5 Things I've Learned from Drinking Hot Water

I heard about the benefits of drinking hot water a while ago. Better digestion, better metabolism, better circulation, eliminating toxins, and even faster hair growth. It wasn't some crazy wrap or tea - it was hot water, so I decided there was literally no risk in giving this a shot.

I read that hot water in the morning was good, but then found some women that were drinking hot water all day instead of cold. I figured if I was going to try this, I was going to try it all day and not just in the morning.

A lot of people add lemon to their hot water in the morning for further benefits, but I'm allergic to citrus so I keep it lemon-free. Our filter hooks up to the faucet so I didn't have to wait for a kettle. This made this experiment a lot easier AKA no excuse for being lazy.

After two weeks of nothing but hot water did I find any truth in these "Miracle Hot Water Benefits"?

Well, yes.

 

1) Digestion.  I've never had a big issue with my digestion since I cut out gluten and dairy, but sometimes I have stomach pain and cramps for seemingly no reason. Since I've been starting and ending my day with hot water, these pains have pretty much gone away. I find the hot water, like claimed, relaxes things from the inside and just makes my organs feel better all around. Keeping them warmer instead of shocking them with cold water seems to agree with my body.

Justin has also been drinking hot water, but only in the mornings. He has pretty bad stomach issues and he's even said a glass of hot water in the morning has been easing the severity of his symptoms.

2) Health. I've found that in this season of Winter when my nose gets stuffy and my joints aren't happy with the weather changes, that hot water helps a lot. My nose doesn't stay stuffy like usual and my joints are much happier. I used to get headaches and muscle aches a lot and I've noticed I've had almost no headaches since drinking hot water and my muscle aches aren't as bad, either. It's said that hot water helps maintain the electrolyte and mineral balance in the body, and I do find that I stay better hydrated with hot water than I did with cold.

I'm also finding that hot water is helping with my pretty severe anxiety. Since it aids the nervous system in ways, this does make sense. I've been able to do several things lately that I would usually be incredibly anxious about, with very little anxiety.

3) Sleep.  I admit, there were many times when I would have wine before bed so I could sleep during those times of insomnia. Since I switched to hot water, I haven't had wine before bed but maybe once. The hot water relaxes everything. Sometimes there's chamomile in the cup, but usually not. I also find that I sleep better and deeper. Is this partly from the lack of alcohol before bed (which interrupts your quality of sleep)? Maybe. But I still credit the hot water to this some.

4) Circulation. This is kind of a no brainer for me. Warmth equals better circulation which is why you tend to use heat on some injuries to help with the blood flow. Warmth from inside is even better. I have a circulatory system disease, so I was really interested in seeing if improvements here happened. And they did! I still have my symptoms, but they don't last as long and they aren't nearly as bad as they have been in the past.

5) Hair Growth. Okay, I really didn't expect to have this on my list. Total surprise. My hair doesn't tend to grow very quickly because of my disease, but it's grown a noticeable amount since I started drinking hot water. Now I wish I had measured my hair in the beginning, but it never crossed my mind that this would help my hair. It's not a crazy amount, but I definitely noticed my hair hanging lower on my shoulders and getting in the way at night.

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Is the hot water flushing out toxins and helping my metabolism also? Maybe. But I don't think I've been doing it long enough to notice a metabolism change. However, I definitely think it's helping flush toxins out. My skin had a bit of a purge a few days into hot water - a sign of detox. And I just feel better all around drinking hot water.

I thought this would take a lot of adjusting since it's hot water and we're used to room temperature or ice water. But I've found I have no trouble. I actually really enjoy the warmth, especially since it's cold outside. Can I keep this up in the Summer? Well, I hope so. Because right now I have no plans on drinking any water but hot if I can help it!