When a patient comes in with bloating, the first modification I ask them to make is to reduce cold water, opting for room temperature instead.
In Chinese Medicine, the stomach is seen as a pot, with the fire under it being our metabolism. To properly digest or cook our food we need the fire under the pot to be strong.
The energetic and thermal properties of foods and drinks can either support this fire or put it out and since the body can only utilize that which is at its temperature, drinking icy cold water forces our bodies to expend a significant amount of energy to warm it up. Water is essential but doesn’t have any nutritional return making this a huge waste of energy!
Patients who experience bloating more often than not are lacking a strong digestive fire which leaves the food they have eaten sitting in their stomachs, essentially uncooked.
Next time you reach for a glass of cold water, opt for room temperature instead and save that fire to digest your food instead!
