Is It Better to Drink Ice Water or Room Temp Water When Exercising?
Of course it’s important to drink water when we exercise But is it better to drink iced water or room temperature water? A recent study, published in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, studied this very thing.
Study participants exercised for three hours in an environment that was 88-degrees (50% relative humidity). Participants were divided into three groups. Every 10-minutes, each group was offered either:
- Room temperature water (rate of 2g per kg of body mass)
- Ice Slurry of 2/3 shaved ice and 1/3 water (rate of 2g per kg of body mass)
- Ice Slurry of 2/3 shaved ice and 1/3 water (rate of 1g per kg of body mass)
Researchers found drinking the reduced amount of ice slurry (1 g per kg of body mass) was just as effective in thermoregulation as drinking the full amount of room temperature water (2g per kg body mass). And they also found that drinking the full amount of ice slurry (2g per kg of body mass) was even more effective in thermoregulation!
SO,…drink your water with ice when working out or working hard in hot temperatures for optimal health in the heat!