My grandmother (RIP) would always have said that a cup of tea was the cure for all ails! In the winter it warmed you up and in the summer it would cool you down!!! The latter of the 2 has left me extremely confused, has anybody heard of this or of anything similar as i have just had a cup of tea and it has done nothing for me, it is kinda warm today!
2006-07-31 05:38:35 · 20 answers · asked by blondie 3 in Food & Drink ➔ Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Well now I have heard this exact same saying and in fact my grandmother would have had a cup of tea for just about anything.
However I cannot claim to have known the reason until I looked it up on Google,but actually it would appear that drinking tea or any hot drink does not cool us down.
"It's a tale we've all heard, usually in the form of a helpful suggestion from a friend. Whenever you mention that you're hot, someone will point out that (believe it or not!) you can cool off by drinking hot tea. The logic behind this claim, is that the hot tea makes you sweat and that helps cool you off. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Funny how no one ever suggests that turning up the heat in your house would actually make you cooler.
But many people can't help think that it still makes sense in some way. Well, I'm going to explain to everyone why it doesn't work. Since I am not a physicist in any sense, the scientific details have been simplified. In a nutshell:
The problem in the logic lies with the laws of thermodynamics. The amount of heat lost by sweating and evaporation will never exceed the amount of heat gained by the hot drink you've consumed.
Another problem is that the extra heat makes your blood vessels near the skin dilate to help cool your blood faster. The nerves in your skin can sense this, causing you to feel flushed and warm. Not exactly the result you are looking for.
The overall answer, is that hot tea will make you sweat more, and increase your cooling. But the amount of extra cooling won't be enough to offset the heating-up from the tea.
So next time someone points out that you should drink hot tea in the summer, don't rush to put the kettle on. Grab a tall glass of iced tea, an iced coffee or lemonade instead."
I hope this helps explain it,I didnt know how to edit it without leaving out the important bits !lol
2006-07-31 05:47:28 · answer #1 · answered by any 4 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Actually it is not an old wives tale at all it can cool you down drinking a hot cup of tea. Having lived in the outback of Australia for over 22 years I can attest to this. If you drink cold iced water or soft drinks your stomach cramps up because your core temperature has risen along with the outside temp. If you drink a cup of tea you can often feel a sweat on your brow or over your body. The sweat evaporates and cools the skin. Drinking cold makes you feel the heat a lot faster. It is the same with having a bath. If you are experiencing a heatwave you will feel hotter sooner if you have a cold shower.....sticky backs of legs...yuk! If you have a bath or shower a warm to hot shower when you come out your bodies internal temp will have raised slightly and you will feel that the outside air is cooler to your skin.
Hope this has helped! Your Gran was just quoting what has been know by the older generations for years! Especially those who were stationed in India where the Char wallah was constantly boiling tea. It comes from a hot country....hundreds of years of drinking it and surviving in the heat......so I think they would have some experiences in keeping cool in a hot climate!
2006-07-31 05:48:58 · answer #2 · answered by Confuzzled 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your late grandmother was obviously a very wise woman, and I wish her rest and peace in the other world.
Tea has indeed a lot of capacities, refreshing and soothing ones as well as many different medical ones. It depends of course on the kind and type of tea, and on the way how you prepare it. But with regards to cooling you down during the summer, that is true as well. In the Middle East hot tea is served even in the extreme heat of the desert. Because it is warm, it reacts with the also warm body in a harmonious way, while cold drinks create a bad shock effect. Western people can learn a lot from Asians when it comes to food, drink, health and well-being.
2006-07-31 05:48:08 · answer #3 · answered by Sean F 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put ice in the tea in the summer. That will cool you down.
2006-07-31 05:52:21 · answer #4 · answered by adieu 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
iced tea....
make a gallon of tea. (boil water, 3 family sized tea bags, pour into a pitcher with the rest of the water cool.) sweeten to taste
pour over ice in your favorite glass,
viola! iced tea
cools ya down in the summer
2006-07-31 05:42:51 · answer #5 · answered by digital genius 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its an old wives tale - the thought behind it is that if you drink hot drinks when its hot it'll make you sweat and therefor the breeze on the sweat will help cool you down. Just drinks lots of chilled water thatll keep you hydrated and help cool you down from the inside.
2006-07-31 05:47:32 · answer #6 · answered by Mrs B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tea is great & yeah loads of people say it cools you down in the summer - but I think that's a lot of crap!!
2006-07-31 05:45:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
your grandma was right when ever theres a family crisis a death or whatever whats the 1st thing anyone does but make a cup of tea
2006-07-31 05:42:54 · answer #8 · answered by dick19532003 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i've heard this too, also from my granny, funnily enough!
I think it is true, something to do with as the tea cools down inside you it cools you down too. but who wants hot tea on a hot day?! maybe its just a grandma thing.
i do think sugary milky tea makes you feel calm and makes your problems feel better, works on me anyway!!
2006-07-31 05:47:23 · answer #9 · answered by monkeynuts 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an old wifes tale. Drink water to cool down.
2006-07-31 05:42:06 · answer #10 · answered by eireblood2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋