Does Drinking Hot Water or Cold Water Help Acid Reflux?

Millions of Americans suffer from acid reflux, which also goes by the name gastroesophageal reflux (GER). It is a health condition where a person’s stomach acid goes up into their esophagus and causes them to feel heartburn and other related discomfort.

Many people experience an occasional minor burning sensation in their chest that goes away fast. For others, they experience a chronic version of the condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Those who don’t treat their regular GER problem could find it progressing into GERD over time. GERD is a much more severe health condition that can cause worse symptoms, such as severe pain, inflammation, regurgitation, and insomnia. It can ultimately affect a person’s daily activities due to the extreme discomfort associated with these symptoms.

The first thing that most people do to treat their acid reflux symptoms is to try some home remedies to relieve the discomfort they feel. The simplest home remedy is to drink lots of water to help flush out the acids from the esophagus. However, some people claim that drinking hot water might be better than drinking cold water, while others say hot water can worsen acid reflux symptoms. What do you think is true?

In this article, we will explore the various ways in which water temperature can affect the symptoms of acid reflux, whether for better or worse. We will also discuss the specific lifestyle changes that you can make to help reduce the acid reflux symptoms naturally and successfully.

The primary reason why acid reflux occurs is that the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) becomes relaxed when it is not supposed to relax. The LES contains muscle fibers that are supposed to stop stomach acid from flowing upward into the esophagus above it. Unfortunately, if the LES becomes too relaxed at an inappropriate time, it won’t be able to prevent the stomach acid from flowing into the esophagus. The result of this is acid reflux and the terrible symptoms it produces, such as discomfort, heartburn, and regurgitation.

If left untreated, acid reflux can progressively worsen into the severely chronic condition of GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). Then, you will experience much more uncomfortable symptoms, such as chronic coughing, frequent chest pains, and trouble swallowing. You must carefully treat and manage GERD to stop any long-term health consequences from arising.

Think of GERD as a more extreme version of standard acid reflux. You’ll know when you have GERD because the symptoms will feel much worse. You’ll experience regurgitation, constant heartburn, chest pain, and a feeling like there is a lump in your stomach.

There are many reasons why someone might develop acid reflux or GERD . Some of the main contributing factors are a person’s obesity, daily stress levels, diet, and lifestyle habits. For instance, if you smoke cigarettes, eat lots of spicy foods, and drink carbonated beverages and alcohol regularly, then you’re a prime candidate to develop acid reflux and GERD. You may also get acid reflux if you eat large meals or lie down after eating a meal.

Let’s examine the various potential causes of acid reflux and GERD in more detail:

• A diet consisting of acidic foods, fatty foods, and spicy foods.
• Poor lifestyle choices, such as living a sedentary lifestyle, smoking daily, not exercising, and uncontrolled daily stress.
• Being overweight or obese –puts a lot of pressure and weight on your abdomen, resulting in a high likelihood of acid reflux.
• Being pregnant –puts pressure on the abdomen and causes hormonal changes that increase the risk of acid reflux.
• Certain medications that inadvertently relax the LES, such as muscle relaxers and aspirin. Talk to your doctor about ways you can avoid these factors to control your acid reflux or GERD.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that drinking hot water will cause acid reflux. In fact, there is some evidence that drinking hot water may help stimulate the digestive system and relax the esophageal muscles. On the other hand, you should not drink water that is too hot because it could irritate or burn the esophagus, which would make the acid reflux symptoms feel much worse.

Therefore, the best thing to do is to drink warm water to calm your digestive tract and acid reflux symptoms. Avoid consuming very hot water if you can.

Water is important to your health for countless reasons. Regarding your digestive health, water helps manage your stomach acids by making them flow back into your stomach so that they don’t negatively affect your esophagus. Basically, consuming water will dilute your stomach acids while reducing your acid reflux symptoms, too. That is why it is critical to drink water during and after your meals; it will help to keep the food moving along your digestive tract and the stomach acids in the stomach.

Healthline published a research study that claimed that drinking water and staying hydrated can assist your stomach in maintaining its pH levels, stimulate the digestion process, and lower the risk of acid reflux. Furthermore, a similar claim was stated by Arizona Premier Surgery, which emphasized the importance of keeping your body hydrated to improve your digestive health because it keeps the gastric acids in the stomach to prevent discomfort.

Drinking warm water is one of the most effective home remedies for reducing and preventing acid reflux symptoms. Medical News Today claims that warm water can temporarily limit the occurrence of heartburn symptoms. After all, when you consume warm water, it helps the digestive system process your food by breaking it down into smaller particles for easier digestion and lower acidity.

Make sure the water is not too hot when you drink it because it could upset your esophagus and worsen your acid reflux or GERD symptoms. That is why most health experts recommend that you drink warm water rather than hot water. Drinking warm water in moderation can quickly relieve these symptoms by stimulating your digestion and diluting your stomach acids. So, if you are struggling with acid reflux or GERD symptoms, please consume warm water several times throughout each day for relief.

Consider installing a temperature-controlled water dispenser in your home or office to have immediate access to warm water whenever your acid reflux symptoms start to act up. A high-quality dispenser, such as the Waterdrop A2 RO Water Dispenser , can not only provide you with hot, cold, or warm water, but it can also filter out harmful contaminants from your water. It is one of the best ways to treat your acid reflux throughout the day.

Some people claim that drinking cold water can help quickly reduce the discomfort associated with heartburn. However, there is little evidence to suggest that cold water can improve your digestion. What consuming cold water does is it makes your stomach contract, causing your digestion to slow down rather than speed up. Slower digestion increases the chances of stomach acids rising and causing your acid reflux symptoms to worsen.

Peping claims that drinking cold water may give quick relief to these symptoms temporarily, but it may not be as effective in controlling acid reflux on a long-term basis. The reason is that cold water cannot manage stomach acids as well as warm water. As a result, cold water won’t do as good a job of stopping heartburn symptoms.

Warm water is the best water to consume when you want to reduce or prevent acid reflux. The water should be at a lukewarm temperature, also known as room temperature, because it is the best temperature for naturally assisting the digestive system in controlling its stomach acids for better digestive health.

Please avoid consuming extremely hot or cold water because that could have the opposite effect on your digestive system by worsening your acid reflux symptoms.

Most health experts recommend consuming small quantities of warm water over the course of each day to control acid reflux symptoms. Try not to drink too much water at once because it can cause bloating, which can worsen acid reflux symptoms. Also, don’t forget to consume water during and after your meals because it will help stimulate your digestion and dilute your stomach acids to stop acid reflux.

Water is the best beverage to drink to control acid reflux symptoms. Of course, many people like to drink beverages other than water. But you must be careful because many other beverages can worsen acid reflux and GERD symptoms.

Here are the beverages you should definitely avoid when trying to control acid reflux:

• All caffeinated beverages, such as energy drinks and coffee, because they can relax the LES at inappropriate times.
• All alcoholic beverages because they can relax the LES at inappropriate times and irritate the stomach lining.
• All carbonated beverages, such as sparkling water and soda, because they can cause bloating and increase the pressure on your abdomen.
• All citrus juice beverages, such as grapefruit, lemon juice, and orange juice, because they are highly acidic and will only worsen acid reflux symptoms.
• All high-fat dairy beverages, such as fat-rich milkshakes, because they slow down the digestive process and worsen acid reflux symptoms.

You may struggle with controlling your acid reflux symptoms at first, but it will eventually get easier as you experience how water temperature plays a key role in managing them. You will begin to see that consuming warm water will improve your digestive health and reduce the uncomfortable acid reflux symptoms that you may often experience. You will also understand how cold water only offers temporary relief to these symptoms but no long-term benefit to your digestive health. Warm water is always the better option for both relieving acid reflux symptoms and improving your long-term digestive health and wellness.

Remember to consider adding a filtered, temperature-controlled water dispenser in your home or office to access warm water whenever you need to relieve your acid reflux symptoms. The Waterdrop A2 Reverse Osmosis Water System is highly recommended because it has a five-stage filtration system to remove dangerous chemicals and contaminants from the water before consuming it.

There are some types of herbal teas, like chamomile tea and ginger tea, that can reduce the symptoms of acid reflux because they can calm out the irritation in the stomach lining.

No, because lemon water has a high acidity level, and anything with high acidic content can worsen acid reflux symptoms.

Baking soda can offer temporary relief to your acid reflux symptoms by neutralizing the stomach acids. Just don’t count on baking soda for long-term relief.

No, because chocolate beverages can relax the LES at inappropriate times, which increases the risk of stomach acids rising into the esophagus and causing acid reflux symptoms.