Fluid Temperature has No Effect on Hydration
April 28, 2007
We reach for a ice-cold beverages on a hot summer day to rehydrate ourselves in the sweltering sun. Frozen water bottles and ice coolers are used to avoid warm drinks, which seem to evaporate once they hit your mouth.
Contrary to the practice of cooling or warming liquids to relieve your thirst, this study shows that temperature has no actual effect on hydration. Fluids administered to infants at body temperature (37°C) versus room temperature (23°C) were equally effective at hydration. This was the same case in both rotating and bolus (all at once) oral rehydration methods.
However, colder fluids pass throgh your body quicker than warm fluids, giving the perception they are better for hydration. This is not necessarily the case. Additionally, your body experiences a temperature cooling when filled with a colder liquid which feels more refreshing on a hot day. However, when it comes to thirst, colder or warmer drinks will quench it just the same.
Pizarro, D. T., Posada, G. S., Levine, M. M., Nalin, D. R., & Mohls, E. V. (1987). Comparison of Efficacy of Oral Rehydration Fluids Administered at 37°C or 23°C. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 33(1), 48-51.
Entry Filed under: Fluids, Hydration, Temperature. .
6 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
1.
Timmy Jose | May 22, 2007 at 2:30 am
Doesn’t take an Einstein to figure that out now. Does it?!?
2.
mike | May 24, 2007 at 1:03 pm
I’m fairly certain I, and most people, have preferred cold water on a hot day because it helps cool you, not because there is any perceived improvement in speed of hydration.
3.
audrey | June 19, 2007 at 9:16 am
sure, it takes an Einstein to figure that out. I read the opposite, that cold water is better for hydration, in one of those wellness brochures from my doctor. it sounded fishy.
I’m going to start reaching for lukewarm water on hot summer days.
4.
Bri-Lee | August 3, 2007 at 3:49 pm
You would be 100% correct “Fluid Temperature has no effect on hydration”. However, I am sorry to say, mike (regarding: ‘preferred cold water on a hot day because it helps you cool you’), that is incorrect. Drinking cold water causes your body to work harder, to warm up the cold water, to digest it. As a result, you will not cool down but the contrary. Furthermore, if you drink something warm such as tea, hot chocolate (my favorite), or coffee, it will cause you body to sweat, hence cool you down. But I encourage you to research this, because I am sure you will not take my word for it, you seem like ‘fairly certain’ individual.
5.
Patrick Bristow | October 16, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I have to say I agree with many of the other commentors… does anyone actually drink warmer or cooler fluids with the hope it hydrates them better? I just drink cold water ’cause it feels good (and warm cider ’cause that’s just how cider is meant to be drunk).
To Bri-Lee: I once saw a chemist break down the numbers for how much ice you would have to eat to lose a pound of fat (loosely related to what you’re talking about)… the numbers are astonishing. You can drink all the cold water you want for a year… you’ll gain all the calories back by chewing one stick of juicy fruit :)
6.
Chad Haering | August 20, 2008 at 1:25 pm
While warm water may hydrate you just as well as cold water, a study from the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine proved that cold water is more palatable. Therefore, under VOLUNTARY hydration, people tend to drink more cold water than warm water, thus staying more hydrated. Consumption of flavored water was favorable compared to unflavored warm water.
Szlyk, P. C., Sils, I. V., Francesconi, R. P., Hubbard, R.W., Armstrong, L. E., “Palatability of Drinking Water: Effects on Voluntary Dehydration,” USARIEM, March 1998.