What Are the Risks and Benefits of Drinking Cold Water?

There’s no evidence that drinking cold water is bad for your health. Both cold and room-temperature water will keep you hydrated. Drinking warm water has its own benefits, such as helping digestion and toxin removal.
Staying hydrated has proven benefitsTrusted Source for your mental and physical health.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that men 19 and older consume 3.7 liters of water per day (15.5 cups) and women 19 and older consume 2.7 liters per day (11.5 cups). But can drinking cold water have a negative impact on your health?
Some people believe that drinking cold water is a bad habit that can harm your long-term health. This belief is based on the idea that drinking cold water contracts your stomach, making it harder to digest food after a meal.

Some people also believe that your body has to work harder to maintain its internal temperature of 98.6°F (37°C) if you’re drinking water that’s near the temperature of ice, or less than 36°F (4°C).
But is there any truth to these ideas? Keep reading to find out the possible risks and benefits of drinking cold water.

Risks
Drinking cold water does affect your body in ways you might not anticipate or want. An older and small study from 1978Trusted Source, involving 15 people, found that drinking cold water made nasal mucous thicker and more difficult to pass through the respiratory tract.
By comparison, the researchers found that chicken soup and hot water helped people breathe more easily. If you’re trying to treat a cold or flu, drinking cold water might make your congestion feel worse.

There are some health conditions that drinking cold water can aggravate. Research from 2001Trusted Source linked drinking cold water with triggering migraine in people who already experience migraine.
The pain related to achalasia, a condition that limits your body’s ability to pass food through your esophagus, can also get worse when you drink cold water with a meal, according to a 2012 studyTrusted Source.

Benefits
Drinking cold water does have benefits.
According to a 2012 studyTrusted Source, drinking cold water during exercise can help keep your body from overheating and make your workout session more successful. This is probably because drinking cold water makes it easier for your body to maintain a lower core temperature.
Can drinking cold water help with weight loss?
Drinking plain water, no matter the temperature, has been associatedTrusted Source with lower calorie intake throughout the day.

Drinking water as an alternative to sugary beverages is good for your digestionTrusted Source and maintaining a moderate weight, even if the water you drink is on the colder side.
Drinking water that’s cold may help you burn a few extra calories as you digest it, because your body has to work harder to maintain its core temperature. But it’s not likely that drinking cold water is a powerful jump-start tool for weight loss.