The Surprisingly Small Fix for My Morning Stomachaches

I had been starting my day with a glass or two of cold water, then coffee. For breakfast I would usually have Skyr mixed with oatmeal, seeds, nuts and berries, straight from the refrigerator. And then almost inevitably, my stomach would start cramping—not terribly, but enough that instead of finishing breakfast and heading out for my morning walk, I'd have to sit around for half an hour to wait for my stomach to settle down.

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I hadn't given much thought to the temperature of any of this until a few weeks ago. I was getting my hair cut and my stylist, who is from China, laughed about having to deal with digestive issues because she’s addicted to iced lattes in the mornings—and something clicked. The next morning, I heated my morning water and took my breakfast out of the refrigerator early enough to let it come to room temperature.

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That's all I did. Same amount of water. Same amount of coffee. Same Skyr. Same oatmeal, seeds, nuts and berries. But no cramping. I could eat breakfast and immediately go out for my walk.

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Huh.

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Traditional Chinese Medicine has long favored warm and cooked foods and warm beverages, particularly when digestion is troublesome. The traditional explanation involves concepts like digestive “cold” and spleen qi, and I started wondering whether western science had anything to say about it. Surprisingly, it does.

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Researchers have actually given people foods and liquids at different temperatures and watched what happens in their digestive systems. The results aren't consistent enough to say that warm food is universally better for digestion. Some studies have found that very cold liquids temporarily slow stomach emptying compared with warmer liquids. Others have found differences in stomach muscle activity depending on temperature. And yet, other experiments haven't found much difference at all.

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One particularly interesting study looked at people with irritable bowel syndrome. For them, drinking cold water increased visceral sensitivity and triggered abdominal symptoms in some of them in a way that warm water didn't. That doesn't mean cold water causes digestive problems, and it certainly doesn't mean I have IBS (thankfully, I’m not prone to hypochondria). But it does mean the digestive tract isn't oblivious to temperature. For some people, apparently, it matters.

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I seem to be one of those people. Because yesterday I accidentally conducted another experiment. It’s been warm lately, and when I woke up I drank a glass of cold water without remembering my new routine. Then my grocery delivery came later than usual, so my Skyr hadn't quite reached room temperature by the time I ate breakfast.

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And...cramping.

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This is not what scientists call a randomized controlled trial. It is, however, what I call annoying—but also persuasive enough to stick with my new warm or hot liquids and room-temperature foods in the morning. Maybe my digestive system particularly loves warmth in the morning, or maybe it just really hates cold. Either way, I'm paying attention.

Does this mean you need to start heating your water in the morning? Not necessarily. But if you, also, frequently have morning digestive distress, why not try it? While research is incredibly useful, so is paying attention to what happens in your own body—and knowing the difference between “this works for me” and “therefore everyone should do it.”

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As for Traditional Chinese Medicine, I'm not quite ready to reconsider every mysterious herbal concoction I've swallowed over the years. And thankfully, gelato later in the day hasn’t been a problem.

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But tomorrow morning? I'm heating my water and letting my Skyr bowl come to room temperature.

I'd really love to hear if you are Team Hot Water or Team Cold Water...

...and why!

By the way, this is also how I approach exercise

No, I'm not suggesting hot workouts. But I firmly believe that there isn't one universally perfect workout, intensity, weight or way of doing things. The point is to learn what your body responds to—and then keep adjusting as you get stronger.

That's what we do in The Wonderfulness Community: four live 30-minute strength workouts with me every week, designed for women over 40 who want to get stronger without making fitness their entire personality.

Come work out with us → The Wonderfulness Community

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