Health Benefits of Drinking Hot Water: From Weight Loss to Detox

Are you looking for ways to improve health and lifestyle, and asking yourself about the benefits of drinking hot water, when, and how much to drink?

Or you might be asking yourself, can honey, lemon, and ginger, when added to hot water, make it even more beneficial for your skin, hair, and weight loss program?

This article will try to answer these and a few more important questions about hot water usage and potential risks.

Did you know that our bodies are made up of between 50 and 70% water which is vital to almost every bodily activity, so if we don’t drink enough water, lots of bad stuff can happen to us – fast.

Most of us know we can survive 72 hours without water before the body starts to shut down; however, few know about the benefits of drinking hot water and the healthier it can make us.

Really?

Apparently, it does.

Health Benefits of Drinking Hot Water

Drinking hot water offers simple yet powerful health benefits. It can improve digestion, relieve congestion, and even promote relaxation. Let’s explore how this easy habit can boost your well-being.

Improves Digestion

Hot water helps break down food faster and supports smooth digestion. It stimulates the digestive tract, making it easier for your body to absorb nutrients. Drinking a warm cup in the morning can kickstart your metabolism and prevent bloating.

Relieves Nasal Congestion

Steam from hot water helps loosen mucus and clear nasal passages. It soothes irritated sinuses, making it easier to breathe when you have a cold. Adding lemon or honey can enhance its soothing effects.

Aids in Detoxification

Hot water encourages sweating, which helps flush out toxins from your body. It also supports kidney function by keeping you hydrated and promoting urine flow. Drinking it regularly can improve skin health by removing impurities.

Promotes Better Circulation

Warm water expands blood vessels, improving circulation and oxygen flow. This helps muscles relax and reduces the risk of cramps or stiffness. Better circulation also supports heart health by reducing strain on the cardiovascular system.

Eases Stress and Promotes Relaxation

Sipping hot water has a calming effect on your nervous system. It can help reduce stress, improve mood, and even enhance sleep quality. Herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint can add extra relaxation benefits.

Supports Weight Loss

Hot water can increase body temperature, boosting metabolism and calorie burning. It also helps break down fat and prevents overeating by promoting a feeling of fullness. Drinking it before meals can reduce cravings and improve digestion.

Soothes Sore Throat and Cough

Hot water helps soothe a sore throat by reducing inflammation and irritation. It also keeps the throat hydrated, preventing dryness and discomfort. Adding ginger or honey can enhance its healing properties.

Keeps You Hydrated

Many people forget that warm water is just as hydrating as cold water. It helps maintain essential body functions, including digestion, circulation, and temperature regulation. Drinking enough hot water daily can keep your body balanced and energized.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Drinking hot water can help improve blood flow and reduce tension in blood vessels. This can lead to lower blood pressure and a healthier heart. Staying hydrated with warm water also prevents dehydration, which can contribute to high blood pressure.

Benefits Skin and Reduces Pimples

Hot water helps flush out toxins from the body, leading to clearer skin. It keeps the skin hydrated and improves elasticity, reducing dryness and wrinkles. Regular consumption can also reduce pimples by preventing clogged pores.

Relieves Constipation

Hot water softens stools and stimulates bowel movements, making it easier to pass waste. It relaxes the intestines and prevents bloating or discomfort. Drinking it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can be especially effective.

Fights Infections

Warm water helps kill bacteria and viruses in the throat and digestive system. It strengthens the immune system by keeping the body hydrated and flushing out toxins. Drinking it regularly can help prevent common infections.

Reduces Cramps and Muscle Pain

Hot water helps relax muscles and relieve cramps, especially during menstruation. It improves blood circulation, which reduces muscle stiffness and discomfort. Sipping warm water throughout the day can provide natural pain relief.

Helps Reduce Fever

Drinking hot water during a fever keeps the body hydrated and aids in temperature regulation. It promotes sweating, which helps cool the body naturally. Staying hydrated also supports the immune system in fighting infections.

Strengthens Hair and Promotes Growth

Hot water hydrates the scalp and keeps hair follicles healthy. It improves blood circulation to the scalp, which promotes hair growth. Regular consumption can also prevent dryness and reduce dandruff.

Best to Drink on an Empty Stomach

Drinking hot water first thing in the morning helps flush out toxins and kickstart digestion. It can improve metabolism, boost energy levels, and prevent bloating throughout the day. This habit also prepares the stomach for better nutrient absorption.

Drinking Hot Water Before Sleep

A warm cup of water before bed can relax muscles and promote restful sleep. It helps calm the nervous system, reducing stress and anxiety. Drinking it before sleep also supports digestion and prevents nighttime dehydration.

The Science Behind Drinking Hot Water

While research on hot water’s benefits is limited, many people swear by its positive effects. Drinking a glass of hot water (120 to 140°F) in the morning stimulates digestion and helps prevent constipation. It also prepares your stomach for better nutrient absorption.

A warm cup before bed keeps you hydrated overnight, improves circulation, and raises your core body temperature. This promotes natural detoxification through sweating, which flushes out toxins and benefits your skin. Hot water also soothes nasal passages and supports better sleep.

Incorporating hot water into your daily routine enhances these benefits. The Institute of Medicine recommends 3.7 liters of daily water intake for men and 2.7 liters for women. While many start the day with tea or coffee, plain hot water is a simple, cost-effective alternative with no added sugars, dairy, or caffeine.

For those who prefer flavored water, adding lemon, honey, ginger, or mint can provide extra health benefits while making it more enjoyable.

Drinking Hot Water with Lemons: Better Health & Digestion

Adding lemons to hot water improves your water’s taste, which may help you drink more. It has loads of Vitamin C and potassium, enhancing your immune system and helping remove toxins from your body. It benefits your skin and reduces blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases like strokes.

Simply add a few slices of fresh lemon to a glass of hot water at the start of every day. It’s a good idea to drink it with a straw to protect your teeth’ enamel, then clean your teeth afterward.

Why Hot Water with Ginger is a Morning Must

Ginger in hot water helps your digestive system, kick-starts your metabolic rate, and is an efficient detoxifier. Additionally, it has anti-inflammatory properties, which are beneficial to your body; it helps regulate blood sugar levels and controls the impulse to eat – great if you are trying to lose weight.

Why Hot Water with Honey is a Nighttime Ritual

Honey in hot water is delicious, the higher quality, the better, and raw honey from the hive is the ultimate. Apart from the awesome flavor, and there are hundreds of local varieties, it’s packed with antimicrobial and anti-bacterial advantages. It can boost energy and calm nerves.

Add it to a hot drink rather than sugar or man-made sweeteners. It may lose some beneficial properties when added to a hot drink, but it’s still an excellent and tasty natural health food. Even better is if using warm water instead.

Hot Water & Apple Cider Vinegar: A Health Power Duo

Drinking hot water with apple cider has a number of beneficial health qualities, which include active antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. There are suggestions it may help with weight loss, LDL (bad cholesterol) reduction, reducing blood sugar levels, and diabetes symptoms control.

There are specific dosage guidelines available here.

Hot Water with Garlic: A Natural Immune Booster

Grated and boiled in water, then allowed to cool to the correct temperature, it makes powerful garlic water. Garlic water is antibacterial and has a detoxifying effect. It promotes the reduction of LDL cholesterol, UTI and kidney infections. It combats hair loss, boosts immunity, and helps weight loss. It helps fight cancer and blood clots.

Garlic can be strong to taste, so frequently, it is combined with lemon and honey to improve the flavor and boost the effectiveness of the warm water drink even further.

Cinnamon-Infused Hot Water: Sweet and Healthy

Soak a cinnamon stick in hot water and sip it regularly. Cinnamon is antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral, and it will boost your immune system. It has been noted that cinnamon water may ease the effects of menstrual cramps. It has anti-inflammatory effects and may help with arthritis and joint pain as it improves blood flow.

According to the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, cinnamon may be effective in slowing the advancement of Parkinson’s disease.

Potential Risks and Disadvantages of Drinking Hot Water

While drinking hot water offers many benefits, there are also potential risks to consider. Understanding these risks can help you enjoy hot water safely.

Risk of Burns

One of the most immediate dangers of drinking hot water is the risk of burns. If the water is too hot, it can scald your mouth, throat, or skin, causing painful injuries. Always ensure the water is at a safe temperature, ideally between 120°F and 140°F. Children, the elderly, and individuals with sensory impairments are at higher risk of burns, so extra caution is necessary.

Hydration Concerns

While hot water helps with hydration, it does not hydrate more effectively than room-temperature or cool water. Drinking excessive amounts of hot water without balancing it with cooler fluids may lead to dehydration, as your body may lose more fluids through sweating.

Potential Mineral Imbalances

Drinking very hot water may contribute to mineral loss, particularly calcium and magnesium, which are essential for strong bones and teeth. While moderate consumption is unlikely to cause issues, excessive intake over time could contribute to mineral deficiencies.

Impact on Digestive Health

Consuming extremely hot water can irritate your digestive system, potentially causing inflammation or scarring in the stomach lining. This irritation may lead to gastrointestinal discomfort, acid reflux, or long-term digestive issues if hot water is consumed excessively.

To safely enjoy hot water, always drink it at a moderate temperature and in balanced amounts. By being mindful of these potential risks, you can maximize the benefits while avoiding any adverse effects.

Safe Drinking Tips and Recommendations

The Environmental Protection Agency sets stringent legal regulations for safe drinking water. They strongly advise you to never use water from your hot tap to drink or cook with, as contaminants dissolve more easily in hot water than in the cold. They also set standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which sets out criteria for states to independently set and enforce their own drinking water standards, provided they are, at a minimum, as strict as EPA’s standards.

Since drinking hot water offers many health benefits, experts recommend using fresh, cold water and heating it in a kettle or another separate boiling device before consumption. Installing filters on your cold water supply helps reduce contaminants, ensuring safer and cleaner drinking water for you and your family. The benefits of drinking hot water are numerous, but ensuring its safety by heating clean, filtered water is essential.

If you use a tankless water heater, then you could fit a filter to the feed side of your system, which means the cold water going into your heater is filtered before heating and should then be safe to drink. If your system has a storage tank, you should never drink hot water from that.

It is possible to fit a water filter on the hot supply to your faucet, but hot water either diminishes the effectiveness of your filter or totally destroys it.

There are instant water boilers available with different volumes to suit every household, and with fresh cold water, they produce safe hot water to the temperature you need quickly.

If your required volume is high, then a tankless water heater with a filtered supply would be the healthiest way to go.

Conclusion

So, it would appear there are many benefits of drinking hot water including improved digestion, better circulation, and detoxification. However, there is also strong advice from EPA about NOT drinking or cooking with water direct from your hot tap unless you have a filtered tankless water heater.

If you plan to try it out, always check with your health professional before you do it, and remember the claimed health benefits are just that – claims, as few of them are supported by research from relevant bodies.

The suggestions here are a guide to what’s available and are not in any way intended to be professional medical advice.

It’s a simple change, and if your medical professional gives you the go-ahead, it certainly won’t harm you.