Not long ago, a boy felt unwell after drinking a bottle of ice water after playing basketball. He was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment and was diagnosed with sudden acute myocardial infarction . This makes us wonder: Why does drinking ice water cause death?

How does drinking ice water after exercise hurt the body?

During exercise, the body produces a lot of heat due to intense muscle movement. In order to keep our body temperature constant, the body sweats a lot to dissipate heat.

There are also many changes in our body. During exercise, the heart rate increases, and the body's metabolic rate also increases greatly. These are all in order to be able to transport more oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body.

After a series of strenuous activities, if you drink a lot of ice water at this time, it will stimulate the contraction of capillaries and increase the resistance of peripheral blood vessels. The heart needs to contract more strongly to provide sufficient nutrients to the body. In this case, drink Ice water may cause vasospasm, which can lead to myocardial infarction.

In addition to the serious effects of sudden death, drinking ice water after exercise can also cause other damage to our body. After a large amount of ice water enters the human body, it will flow into the blood vessels, and the blood will be diluted, which will cause the water in the body to far exceed the normal value, which is easy to cause hyponatremia, is what we often call "water poisoning" ". In addition, we must also consider our own gastrointestinal factors. During exercise, the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract is faster than normal. If you drink a lot of ice water, it is easy to have gastrointestinal diseases, such as acute gastritis and stress enteritis. Wait.

Why does it feel good to drink ice water?

In the hot summer, it is quite pleasant to drink a few sips of ice water. When the ice water enters the mouth, the cold sensory receptors in the mouth feel the coolness and transmit the coolness to the brain, thereby producing a feeling of happiness. At the same time, studies have shown that compared with normal temperature water, he ice water can make the brain turn off thirsty neurons more quickly , which also makes us think that drinking ice water is more thirst-quenching.

There is another saying that because humans originated in Africa, the hot environment makes people have an instinctive desire for ice water, so we will be happier when we drink ice water. At the same time, the long evolutionary process has led humans to conclude that compared with ice water, there are more bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms in warm water in the wild, and it is easier to get sick after drinking it. Over time, humans have also become more inclined to drink ice water.

Correct posture for drinking water after exercise

In the process of exercising, can drink water every 20 to 30 minutes, and the amount of each time is controlled at about 120 to 240 ml . When the amount of exercise is not large, it is enough to drink pure water directly; if the amount of exercise is large and the body loses more than 2% of body weight, there will be serious water shortage, and then we need to supplement electrolytes containing electrolytes Or salt water, beverages.

In addition, you can generally drink ice water after exercising, but you should pay attention to drink it in moderation and slowly , you can keep the ice water in your mouth for a period of time, and then swallow it after the water is no longer so cold.

As for the news mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is a relatively extreme situation. It may be due to drinking a lot of ice water in a short period of time, or it may have underlying diseases itself, and not all problems can be blamed on Drink ice water. Consider your own physical condition and drink water in the right way, and there will be no problem.