Discover the pros and cons of drinking cold water to make informed choices about your hydration habits. Learn about the benefits and potential drawbacks here!
Some people avoid iced water because they think that the habit of drinking iced water can cause certain diseases. In fact, iced water has various body benefits, such as reducing fever, hydrating the body after exercise, or maintaining skin moisture.
Every day, your body loses fluids through sweat, urine, and breath. Therefore, you are advised to drink plenty of water , either iced water or plain water, to avoid dehydration. For adults, the recommended water consumption is 2 liters or equivalent to 8 glasses per day.
Pros and Cons of Drinking Cold Water
Apart from providing a refreshing taste, ice also has health benefits, including:
1. Relieve fever and treat sore throat
Fever is a sign that the body is fighting inflammation or infection that occurs in the body. The hot temperature experienced by the body when feverish can be reduced in several ways, including drinking ice water and wearing comfortable clothes that can absorb sweat.
When experiencing fever and sore throat, the body must also get good fluid intake to prevent dehydration . In this case, ice water can be useful to reduce pain and restore lost body fluids.
2. Hydrate the body after exercise
When exercising, body temperature will increase. This body heat will produce a lot of sweat and make the body tired quickly. To help cool the body and relieve fatigue, try drinking ice water after exercising.
3. Relieve muscle pain
When experiencing muscle pain due to sprains , ice water can be used to treat the condition. The method is to compress the painful and swollen part with a cloth soaked in ice water. Sprains of the feet or hands can also be treated by soaking in ice water .
Ice water compresses can reduce swelling and pain. In addition to ice water, alternate with warm water compresses to improve blood flow to the muscles. You can also use an ice bath to get the benefits of ice water in relieving muscle pain.
4. Lose weight
Our body will automatically work harder to warm the water we drink, thus burning calories to support the body’s metabolism. Therefore, routinely drinking iced water or plain water is believed to be able to lose weight . So, don’t believe the myth about drinking iced water making you fat , okay?
To get the desired weight, it is recommended to drink a glass of water or ice water before eating. This can make the stomach feel fuller, so that the portion of food consumed can be reduced.
5. Prevents and relieves constipation
Drinking plenty of water, either cold or plain, can help relieve and prevent constipation, especially for people who don’t drink enough water.
6. Makes it easier for kidney stones to be excreted through urine
Kidney stone disease can be caused by various factors, one of which is the habit of not drinking enough water. Adequate fluid intake can help the kidneys to prevent the formation of kidney stones and remove kidney stones that are still small.
If you are bored of drinking plain water, try adding lemon or lime juice to cold water to give it a sour taste. In addition, the sour taste felt due to the presence of citric acid in it is believed to inhibit the formation of kidney stones.
7. Makes skin healthy
When not well hydrated, the skin will feel rough, dry, and lose its elasticity. By drinking enough water or ice water, the health of the skin will be maintained.
Not only drinking, bathing using ice water or cold water can also be beneficial for the skin. Because, bathing with ice water will increase blood flow in the skin, so the skin looks more moist and fresh.
Actually, there is no difference between iced water and regular water once it enters the body, because the temperature of the iced water will be warmed to the same temperature as the body.
There is a myth that says that menstruating women should not drink cold water because it can disrupt the menstrual cycle and even trigger the formation of cysts . Meanwhile, there is also a myth that says that breastfeeding mothers should not drink ice because it can make their babies catch a cold.
However, both of these things have not been proven true and so far there is no research that can prove this.