Never Drink Cold Water During And Right After Playing Sports

Do you know somebody or ever heard of someone
who collapsed after drinking cold water
while playing sports or right after, say basketball? 
There are many stories about those fatal moments.
​
Read on because this can save you, your family and friends.

Ice-cold water you should not drink during or immediately after sports or exercise.

We must admit that drinking cold water during summer 
or even anytime of the day we feel hot and uncomfortable  
feels heavenly or at least gives relief. 
But behind that feeling of relief is a great harm to the body. 

Remember that we are warm-blooded creatures  
maintaining a certain level of body temperature
enabling our organs to function normally.  
Therefore, 
anything cold disrupts our bodily functions 
as in the case of drinking cold water. 
And the colder the water, the more harm it does. 

​When we are on the move, doing exercises or playing sports, 
our body temperature increases 
because there's increase activity of our muscles 
causing them to demand more blood. 
Our heart beats faster and pumps more blood, 
blood vessels dilate or expand for more blood to flow 
and the blood flows more rapidly at this time. 

But at the very moment we drink cold water
during or right after exercises or playing sports 
specifically when you're still breathing faster, 
having shortness of breath or out of breath 
or you're still gasping for air, 
blood vessels around our mouth and tongue shrink or constrict 
lessening blood flow in these areas 
and doing same as cold water goes down the pharynx,
esophagus and into the stomach. 
The abrupt change in the blood flow in those areas: from rapid to very slow 
causes great harm and it can be fatal. 
Blood flow to the various organs of the body
decreases dramatically especially to the heart
which may cause heart attack. 
If the water is ice-cold, blood flow may take a halt. 

Imagine the veins as a freeway
and blood as the fast-moving cars. 
If a car suddenly slows down or stops, 
then that will cause a pileup. 
Wouldn't that happen when drinking cold water? 
I believe it does and more. 

Remember having a headache 
when eating something cold, say ice cream. 
It's the same reaction of our body in handling the cold situation. 
There's a disruption in the blood circulation in those affected areas 
or there's a decrease of blood flow in those areas 
and therefore, a decrease of oxygen and other life-sustaining elements 
causing our heads to ache or hurt.

I heard about someone who right after playing basketball 
took a glass of cold water 
and immediately felt his teeth were being sucked down 
as if some suction was going on inside his body. 
He collapsed and brought to the hospital but thank God survived. 
​But other stories were deadly.
Some players didn't make it after collapsing, 
and they were pronounced "dead on arrival" at the hospital. 

So the next time you engage in sports and other activities, 
take only water at room temperature, or better, 
water that's warm or a little hot. 
Never drink water straight out of the fridge or with added ice. 
But if you can't help it, 
then try to cool down for a few minutes first 
until you're no longer gasping for air and breathing normally.