In the summer heat, we all dream of ice lemonade, or another cold drink to cool us down. However, the truth is that drinking hot drinks in the summer is more effective in cooling our body.
Hot drinks are one of the most avoided in the heat, and they could help you feel cool. This is shown by data from a 2012 study conducted by Canadian scientists from the University of Ottawa, quoted by healthdigest.com.
The researchers conducted a study on cyclists in the laboratory within 75 minutes. While the cyclists rode a bicycle, they drank glasses of water with different temperatures – from 1 degree to 50 degrees.
During the study, the researchers found that cyclists’ body temperature decreased after drinking hot liquids compared to cold ones. Why is this happening?
Intake of warm and hot fluids provokes a temporary rise in body temperature inside the body. This stimulates profuse sweating, which in turn contributes to the cooling of the body. Sweating is a natural mechanism for cooling the body. In the heat, it is a way for the body to get rid of heat and cope with the weather outside.
That is why there is nothing strange in drinking hot and hot drinks in the summer. It all comes down to sweating and the thermal effect that hot liquids cause in the body. The more hot drinks you drink on summer days, the easier it will be to tolerate the heat.
The cyclists who took part in the study also rode their bikes with the fan on, which further stimulated the accelerated evaporation of sweat from their bodies. This led to an additional cooling effect.
Evaporation of sweat from the skin is more difficult in conditions of high humidity. Therefore, additional ventilating with a fan contributes to the cooling effect that the researchers wanted to achieve. For this reason, they found that drinking hot liquids in the summer works more in dry areas with low humidity. In those with high humidity, drinking cold liquids has a better effect on cooling the body.
