Did you know that weather conditions can have an effect on your physical well-being? What you drink can make what you go through physically much worse, whether it’s hot or cold.
1. One of the things that can have an impact on your health is caffeine.
While drinking beverages containing caffeine in moderation isn’t necessarily bad for you, it does cause physical changes in your body.
In addition to having a mild diuretic effect, whenever you consume foods or beverages that contains this stimulant, it contributes to increased blood flow and blood pressure.
You might think that’s not a big deal, but when it’s hot outside, the weather does the exact same thing to your body. When you get hot, your heart starts to beat faster and harder as it tries to keep you cool.
This can tax your cardiovascular system. When it gets cold outside, your body’s heart also beats faster and harder, because instead of trying to cool you off, it’s trying to make sure that you warm up.
Both of these effects alone are a natural part of your body’s survival mechanism. But when you add caffeine to the mix, your heart is working harder than it’s supposed to. This is why you’re more susceptible to a heat related incident if you drink things containing caffeine.
2. The same way that your heart is affected by caffeine also happens when you drink alcohol.
These kinds of beverages increase your heart rate, and they raise your blood pressure, too.
When you factor in the cold or hot weather, it can cause health problems. In addition, like caffeine, alcohol has a diuretic effect on your body. So, it may fuel your need to urinate a lot more often than you normally would.
• On a hot day, that means you’re losing hydration much faster than usual. So, your odds of becoming dehydrated are greater.
Sometimes people choose to drink alcohol when it’s cold outside because they believe that alcohol can help them stay warm.
But the opposite is what happens. When you drink alcohol, it also acts as a diuretic, resulting in similar effects as caffeine. Alcohol relaxes blood vessels. This means that your body temperature can decrease and you’re more susceptible to the colder temperatures.
You may think that by drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol that you’re keeping up with the right amount of fluid intake, but what’s happening is you’re losing fluid and your body is less aware of the impact of the temperatures – whether hot or cold.
Instead of drinking beverages with caffeine or alcohol, choose drinks that are better for your health during the hot or cold weather.
• When it’s cold outside, drink warm beverages such as caffeine free hot chocolate, warm milk, decaf tea, and of course water.
You still need plenty of water, even when it’s cold.
• During hot weather, you’ll want to drink plenty of water, even more so than in cold temperatures.
The amount you need increases the more you sweat. Consume drinks such as flavored water, coconut water, sports drinks, or fruit juices.