Cold or hot water after fasting?

Many fasting people drink large amounts of cold water to quench their thirst in Ramadhan when they hear the call of prayer, especially during summer when the temperature is high. Unfortunately, they have a false notion that drinking cold water immediately after fasting would help their body get rehydrated.

Drinking cold water after long hours of fasting has its side effects. A human body contains 60 to 70 per cent of water. When it is deficient in water, it negatively affects cells and tissues, so it is necessary to fill the gap after iftar until the time of Suhoor.

Lack of water in the body also causes many health problems, such as constipation, headache, dizziness, fatigue and dry and cracked skin. The risk may reach the level of complications such as problems in the kidney and convulsion.

We need to understand how drinking cold water damages the digestive process and causes many health problems. Among the harms of drinking cold water is exposing the digestion process to difficulty due to the contraction of the stomach muscles, which leads to the constriction of the capillaries, thus not benefiting from the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are found in foods, which makes the digestion process more difficult and slow, and the digestive system becomes unable to digest food properly.

Therefore, it is better to start drinking lukewarm water during iftar so that we do not face these problems and complications.

Some people who follow the diet regime drink cold water, thinking that it is the most effective way for weight loss, as it helps burn fat and calories. It is okay to drink water to break the fast but not cold water immediately after the fast. Generally, warm water is the best for digestion and for getting rid of toxins in the body.

A tweet from the official account of the Ministry of Health indicated that drinking cold water directly during iftar reduces the movement of blood to the stomach and intestines, which leads the body to suffer from digestive problems. It causes colic issues, contractions, indigestion, obesity and frequent acidity after iftar. Therefore, it is recommended to start with lukewarm water kept at room temperature and then drink moderately cold water to quench thirst.

Scientific website 'Science ABC' suggests no fixed harm in drinking cold water, except that it exposes the digestion process to difficulty due to the contraction of the stomach muscles.

Medical studies also agree that drinking a lot of water, whether cold or warm, helps detox the body, facilitates digestion and prevents constipation.

'Science ABC' published facts and results of studies done on some people to investigate the effects of thirst that afflicted them and the impact of cold water they drank.

Studies showed that while drinking 16 degrees Celsius normal water, which is the temperature of tap water in normal conditions, stopped sweating in a few minutes. (It should be noted that this does not apply to the temperature of tap water in hot countries, where it often reaches 40 degrees).

From this simple experiment, the researchers concluded that drinking water at a temperature of 16 degrees Celsius is best suited for those who exerted a great deal of effort and sweated heavily, and the body temperature rose due to the effort or heat.

The body's water needs during fasting hours can be compensated at a rate of 10 to 12 cups per day to enhance immunity and prevent dehydration. Also, to avoid feeling thirsty, try to delay Suhoor, as you will allow your body to prepare for fasting again, so let go of the habit of eating Suhoor before bed because you will not be hungry, and therefore, you will eat extra calories.

What is more, do not drink water only because drinking water suddenly turns the body automatically into urine. Therefore, the body does not benefit much from this hasty process of drinking many cups of water at one time. As a result, you will get thirsty quickly and lose your morning sleep. So the best way to avoid this is to eat food rich in water, such as vegetables and fruits, especially tomatoes, bananas and apples, all of which are rich in water, which is gradually added to the body.