Marco Pouget

Having lived in China for a year, there are a lot of things I see said about TCM that aren’t consistent with history. One obvious example is drinking warm water as a staple of ancient Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine, in its modern standardised model, is relatively new. However, this model sometimes accurately and sometimes inaccurately captures ancient practices. Many who learn about TCM in the modern day develop the belief that you should never drink cold water. But in ancient times, some of the most influential texts and thinkers encouraged cold water drinking in certain situations, like during heat illness or just during summer. For example, the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius (around 300 BC) records: “In winter we drink hot soup, in summer we drink water.” The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon), one of the most influential texts in Chinese medical history, explicitly recommends cold drinking water when treating heat illness. And the Rites of Zhou, an ancient Chinese text describing dietary practices, recommends that drinks be served cold, like winter, while soups should be served hot, like summer. Drinking warm water certainly wasn’t a universal practice. Although during certain illnesses or winter, warm drinks, soups and later tea were encouraged. In the 1700s, China experienced massive population growth, increasing from roughly 150 million to 430 million over the next 150 years. As populations grew, access to clean water became an increasing concern. And in the 1800s, repeated cholera outbreaks occurred, likely killing millions across the century. During this period, boiling water became increasingly encouraged as a way to prevent infections. In the 1900s, it became a government recommendation to drink boiled water. Hot water stations were introduced on trains, in schools and workplaces. This helped establish the widespread cultural practice of drinking warm or hot water. It is true that in ancient texts, warm drinks and soups were important. But drinking warm water wasn’t a universal practice, and cold water was also recommended at times. Having experimented a lot over the past few years with clients, I’ve noticed that some do well with hot, warm and sometimes cold water. It’s often illness and environment dependent. I believe it should be quite intuitive what works for you. It’s certainly a good thing TCM has taught people the value of warm or hot water. But it's definitely ok to drink cold water if that's what your body feels good with