morning is sufficient for adults. However, if you couple it with warm food like soup, you should reconsider the amount.
It’s also essential to keep a watch for how much water you are consuming before your meals as it could kill your hunger, thereby resulting in insufficient nutrition intake. The experts say you can have four glasses of warm water if the stomach is empty, similar to the Japanese’ “Water Cure.” However, if struggling, you better work on it by beginning with one.
Bonus Thoughts
While the article has gone into great depths to discuss the benefits of drinking hot water regularly, you must realize it’s considered healthy and safe. Furthermore, it can keep you hydrated throughout the entirety of the day as well. It doesn’t take much effort to develop a habit of drinking water regularly. You can start drinking warm water after waking up in the morning- boil it for some period and then drink it eventually.
Additionally, if you are not a coffee or a tea person, you can use lemon to taste into your warm water drink. Popular surveys suggest that people worldwide enjoy a good stretching session in the morning, after drinking the warm water. This brings in a zest of new energy that motivates them to get ready for the rest of the day.
People have also expressed that consuming warm water before going off to the bed allows them to relax and refresh effectively. Then you can sleep soundly, battling through the various challenges of life in the day.
Conclusion
While there are some fantastic benefits from drinking hot water regularly, there is no sense in drinking it at abnormally hot temperatures. Medical professionals don’t encourage people to drink a beverage or even water that is scalding hot, as it can adversely affect the tongue and other internal organs.
Furthermore, there is also an increased risk of cancer from repeating this exercise. If the water is abnormally hot, let it cool for some time. Consuming it will bring negative results for your health.