MadSci Network: Biochemistry
Query:

Re: Water - drinking cold water instead of hot to aid in weight loss.

Date: Mon Mar 5 11:35:13 2001
Posted By: Phyllis Stumbo, Staff, Nutrition, University of Iowa
Area of science: Biochemistry
ID: 982679023.Bc
Message:

Drinking cold water as a weight loss aid rather than hot water is not a 
scientifically accepted procedure.  It sounds to me like advice from one 
individual’s experience.  However, it may very well be effective.  At a 
conference in Germany last year K Jonderko from Poland reported on his 
studies on the electrical activity of the stomach (the body emits very 
faint electrical activity that can be measured with sensitive 
instruments).  He tested hot and cold beverages and found that cold water 
reduced the electrical activity of the stomach for 15 minutes, whereas hot 
water produced only a transient rise in activity.  Thus, it appears that 
the fluid temperatures have different effects on the stomach.  However, 
whether this has any effect on weight loss attempts were not considered.   
Four cups of water is a lot to drink, Mr. Jonderko used less than 2 cups 
to obtain his results.  The paper I mentioned is in “Neurogastroenterology 
from basics to the clinics” by HJ Krammer and MV Singer, Kluwer Academic 
Publishers, 1999.

I hope this helps explain how fluid temperatures may affect the stomach.

Phyllis Stumbo
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA  U.S.A.



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