WATER must be consumed occasionally to stay hydrated. But not all types of water are healthy to drink. It is normal to grab a chilled bottle of cold water in the heat of the Lagos traffic to 'cool the body' but drinking cold water frequently can be dangerous in more ways than one.
Cold water causes some digestive difficulties in the human body. One reason to avoid drinking cold water is its serious implications on your digestion. Chilled water and cold drinks contract the blood vessels and slows down the digestion process. The body does not absorb nutrients the way it normally should after the consumption of only cold water. Health experts believe that your body will have to expend more energy to regulate the body's temperature instead of focusing on digesting food at a time. The human body needs to spend extra energy to regulate the body temperature when food with very low temperature is consumed.
Cold water can decrease your heart rate. Your heart's health is your life's health. It is also a universal truth that: once the heart stops beating, life ends. This is why heart diseases and conditions affecting the human heart are handled as very delicate conditions. One has to stop the habit of drinking cold water at all times because it has been found to decrease the heart rate. Studies have shown that drinking cold water and beverages of extremely cold temperatures not only decrease the heart rate but also stimulate the vagus nerve. The vagus is a nerve which controls the involuntary functions of the human body. It is an integral part of the nervous system. Apparently, as the vagus nerve is directly affected by extremely low temperatures, the heart rate gradually slows down too.
It shocks your body. When you drink chilled drinks and water frequently, it is easy to crave very cold water when our body produces heat or is subjected to very hot conditions. Drinking cold water after a strenuous work out or under the hot Nigerian sun will actually do more harm than good to your body. The body experiences a strong mismatch between the temperature within the body and the cold liquid introduced to the digestive system. The body will absorb the water slowly and you might experience chronic stomach pain as extremely cold water causes a shock to your body.
Drinking cold water immediately after a meal also interferes with your body’s ability to breakdown fats. The cold temperature of water can solidify fats from the foods and as a result it becomes difficult for the body to breakdown the fats in your body.
Constipation is another side effect of consuming cold water. Some reports claim that drinking cold water makes the intestines contract and food particles harden before they are passed out of the human body.
It is necessary to drink water as many times as your body requires it, but the ideal type of water is clean room temperature water or warm water.
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