Many of us in the heat received advice to drink hot tea so that the body was easier to endure too high temperatures. We decided to check whether such advice is faithful and whether it has scientific grounds.

The benefits of hot drinks in the heat are written in Blogs And Media. Hot green tea counts A traditional drink for hot summer in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Hot tea supporters usually Argument His position is that it increases body temperature and heat tolerated by the body easier.

On average, people Maybe For a long time to be at air temperatures above 50 ° C and even withstand half an hour at 100 ° C. However, at high temperatures, it is also necessary to consider how windy weather and high humidity, as well as the age and weight of the person himself and even what clothes are on it. For example, if the air is completely dry and almost motionless, then even at 100 ° C Can In half an hour, do not get any damage. The maximum temperature for the permanent living of a person is not determined, but the inhabitants of Sahara, Arabia and Central Australia live at a temperature above 50 ° C during the day. The absolute temperature record was Fixed July 10, 1913 in the Death Valley (USA) and amounted to 56.7 ° C.

The human body has Several mechanisms for thermoregulation: sweating, a change in the frequency of breathing and palpitations. Our body capable Production up to 2 liters of sweat per hour, which, evaporating from the skin, maintains the temperature of the body within acceptable limits.

Hot drinks really They briefly increase the temperature of our body even more than accelerate sweating and create the effect of rapid cooling. However, extremely importantIn order for the lost amount of liquid to be compensated, otherwise dehydration will occur. It is because of the fears of dehydration that some doctors recommend completely abandoning hot drinks in the heat. Moreover, they are Consult Avoid tea and coffee also because of the alkaloid - caffeine, which has a diuretic effect. However, the water that is part of coffee and tea is largely compensates This effect.

Researchers from the School of Kinetics of the Body at the University of Ottawa Put The experiment, during which the participants were subjected to physical exertion, which created for the body the conditions that simulate hot weather, and then drank water of different temperatures: 1.5 ° C, 10 ° C, 37 ° C and 50 ° C. Those volunteers who drank hot water really sweated more actively. However, the effectiveness of such cooling depended on their clothes - not sweat itself has a cooling effect, but the ability to evaporate it. The head of the study is Professor Ollie Jay Formulated This is: “On a very hot day with high humidity, if you are wearing a lot of clothes or if you are already sweating so much that sweat drips to the ground, and does not evaporate from the surface of the skin, drinking hot idea. Since a hot drink will add even more heat to the body, and the body is not able to evaporate the formed sweat even faster, it is better to drink something cold. ”

Thus, choosing a drink in the heat, hot tea or coffee, it is worth giving preference only with low air humidity, windy weather and provided that your clothes will allow sweat to evaporate. If you are already sweating so much that sweat falls drops, you should choose a cold drink.