Drinking cold water and sitting in air conditioning make office workers susceptible to illness

The combination of cold temperature and cold drinks increases appetite causing you to eat more and gain weight.

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Dr. Liu Bo En, President of the Mackay Memorial Foundation, told Health Sina that she once consulted a female office worker who weighed about 58 kg and had no medical conditions but suddenly gained more than 4.5 kg in a week. The girl went to the doctor's weight loss clinic for treatment advice.

The patient said she drank 2,000 to 3,000 cc of iced soft drinks every day. The air conditioner in her office was always set at 22 degrees Celsius. Dr. Liu determined that the habit of drinking 2,000 to 3,000 cc of cold, sugary drinks every day increased the volume of her stomach, easily creating a feeling of hunger, combined with the cold temperature, increasing her appetite, causing her to eat more. From there, her weight naturally increased, even causing edema and delayed menstruation.

A study has shown that drinking too much cold sugary drinks will cause stomach distension. After drinking cold water, the body loses some heat, forcing it to increase thermogenesis to cope with the heat loss, leading to a short-term increase in metabolism. When the water temperature increases to the same level as body temperature, this temporary increase in metabolism disappears.

The worrying thing is that most of the drinks on the market today contain too much sugar and artificial flavorings. Drinking too much of them is not only not thirst-quenching, but also not good for your health. A 500cc cup of pearl milk tea contains 300 calories, a 350cc can of soft drink contains 150 calories, if used for a long time, it is very alarming.

Dr. Liu advises against setting the air conditioning temperature in your home or office too low. Air conditioning that is too low can easily create an "artificial hibernation" effect, which means the body quickly cools down and reduces metabolism. Normal body temperature is around 34 to 36 degrees, and researchers have shown that a one-degree drop in temperature reduces metabolism by 5%. For example, a room temperature of 24 degrees, equivalent to a 10-degree drop, reduces metabolism by 50%.

The hot summer makes people like to drink ice water and sit in air conditioning, leading to weight gain. So what to do? Dr. Liu said that first, give up the habit of drinking cold water and instead drink warm water without sugar. You should eat foods like guava and tofu to increase fiber intake to promote gastrointestinal motility. Maintain regular exercise to avoid the nightmare of gaining weight in the summer.

According to VNE