Water water every where, but what temperature to drink?

[Tyler_68uk]

I read through (thru?) the best cycling tips ever page and found a lot of contradicting opinions on the cold/cool/tepid/Luke-warm water issue...
If the water is cold it is better. This is from a physics and a Bio-Medical standpoint.
U sweat because cellular respiration causes your muscles to heat up. This sweat causes you to loose water and electrolytes (both very important.) If you drink cold water then it will get absorbed into your blood *cold*. This cools down your blood which in turn cools down the rest of your muscles. You will heat the water up slightly as you absorb it but, the energy used to heat it up is energy that you cannot use to pedal, as it is the left over heat energy from respiration. This is just excess energy that you don’t need (hence the sweating.) An other cooling tip is getting your kidney areas wet (typically where your numbers are.) Your kidneys filter all of your blood, so cooling them down will cool you down.
It is official, cold water is better.

And an other point, (please don’t get bored now…) getting your face wet and leaning forward will trigger your diving reflex. (This is what makes babies hold their breath). When your face gets wet and you lean forward your mind/brain thinks that you are underwater. Because of this your brain will stop producing saliva and stop sending blood to unwanted parts of your body, like your stomach. This isn’t a good thing to do before a massive 100+ mile race, rather something to do about 1k before the finish. It’s one of those little things that can help you out on the last stretch.


I hope i didn't bore you to death...

 

[stevek]

I love to drink things that are cold. colder the better. but whne I started riding I could not drink cold water while riding. I had a insulated bag for my camelback. so I just left it at room temp.

 

[acetylene]

Tyler,

I agree, completely. I meant to post a reply to the stupid argument that warmer water is better, but I believe that you have succinctly rounded out my argument. The idea that drinking cold water would cause one to waste energy seemed idiotic to me, so much so that I didnt even waste time replying. The question to pose in response i suppose is simply: Why Sweat?

thanks.

interestingly, however, many people from tropical regions of the globe are unable to consume highly refrigerated liquids at all, not having ever been exposed to them. Once when we had some soccer players stay from brasil, they politely declined to drink or cold beverages on the account that they were too darn cold.

 

[Tyler_68uk]

I think i've got an analogy that will clarify the sweat issue...
I just got back from snow-borading trip on france, and me and my mates accidently ignited our dinner, so we chucked the whole pan out of the window into the snow to cool it down... which cooled it down and got rid of the smoke...
Now, sweat is a lot like that...the snow cooled down the pan cos it removed the heat from the pan by melting (or changing state). Sweat cools you down as the water evapourates (changes state) and it needs heat to do this. This hot water, which is now a gas, then evapourates and takes the heat with it, cooling you down...
I hope this makes sense

 

[shokhead12]

Man O man,just drink the stupit stuff. Like its going to make any difference on a sat morning ride,it wont.

 

[marlon1]

I agree it's better to drink it about 30C or something. It costs your body a lot energy to warm it up.

To cool down yourself, cold water is better.

So when I am training on my hometrainer I have 2 bottles, one warm and one cold to throw over myself!

But it isn't always so nice to drink warm water when you are sweating and hot!

 

[KingB]

How about, whatever temperature the water is in the bottle. I don't know too many people that can control the temp of their drinks while on a ride. On a cold day I suppose I get cold water. On a hot day.... you get the idea.

 

[mjw_byrne]

If you're cycling for exercise as part of a weight loss program, the extra energy spent warming up cold water that you drink helps you to burn more energy and thus lose more weight. It's one of those little tips for people on diets - always make sure drinks are freezing cold, it helps you lose weight.

 

[tuney]

More important could be the amount you drink in a session and how your drink it.

The drink will heat/cool to the about ambient temp anyway.

Just remember to take a decent mouthfull, I think its quoted that 150ml per swallow is good.

Chris

 

[Tyler_68uk]

Originally posted by mjw_byrne
If you're cycling for exercise as part of a weight loss program, the extra energy spent warming up cold water that you drink helps you to burn more energy and thus lose more weight. It's one of those little tips for people on diets - always make sure drinks are freezing cold, it helps you lose weight.

Cold drinks dont make you loose wate m8... You dont burn extra calories just to heat up the water, thos calories get burned no mater what you do.

 

[mjduffy1]

The real question here is about absorbtion, not blood cooling or energy waste. What we need to know is, does the body wait for the fluid to reach body temperature before absorbing it? The bit about wasting energy to heat the fluid is irrelevant during training, as one is already producing excess heat energy. And cooling is primarily accomplished by perspiration, the very reason we need to drink when we train in the first place. So somebody please tell us: which is absorbed faster, warm fluids or cold fluids?

 

[origanic]

I never had any idea that it mattered

I use a Camelbak when I ride, which leaves my water nice and cool! Any one else use these packs?

I think it is the best investment I have ever made in biking accessories.

 

[rkohler]

45-55 degrees farenheit according to the research...a little cooler than room temp.

Originally posted by Tyler_68uk
I read through (thru?) the best cycling tips ever page and found a lot of contradicting opinions on the cold/cool/tepid/Luke-warm water issue...
If the water is cold it is better. This is from a physics and a Bio-Medical standpoint.
U sweat because cellular respiration causes your muscles to heat up. This sweat causes you to loose water and electrolytes (both very important.) If you drink cold water then it will get absorbed into your blood *cold*. This cools down your blood which in turn cools down the rest of your muscles. You will heat the water up slightly as you absorb it but, the energy used to heat it up is energy that you cannot use to pedal, as it is the left over heat energy from respiration. This is just excess energy that you don’t need (hence the sweating.) An other cooling tip is getting your kidney areas wet (typically where your numbers are.) Your kidneys filter all of your blood, so cooling them down will cool you down.
It is official, cold water is better.

And an other point, (please don’t get bored nowE getting your face wet and leaning forward will trigger your diving reflex. (This is what makes babies hold their breath). When your face gets wet and you lean forward your mind/brain thinks that you are underwater. Because of this your brain will stop producing saliva and stop sending blood to unwanted parts of your body, like your stomach. This isn’t a good thing to do before a massive 100+ mile race, rather something to do about 1k before the finish. It’s one of those little things that can help you out on the last stretch.


I hope i didn't bore you to death...

 

[Doctor Morbius]

This thread got me started thinking if any of you had a preference for a certain type of water or which type of water is best, such as:

Mineral water?
Bottled water (such as Evian)?
Spring water?
Distilled water?
Tap water?
Filtered tap water?

I started a thread in the nutrition area. Please hop over and comment, especially if you are a certified nutritionist or have a medical background. I'd love to hear your input. I'd like to be able to separate fact from hype.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t115169.html

Doctor Morbius