What was the source of drinking hot water?
To aid the digestive system, ancient Chinese medicine practitioners advised their patients to start the day with a drink of hot water, and this practice is still recommended in Chinese medicine today- but where did this belief originate?
For starters, it was more difficult to keep food and beverages cold in Ancient China than it was to keep them warm. It was so difficult to freeze food that during the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial family employed a special crew of employees to harvest ice during the winter months! Furthermore, because most Chinese people had inferior living conditions, staying warm was more vital than cooling down – and drinking a hot beverage like water, which was relatively available and free, helped them feel more toasty.
Once the Taiping Rebellion broke out in eastern China in 1850, 1.5 million refugees flooded into Shanghai, and by May of 1861, a major cholera outbreak had developed, and hot water became a starring role. When the study ultimately revealed that the pandemic was spread by northward mailboats, people at the time were unaware of this, so they ascribed the South’s escape to the powers of hot water!
The habit of drinking hot water on a regular basis is not confined to the Chinese; it has long been Ayurvedic advice, especially during the winter months, since it is thought to keep the Vata and Kapha doshas in balance. Ayurveda experts advise boiling water for ten minutes before drinking it to stimulate the Agni, or digestive fire, and prevent the buildup of ama, or poisons that inhibit digestion.
Many people in the West prefer cold water to hot water, but we have a history with the heated beverage as well – as far back as King Richard III’s reign in England, people were adding herbs and spices to water and boiling it to prepare tonics to improve their health!
