Whether it’s to lose weight, treat bloating or even boost your energy, more and more people are heading to social networks without thinking to find advice and methods to implement.
Most often, these videos made by influencers go viral and are taken up by millions of people, without the benefits, or harms, being really explained or validated by a health professional.
Despite everything, some of these recommendations, which are all the rage on social networks, really bring benefits for our body. The latest one is surprising to say the least, since it involves having breakfast, not a cup of coffee, tea, or fruit juice, but a glass of hot water.
A trend that is not new
Although drinking hot water in the morning has recently gone viral, the practice is actually older than one might imagine. Indeed, it was already present several millennia ago, particularly among Indians and Chinese medicine.
In these traditions, cold is considered to slow down the digestive fire (agni), decreasing vital energy and forcing the body to mobilize more energy to warm the stomach. Conversely, drinking hot water harmonizes Yin and Yang, providing a soothing effect on the body.
But then what are the benefits? According to specialists, hot water acts as a “digestive alarm clock”, by causing muscular contractions in the esophagus, stomach and intestines, facilitating transit and helping to fight against morning constipation.
Warm water vapor helps clear the nose and relieves cold symptoms better than room temperature liquids. In addition, drinking a hot beverage activates the parasympathetic system, reducing muscle tension, promoting relaxation and calming morning anxiety.
Hot water won’t help you lose weight
Although drinking hot water can indeed have many benefits on our body, it will not have an effect on the scale. Indeed, there is no solid scientific evidence to date that shows that hot water has the ability to act as a fat burner.
The fact that videos on social networks recommend drinking hot water at breakfast and not at any other time of the day is not a coincidence. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the best time to reap the maximum benefits is between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., when the energy in the stomach is at its peak.
However, drinking hot drinks (including water) could also be dangerous for our health. According to a Chinese study published in the journal Frontiers By 2022, people who drank hot tea had a significantly increased risk (about 1.8 times higher) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a type of cancer that develops from the flat cells that line the lining of the esophagus.
