Got hot water? If not, you might want to grab some. From stimulating digestion to preventing illness, hot water is hot stuff in Ayurveda. What other remedy will you find with no side effects, costs or complicated recipes? It’s a sure-fire staple to keep you bright eyed and bushy tailed. Simply boiling water takes the essential element from 0 to 60 in terms of health benefits. Read on to find out what all the fuss is about.
Properly used, hot water nourishes the body by making food easier to digest and assimilate. It dissolves accumulated toxins and imbalances. Kinda like a shower for your tissues and cells – leaving you so fresh and so clean. Couple it with fasting at the first sign of illness to stabilize the digestive system and ward off disease by strengthening the body and immunity. Sip it throughout the day to shed excess weight. Hot water satiates the appetite and bodily tissues while calming the mind. It breaks up stagnation and removes fatigue – leaving you clear and energized. Not a bad list of uses for an easy access remedy, eh?
Water before meals dampens the digestive fire (agni) – like pouring water on logs then trying to burn them. It’s generally not recommended to do on a regular basis as it weakens digestion over time. It’s ideal to sip hot water with meals. This maintains a lean body. It allows you to savor the flavors of your food by cleansing the palate. It keeps each bite moving smoothly along the upper digestive tract as it goes in. A lot of hot water after a meal increases all the tissues – meaning it will bulk you up. This is ideal for some and not so ideal for others. Choose accordingly.
Hot water stimulates the appetite and increases metabolism, making it ideal for folks who rarely experience true hunger. Hunger is a sign of vitality. It indicates that not only your digestion, but your intellect and zest for life are alive and kickin’.
If you eat food that’s not hydrated, it becomes stagnant and leads to disorders rather than nourishment. Think about a muffin or bread. Even if it’s gluten free, organic and fresh baked – when you chew it up and swallow, it tends to form a lump in your throat as you swallow it down…and that’s just the beginning.
Imbibe hot water after heavy meals or overeating. Sip it following food that is heavily processed, poorly combined or ill prepared (meaning burnt food, leftover food, bad tasting food, etc). Hot water helps to dilute the negative effects inherent in such indulgences, making the meal more digestible and preventing it from clogging your channels. It is also useful with slow, heavy digestion that leaves you tired after eating, overweight and generally lethargic.
The wonders of hot water do not cease! It relieves hiccups and gas. Hot water lubricates and invigorates a weak and dry digestive tract characterized by variable appetite, metabolism and elimination with rabbit pellet stool. It can encourage a healthy bowel movement in times of constipation. Boost your digestive umph even more by boiling it with cumin seeds.
Hot water cleans up toxins like nobody’s business. It’s a staple in Ayurveda’s end all be all of cleanses – Panchakarma. It’s useful in a weight loss regime and for purifying the bladder. It also soothes congestion and irritation in the throat. Boil your H2O in the early stages of fevers, coughs, toxic buildup, runny nose, shortness of breath and/or pain in the flanks to keep illness at bay.
While hot water is quite the panacea, it needs the time and space to work its magic. Just like food, water must be digested. After drinking more than a few sips, don’t sing, sleep or study. Don’t talk too much or travel too far. Doing any of these things vitiates the stomach and causes toxic buildup. It can weaken digestion, induce vomiting or produce excess saliva – a risk factor for diabetes.
So soak it up and let it sink in. Hot water promises to support your well being. Keep this little liquid elixir on hand to pacify your woes and promote your vitality. Simply pour, boil and sip with reverence.
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4 Comments
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Kim, do you drink it plain or can you add a tea bag, ginger or lemon for taste?
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Author
Hot water in and of itself has the properties outlined in the article. Adding lemon makes it more heating and gently stimulates the liver – that can be great for a lot of people. Ginger will fire up digestion and stimulate appetite which also can be great for some people. Adding a teabag makes the hot water take on the qualities of those herbs, so there’s lots of possibilities as to how that will change its effects.
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Great article and great advice. Thanks
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Glad you enjoyed it. You’re most welcome!
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