The Habit of Drinking Ice Water Can Disturb Digestion? Here's What Doctors Say

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JAKARTA - Drinking water with cold ice does feel refreshing, especially when the weather is hot. However, this habit actually has an effect on digestion.

Gastroenterologist, Dr. Jaydeep Patel, said that too cold water temperature can affect the digestive process, especially if consumed in large quantities and at certain times.

Cold water can affect the digestive system through changes in body temperature. When water with very low temperature enters the stomach, the body will try to adjust the temperature.

This condition makes energy and blood flow focused on stabilizing the body. This process causes the narrowing of blood vessels around the lambut, resulting in a reduced blood supply needed to digest food.

"When cold water enters the stomach, the blood vessels will narrow so that the blood flow is reduced. This can slow down the movement of the stomach and intestines which play a role in digesting food," said Patel, quoted from Only My Health, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

This will have an impact on slowing down the overall digestion process. This is because the muscle contractions that push food through the digestive tract slow down.

"The peristaltic movement, that is, the contraction of the muscles that push food through the digestive tract, can slow down," he said.

With the accumulation of food that has not been digested perfectly, it can cause discomfort. Such as bloating and full sensation in the stomach.

Not only that, cold water can also slow down the process of digesting fat and carbohydrates. This makes the body take longer to absorb important nutrients from food.

"The digestion of fat and carbohydrates can slow down, so the absorption of nutrients is also delayed," he explained.

However, this does not mean that you have to completely avoid drinking ice water. Consumption can still be done, but more wisely so as not to interfere with body health.

Starting from avoiding drinking a lot of ice water during or after meals. Then choose room temperature water or slightly cold, pay attention to the body's response to the temperature of the drink, to drinking slowly, not at once in large quantities.