Why Your Stomach Hate Ice Drink?

Imagine it is winter time with falling snow. It is freezing cold out there but you still go out for a walk. And there you are walking alone in the park while enjoying the scenery.

It's nice isn't it? But wait. Did I say that you're naked? Yes, naked! How would you feel walking outside at zero degrees Celsius, naked? I bet you would shiver madly. You can't walk properly. You can't even talk properly! And you body feels numb.

That's not very nice, isn't it? Well, put on your cloth and sweater now. Go back to your house. Sit near a fire side and have a cup of hot coffee.

Feeling better? After half an hour, you will feel normal again. Great! Now take off all your cloth and go outside again for a walk!

Hey, Stop it! Why torture me like this?
Good question. Actually, that's the question your stomach asks you while you're enjoying a glass of ice drink.

You see, most people prefer having an ice drink especially in hot summer days. Ice Coca-Cola, ice lemon tea and fruit smoothies are among the favorites. But do you know that while you're enjoying your ice drink, your stomach is crying like hell! Why?

Your stomach is lying inside your body, naked. And you just pour in gulps and gulps of ice water at near freezing temperature. It shivers. No sweater. No fire side.

It cannot do its work, which is digesting the food you take in. There are different types of enzyme in your stomach to help digestion. At below 10 degrees Celsius, those enzymes cannot do anything. So your food just sits there in your stomach.

And what happens next?
Now that your stomach is freezing, it will draw in heat from other organs such as liver and kidney. After 10 to 30 minutes, your stomach finally gets warmed up and reaches 37 degrees Celsius, which is your optimum body temperature.

At last, it can carry on with its digestion work. But guess what happens? You take in a few more gulps of ice water again! Immediately, your stomach temperature drops to below 10 degrees Celsius again. It is helpless. But do you hear your stomach shouting, "Hey! Stop it! Why torture me like this?"

What happens when you torture your stomach like that?
Your digestion slows down significantly. If your food stays too long in your stomach, it will undergo fermentation process. This causes burping. Beneficial nutrients will also reduce. And after a prolong time, you may get heartburn when gastric acid flows upward. It may even damage your vocal cord!

You will worsen it if you take spicy food and ice drink alternatively. When spicy food goes in, your stomach expands. But when ice drink goes in, your stomach contracts. The continuous stomach expansion and contraction is really damaging.

Your stomach couldn't stand it. And for a prolong time of torture, you may get all sorts of stomach problem including stomach cancer.

Does this mean you cannot take any ice drink? Well, it's best if you can avoid ice drink. However, taking it once a while is okay. If possible, leave some time gap between your meal and ice drink. The longer, the better.

Remember to take care of your stomach. You only have one.