After exercising on a hot summer day, the first thing that you want to do is to drink up a glass of cold water. When the water travels down your throat, you will feel so good. However, you are often told not to do so. Is drinking cold water unhealthy?
Cold water can influence a person's digestive system. It takes longer to turn the food you eat into energy. And you are easy to get a stomachache. Having cold water or a cold drink makes your body's temperature lower. Cold water also makes your blood vessels(血管)become narrower. As a result, your blood runs slower. So your body needs to burn more energy to bring your temperature back to normal. At the same time, less energy is used for digestion.
Think of your digestive system as a burning pot. If someone suddenly pours cold water into this pot, what will happen? Doing this will be dangerous. Similarly, when you drink cold water while eating, it is like adding water into a burning pot. Of course, it isn't that bad, but it is a good way to explain why drinking cold water during meals may be a bad idea. If you can't control your urge (冲动)to do so, drinking water at room temperature is a better choice.
Traditional Chinese medicine suggests avoiding drinking cold water. Modern studies in Europe also point out that drinking cold water causes headaches. Scientists are doing more research on this. Maybe in the future, they can give us more helpful information.
