2 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology
I heard multiple times that drinking ice cold drinks in summer should be avoided, as it costs the body a lot of energy to reheat from the inside.
Could you achieve a calorie deficit by only hydrating via chewing ice cubes?
Comment by aTacoParty at 16/03/2023 at 16:00 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I love this question. You don't need to rely on any sources or fancy studies to figure this out, we can just do the math.
To raise 1 mL of water 1 degree celsius it takes 4.18 joules.
So to find out how much energy is needed to raise 1 cup of water (12oz or ~355mL) from 0C to 37C (body temp) we can do the math
4.18 joules/(ml degrees) * 355mL * 37 degrees C = 55 kilojoules (~13 calories)
So if you drink 8 cups of ice water a day, that comes out to 108 calories. But for you to burn those calories, you need to be expending extra energy. We generate about 1200 calories worth of heat every day by just being alive. Most likely you'll expend no extra energy heating that water.
Go ahead and drink your ice water!