CHINESE CULTURE

Why do Chinese people drink hot water?
12-14-2010
 
Chinese people tend to prefer drinking hot water to cold water, especially with meals. But why?
BY CHARLIE CUSTER (葛亚辉)

I've you've lived in China and in the West, I'm sure you've noticed the contrast. Meals in the West tend to come with tall glasses of ice water. Meals in China come with tiny cups of hot water, or tea. Tea, of course, has been a part of China's culture for millenia, but why the hot water?

It turns out, unsurprisingly, that there are a number of answers to this question. Some people report that their parents taught them to drink hot water with meals, because mixing cold liquids with hot meals is bad for the stomach. Others go further into the "science" of it, alleging that cold liquids solidify fats in your stomach, which can cause digestive problems, whereas hot liquids aid in digestion. Still others cite the habit as having stemmed from the traditional need to boil water before drinking it to remove germs (and indeed, even today, you're probably going to get sick if you don't boil Chinese tapwater before drinking it). Most people, though, will probably give you the same answer I just got from a friend: "It's good for your health."

That may be true, but from a scientific standpoint, it appears that neither the cold water fanatics nor China's hot water purists have much of a case. According to this article from Snopes.com about the issue, everything you eat and drink matches your internal body temperature fairly quickly once it's in your stomach, and cold liquids do not "solidify fats" as anything solid is broken by the stomach's powerful acids.

More interesting is that in the process of researching this, I discovered Chinese people are just as curious about why Westerners would drink cold water as we are about why Chinese traditionally drink hot water. Here are a few theories I discovered on Chinese message boards:

Westerners like to eat "raw" food (this belief comes from the fact that some people like to eat rare steak) so they also prefer their water "raw" (i.e., unheated).

Recommended Readings:
Cuihua, serve the suancai!
The taste of suancai is unforgettable. And when winter arrives, it’s a Chinese mainstay.
Before greenhouses, the Chinese cabbage known as baicai was a mainstay of Chinese dinner tables. Especially in the north, where most areas are covered with thick snow or a light coat of frost much of the year, Chinese cabbage remains popular because it’s often the only local vegetable left. Plus, it’s cheap. More>>

A Love Affair with Dumplings
A Chinese New Year without jiaozi? Don’t even consider it! We fought our way deep into the kitchens of the China World Hotel, and escaped with their top-secret recipe. Now you, too, can have a colorful dumpling feast to remember! My love for dumplings? Unrivaled. More>>


Because it's annoying to wait for boiled water to cool off before you start drinking (or burn your mouth).

"Because foreigners think hot water is only for coffee and tea."

Because in foreign countries you can drink water directly from the tap rather than having to boil it.

Because foreigners aren't used to drinking hot water!

I suspect that the real answers have more to do with history than they do with science anyway. Americans (for example) have been drinking tapwater directly for decades, so there's no need to boil water. But Chinese tapwater needs to be boiled first. Will these habits change, then, as bottled water becomes more popular in China and as tapwater becomes safer to drink? Who knows!

Why do you drink cold or hot water?

Editor:Zhang Jingya |Source: The World of Chinese

______________________________________________________________________________________________________
HERE IS ANOTHER ARTICLE THAT EXPLAINS WHY.

A very good article which takes two minutes to read. I'm  sending this to persons I care about.......I hope you do  too!!!         Heart  Attacks And Drinking Warm Water                 This  is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after  your meal, but about Heart  Attacks . The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not  cold water, maybe it is time we adopt  their  drinking  habit while  eating.                                                                     For  those who like to drink cold water, this article is  applicable to you. It is very Harmful to have Cold Drink/Water during a meal, because, the cold water will solidify the oily  stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the  digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon,  this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a  meal.    French fries and Burgers are the biggest enemy of heart health. A coke after that gives more power to this demon. Avoid them for your Heart's Health

Common  Symptoms Of Heart Attack...   
A  serious note about heart attacks

- You should know that not  every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting.

Be aware of intense pain in the  jaw line .   

You  may never have the first  chest  pain during  the course of a heart attack.

Nausea and intense sweating are  also common symptoms.

60% of people who have a heart attack  while they are asleep do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware.

The more we know, the better chance we could survive.   


A  cardiologist says  if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people,

you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

Read this & Send to a friend. It could save a life.

So, please  be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.