Find out why Chinese people tend to drink hot water, even during the summer. It has to do with "health" and cultural reasons.
When you ask a Chinese person with a hot thermos why he or she drinks hot water, the answer is usually "it's better for your health."
After suffering through a long hot day with the sun beating down our backs, a bottle of cold water sounds like the perfect solution. Reaching for that can of icy soda from the fridge or ordering a frosty beer from a bar also sound like good plans. In Western countries, we often take our beverages cold – and not just on hot days, but when dining out to dinner, with popcorn at theatres, or sometimes just as a treat by itself.
However, consuming cold drinks may not be the norm internationally. While we often receive a glass of cold water alongside our meals at a restaurant, in China you would get a cup of steaming hot tea instead.
In fact, even when the weather is sweltering hot, many Chinese people will still carry around thermoses filled with hot water. If you order a soft drink at a restaurant, they will often ask you: “冰的还是常温的 (bīng de hái shì cháng wēn de)?” or “Do you want it iced (冰的) or room temperature (常温的)?” Drinking a soda at room temperature is almost unheard of in western cultures (unless one’s fridge is broken!)
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Why Hot Water?
According to ancient Chinese medicine, drinking a glass of warm water in the morning helps kick-start the digestive system. Hot water and warm water, because of its temperature, supposedly aids blood flow. As your blood circulation increases, it helps detoxify your body and reduce painful contractions of muscles. Sore throat? Drink some warm water. Menstrual cramps? Stop drinking cold stuff and switch to some hot water.
On the other hand, cold water slows down organ function and causes muscles to contract.
Some Chinese people also believe that during meals, you shouldn’t be mixing hot food with cold water, as this creates an imbalance of temperature.
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However, the suggested benefits of consuming hot water do not solely originate from ancient Chinese medicine. Many people boil their water because they consider it a way to kill off microbes and bacteria. Drinking straight from the tap is also seen as a big no-no for many Chinese people nowadays; 生水 (shēng shuǐ), or “raw water,” is believed to cause stomach and intestinal complications if ingested because it has not been processed and “cleaned.”
Some also proposed that drinking hot water is from a cultural standpoint. Some people note that in the U.S it’s all about the service when you dine out. Waitresses and waiters are expected to fill up your water if they see it running low, and this may be why we tend to see cold water served at restaurants. If accidental spillage does happen, cold water won’t hurt the customer, whereas hot water may sent someone to the ER. In China, your tea comes in a pot and you pour it into cups yourself; if you spill the water you’re accountable for it.
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Benefits of Hot Water vs. Cold water
Despite all the supposed benefits of hot water and the supposed detrimental effects of drinking cold water, modern medicine tells us that both are fine to consume. While hot water increases blood circulation and helps decrease complications associated with cramps and indigestion, cold water helps with lowering body temperature after extreme exercise and boosts metabolism. Drinking cold water in moderation will not cause digestion problems, as some assume, because the liquid warms up to your body’s temperature as it travels down the esophagus.
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Of course, the debate between cold water and hot water all comes down to preference and body type, but we would like to know more about what you think! Is there a reason why you stick to one or the other? And what made you decide to do so?
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FAQs
Under the influence of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese people consider drinking hot water as a kind of panacea. They think hot water increases blood circulation and helps decrease complications associated with cramps and indigestion. It washes away the coldness clogged up in one's body, and thus eases pain.
Why do people drink only hot water? ›
Many people find drinking plain hot water or hot lemon water soothing and beneficial. Hot water can help you stay hydrated, and it may also help ease congestion, improve digestion, relieve stress, and help you feel warmer. Drinking water, hot or cold, keeps your body healthy and hydrated.
Why do some cultures only drink warm water? ›
“People drink hot water for cultural, historical and medicinal reasons,” says Isabel Zhang, who works in cross-cultural research. Warm water fits into the concept of yin and yang, the foundational principle of Chinese medicine. For a person to be healthy, these forces must be in balance, Zhang says.
Why do Chinese drink hot tea with meals? ›
Eases digestion:
Hot tea works wonders in washing down your food thereby keeping your throat clear. It eases off the mucus accumulation and helps in breaking down the food better. As a result, you can expect your meal to digest faster and smoother.
Do people in China shower everyday? ›
But in China, about half of people report bathing only twice a week. In the US, the daily shower tends to start around puberty and becomes lifelong. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? Perhaps your answer is: "because it's healthier than showering less often." Think again.
Why don't Chinese drink cold water? ›
In traditional Chinese medicine, drinking cold water with hot food is believed to create an imbalance. Typically, meals in the Chinese culture are served with warm water or hot tea, instead. This belief is mirrored in several other cultures around the world.
What happens when you drink warm water on an empty stomach in the morning? ›
Drinking a glass of hot water on an empty stomach can kickstart your metabolism and aid in digestion. The warmth of the water helps to stimulate the digestive organs and prepare them for the day's tasks. It can also help in breaking down food particles more effectively, ensuring optimal nutrient absorption.
Is drinking hot water good for you Chinese medicine? ›
A core tenet of traditional Chinese medicine is balance between yin and yang , meaning roughly cold and hot energy. Imbalance is believed to cause a wide range of ailments. “Drinking warm water can nourish the yang in your body, which is like the powerhouse of your body,” Leung says.
What do Chinese drink in the morning? ›
Soybean milk
The Chinese invented soymilk thousands of years ago, and is still a staple in many peoples' diets, especially for breakfast.
Why do Europeans not drink cold water? ›
Meanwhile, Lisa Bramen, in Smithsonian magazine, speculated that it comes down to Europeans seeing ice as “taking up valuable real estate in the glass,” while Americans have a “more is more” mentality.
It is believed that the benefit of this practice is that toxins are eliminated from the body and in the same way the metabolism is accelerated and the intestines move, which helps to expel feces eliminating constipation.In addition, according to Sayu practitioners, drinking warm water on an empty stomach helps heal ...
Why do Chinese people drink hot water everyday? ›
In China, tap water is not filtered sufficiently to be drunk as it is not sterilized, or purified, and may carry hazardous contaminants like sediments, rusts, bacteria, virus, chlorines, or other heavy metals). This water can be purified by boiling it which is why Chinese people often take their water hot.
What time of day do Chinese people drink tea? ›
If we each spent 30 minutes a day drinking tea (ideally after each meal, but at least everyday at 3:00pm) it would help us connect with our mind and body in a deep and essential way, allow our mind and body to process and detox, and provide the balance and harmony that is the foundation of health according to Chinese ...
Why do Asians drink so much tea? ›
FOR MORE than three millennia, tea has formed an integral part of Chinese society – as a social glue, a palette cleanser, a medicine, a way of lifting moods and cultivating business partnerships. Today, Chinese consumers drink approximately 40% of the world's tea, much of which is produced domestically.
Why do Asians get hot when they drink? ›
More than one in three people with East Asian heritage (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) experience facial flushing when drinking beer, wine or spirits. In Asian populations, it is due to an inherited deficiency in one of the enzymes involved in the breakdown of alcohol: aldehyde dehydrogenase.
Why is a China cup used for drinking hot tea? ›
Steel is a conductor of heat. It allows the heat to pass through it. So we use ceramics instead of steel because ceramics are insulators of heat and do not allow heat to pass through them. So it saves our hands from getting burned due to heat.
Why do Chinese eat very hot food? ›
Northern China has cold and damp weather, and therefore people there eat more hot and spicy foods such as chilies, onions, and garlic. They believe these foods will increase blood circulation and help get rid of the coldness and dampness.
