Top 10 Health Benefits of Drinking Hot Water - Slideshow

Hot Water - How Hot is Too Hot?

The first thing most people do in the morning is drink a glass of hot water. Drinking plenty of water is beneficial for the body, but drinking warm or hot water on a daily basis has some extra health advantages.

From relieving nasal congestion to promoting weight loss, drinking hot water has always helped the human body. Hot water should not be too hot, otherwise it may damage the epithelial cells of your throat and mouth. Keep the water to a maximum temperature of approximately 50 degrees Celsius.

Relieves Nasal Congestion

Drinking hot water is a popular remedy in India to get rid of cold and congestion. It is an inexpensive and a completely safe remedy. Hot water might be superior to cold liquids in relieving nasal congestion and in the management of upper respiratory tract infections, reports a study.

Drinking hot water can loosen up the thick mucus and clear nasal congestion. It also soothes sore throats, reduces chest tightness and relieves sinus headaches. Inhalation of water vapor while drinking hot water reduces build up of mucus as well as relieves the stuffy nose.

Improves Digestion

Drinking hot water activates your digestive tract. It relieves constipation and other gastrointestinal problems.

Drinking hot water daily, decreases the abdominal spasms and helps the peristalsis (series of muscle contractions in the digestive tract) return. Insufficient peristalsis is responsible for constipation. Because hot water aids peristalsis, it induces the contraction of muscles, which moves the food through the digestive tract. Hot water cleanses your digestive tract by flushing out the unwanted wastes and toxins. It enhances the digestion of food and regulates the bowel movements. It further softens the stools and helps them to pass smoothly without adding any extra pressure or strain on your excretory system.

Aids Weight Loss

Individuals who want to shed excess pounds should start drinking warm water on a regular basis. Drinking a glass of warm water in the morning on an empty stomach increases the body temperature. Such a rise in the temperature, increases the metabolic rate, which allows the body to burn more calories throughout the rate.

It helps the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver to get rid of toxins and other waste substances, so that they can function more efficiently. This further helps in the better digestion of food, which in turn helps in weight loss.

Improves Blood Circulation

Everyday our body comes in contact with various toxins and harmful substances that get accumulated. These toxins affect the blood circulation and have a negative impact on our health.

Drinking a glass of hot water in the morning is a simple and natural way to detoxify the body. It eliminates the toxins from the body and enhances the flow of nutrient and oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This helps the muscles to relax and the organ systems to function better.

Improves Skin Health

Skin is continuously exposed to various toxins, chemicals and pollutants. Drinking ample amounts of water keeps the skin moist and well hydrated.

Hot water flushes out the toxins and other dangerous chemicals from the skin, which otherwise destroy the skin proteins. Presence of toxins causes premature ageing of the skin, and leads to wrinkles, dark spots and fine lines on the skin. Consumption of hot water also improves the flow of nutrient-rich blood towards the skin, which further enhances its beauty and reduces acne.

Fights Insomnia

Drinking a glass of hot water before going to bed soothes the nerves and helps the muscles to relax. This fights insomnia and provides restful sleep.

Consuming a glass of hot water also makes you feel full and keeps mid-night hunger pangs at bay. Accumulation of toxins in the body, can make you feel tired. As mentioned above, hot water is a natural cleanser and drinking it at night may make you feel fresh when you wake up the next morning. Therefore, adequate sleep paired with hot water intake is the key to good health and an energetic body.

Detoxifies the Body

These days detox diets have created a buzz in the nutrition world, but something as simple as a glass of hot water has a great potential to cleanse the body cells and organ systems. Intake of hot water on a daily basis flushes out the unwanted toxins from the body and reduces the harmful toxin load. Such a removal enhances the functioning of the liver and kidneys, improves the texture as well as the appearance of the skin, speeds up the metabolic rate and makes you feel energized.

Relieves Pain

Consumption of hot water improves the circulation of the blood towards the injured muscles, which relieves muscle aches and spasms. Besides using heat packs, drinking hot water is also effective in inducing a calming and soothing effect on the body muscles, which gives instant relief. It gives a feeling of freshness by boosting the health of the nerves and the muscles. Drinking hot water during menses also helps in lowering abdominal cramps and pain.

Relieves Cold and Flu

Hot water is a common treatment for cold and flu, reports a study. Hot water is a natural decongestant that improves the nasal airflow. It promotes salivation and airway mucus secretions, which soothe the upper respiratory tract. An interesting study found that drinking hot water reduced six symptoms of cold and flu namely, runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat, chillness and tiredness. However, consumption of water at the room temperature relieved only 3 symptoms of cold and flu.

Treats Achalasia

Achalasia is an esophageal motility disorder, which makes it difficult for the food and liquids to pass into the stomach. Drinking hot water reduces dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), regurgitation (backward flowing of food from the stomach to the mouth) and chest pain, which are the common symptoms of achalasia. Whereas, intake of cold water does exactly the opposite.

Hot water and steaming foods open up the gate of the esophagus to the stomach, making it easier for the foods and liquids to pass into the stomach. It reduces the duration of esophageal contractions and speeds up the transit of propagated waves of the esophageal body, which in turn widens the esophageal lumen and relieves achalasia.