In the minds of many people, the most effective way to relieve symptoms such as headaches, brain fever, gastrointestinal discomfort, and even menstrual period discomfort is to "drink more hot water." This is done in almost all office buildings and public places. There are hot water machines, and drinking hot water regularly is generally considered an important way to maintain health.
But I believe many people have heard that Westerners never drink hot water, and even add two cubes of ice, which does not affect their health. Almost only Chinese people in the world drink hot water, so Can drinking hot water really keep you healthy?
Drinking hot water has a long history in our country. As early as in the "Huangdi Neijing", it is recorded that "the soup is used to cure the disease". There are also other ancient books that "drink soup in winter and drink soup in summer." Drink water every day." Among them, "soup" refers to hot water. In traditional medicine, drinking hot water can also warm the stomach and intestines. Drinking cold water makes people feel prone to diarrhea.
In fact, drinking boiled water was first advocated because boiling hot water can reduce microbial contamination. Western countries have experienced the ravages of cholera. In order to ensure the cleanness of drinking water, they have built pipeline water supply systems that can be drank directly. , but at that time, China did not have the conditions to build a direct drinking water system, so drinking boiled hot water was advocated.
In addition, many areas boil hot water because the water is too hard. Boiling it can reduce some of the calcium and magnesium ions in the water and improve the taste. It has been passed down like this that everyone's stomach and intestines are more adaptable to warm water. Some people with weak spleen and stomach will feel gastrointestinal discomfort when they suddenly drink cold water. Westerners are more accustomed to drinking cold water, so there is no problem in drinking cold water all day long.
And the statement that foreigners don’t drink hot water is actually quite biased, because foreigners will drink hot soup when eating, and when the weather is cold, they will also drink some hot coffee, hot cocoa, etc. Wait, it’s not like I don’t drink hot drinks at all. However, the idea of ??drinking hot water to cure a cold is mostly psychological comfort. Because mild colds are generally within the range of human immunity, most cold medicines only relieve uncomfortable symptoms but do not cure the root cause. Therefore, even if you don't take medicine, you will recover on your own in about a week.
In short, our bodies are more adapted to hot water, so drinking hot water will feel more comfortable, but to relieve discomfort, it generally acts as a psychological comfort. The temperature of hot water is not always better. The International Agency for Research on Cancer points out that regularly drinking hot drinks exceeding 65°C may increase the risk of esophageal cancer. The World Health Organization has also classified hot drinks above 65°C as Class 2A carcinogens. Simply put, they are substances that are likely to cause cancer. They are in the same category as malaria and heavy metal lead. If you want to drink hot water, 40 to 50°C is the best. appropriate.