The weight loss tip for drinking lots of ice-cold water to force the body into doing more work and thus burn more calories isn’t completely true. This is because cold temperatures in the body cause fats to harden and congeal, making them more difficult for the body to digest.
Constipation
Although drinking water that’s at room temperature helps the digestive process, drinking ice water has the potential to cause constipation. Food solidifies and hardens as it passes through the body, while at the same time making the intestines contract, which can lead to difficulty when you really need to go.
Drains energy
While drinking ice water can make you feel refreshed and stimulate you in the short term, it actually serves to drain your energy in the long run. This is because your body has to use extra energy to warm up the ice-cold water and bring it up to its average temperature.
Causes sore throat
Drinking cold water can give you a runny nose and block up your sinuses. In other words, your body creates mucus as a natural humidifier to warm any ingested cold air or liquid. The difference is that in the case of ice water, this bodily response is unneeded, and it results in extra mucus accumulating in your pipes, thus making your throat sore.
Slows heart rate
Drinking ice water can cause your heart rate to drop. This is because the vagus nerve, which runs down the back of your neck, is affected by sudden ingestion of ice-cold water. As an emergency measure, your heart rate slows down until your body temperature reaches equilibrium once again.
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