One common factoid that has been circulating the internet recently is that drinking a hot beverage on a hot day will cool you down. Some immediately dismiss the claim while others swear by it.
The skeptical wonder how putting something hot into your body, while adding to its heat, could possibly cool it down. Proponents generally rely on anecdotal evidence that they have experienced first-hand. But who is right? Is there any actual scientific evidence behind this seemingly counter-intuitive claim?
Drinking something hot on a hot day can indeed cool you down, but there is a catch. A study done at the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics showed that if you were to drink a hot beverage in a hot and dry environment, your body will overcompensate for the added heat by sweating, and sweating a lot. It’s this excessive sweating that causes your body to cool down, and cooling it down more than if you had drunk something cold instead.
As long as you aren’t wearing layers of clothes, and your skin has room to breathe, the cooling effect of the evaporation of sweat is more than enough to cover the cost of the added heat to your body from the hot beverage. However, this cooling effect only works if the air is dry, rather than humid. You cannot sweat efficiently enough to take advantage of the benefit in a muggy or humid environment.
You may have already experienced this effect when eating hot or spicy foods. Research at the University of Cambridge studied the effects of certain foods and drinks on receptors on our tongue and in our throat. They discovered that one specific receptor, the TRPV1 receptor, was responsible for sensing heat and telling our body how to respond. In many individuals, the response is to produce excessive sweat.
This is the same reason why some people break out in a pouring sweat after eating extremely spicy chili or habanero peppers. If the air around you is dry and you’re wearing light clothes, eating foods spicy enough to cause a sweating reaction will also produce the same cooling effect as drinking a hot beverage.
So to recap, this myth isn’t a myth at all. Drinking something hot can in fact cool you down if the right conditions are met. Those conditions are: 1) It needs to be relatively hot outside; 2) The environment or air needs to be dry and not humid; 3) Your sweat must be able to evaporate off your skin normally without being restricted by clothing or other materials.
So there you have it. If you’re in humid Singapore, a hot cup of coffee isn’t going to do much to cool you off. However, if you’re in a dry Australian summer during one of their heat waves, it just might do the trick to cool you off against all logic.
Check out my related post: What you wear affects how you work?
Interesting reads:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-hot-drink-on-a-hot-day-can-cool-you-down-1338875/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/can-hot-drinks-cool-you-down-765049
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/does-drinking-hot-tea-cool-heatwave/
https://zidbits.com/2013/05/does-drinking-something-hot-on-a-hot-day-cool-you-down/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hot-drink-cools-you-down_n_592f6757e4b0540ffc84583e
http://theconversation.com/does-drinking-hot-tea-in-summer-really-cool-you-down-62854
Intriguing! Sounds like a reason to have coffee in the summer after an outdoor workout. 😅 I just have a scientific reason for it now.
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Good stuff! Hope it comes in handy.
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Very interesting and informative. This will make for a great dinner conversation. Thanks for sharing this with us:)
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Thanks for the support! I hope it livens up the conversation!
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You finally hit on one that I knew! 🙂
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Good stuff! Anything to add on?
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I don’t think so. Your body can’t digest anything hot or cold, it must be body temp. So, the body heats up for the cold stuff and visa versa. That’s all I knew.
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Is not the Earth much like the Human Body? The Core maintains a point of comfort and survival by using means available.
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Wow the core = heart?
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Hi.
Greetings and thanks for the Support.
Appreciated.
As an Aussie…
Love these type of Tips.
Great Post.
Hot Stuff in deed. Indeed
Sounds very likely as Studies also show:
Eating Small amounts of Chilli in a
sensibly Planned Diet when
Combined with Strength
Training Exercises will also increase
Metabolism Rates…
…thus Calorie Burning when Dieting.
Very Small amounts can be added to Drinks…
and for the sweet-tooths out there:
Dark Choco and Chilli are symbiotic
and much Healthier than the norm.
Thanks again.
Take Care. Till Next… Shiro.
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Thanks Shiro! Stay cool and not too much spicy food!
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Hi.
Thanks much for the support and
advice…
though… think/know am addicted.
One of those… lost causes.?.
Maybe should form…
Chilli Watchers.
Even added it to my Club
Sandwich-
to replace the Bacon.
Considering the long-term
effects… am nearly 60…
still a six-pack… though…
Downside to a quicker Metab…
sweat a LOT.
More. Even when i, Shiro. Sleep.
Genetics and upbringing too
may play a part don’t You think.?.
Am partial Italian = We even
BBQ Thems.
Another hint is to eat Fruits/Dessert
First… Sugars digested quicker
than Carbs, Proteins etc…
E.g. Eat Foods in Order of
Digestive Time.
Less stomach rumbly issues
and so forth. Forthrightly
looking forwards to the
Post of bettermen t… Next.
Take Care. Till Next… Shiro.
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Thanks for the tips!
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Hi.
Hope You are well. Well as
glad to input. Thanks.
For the opportunity in
Our World. Legends
oft contain such.
Stay Safe. Till Next… Shiro
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Yes, this may be true, but there’s nothing like an ice cold beer!
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Totally agree!
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