Harvard trained physician shares top 4 metabolism boosting hacks: Can drinking cold water actually help you burn fat?

Will you start burning down some extra body fat just by drinking cold water? A doctor explains how it can help increase your metabolism.

In the January 2 episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, Dr William Li, Harvard-trained physician, scientist, and author, shared that drinking cold water can contribute to weight loss by slightly increasing calorie burn during digestion as the body warms the water to body temperature.

Is drinking cold water good for you?

When asked to share 'top 4 metabolism boosting hacks' for people who want to lose weight, Dr Li said, “It is going to be a lot easier than you think.” He went on to explain: “First, for your beverages, don't drink anything except coffee, tea, or water. Now, I drink coffee all day long. Don't put dairy milk in it. You can use nut milk. Dairy contains saturated fats, but more importantly, those saturated fats bind to the good bioactive in coffee and tea. And then you don't actually absorb them, and they kind of get flushed down your system. And by the way, even water, cold water can actually help your burn down body fat by increasing your metabolism.”

Dr Li added, “You know why? Because cold water, in the core of your stomach, the core temperature, triggers your brown fat. 'Oh it is cold, I must be hibernating. Let's go ahead fire up that brown fat'. So, you will start to burn down some extra body fat just by drinking cold water.”

He also listed some other tips, which included:

⦿ Cut down on ultra-processed foods and swap them with plant-based foods.

⦿ Eat until you are satisfied and not full: eat slowly and pay attention to your body's signals.

⦿ Get in motion. Food alone is good, but food plus exercise is really good.

What else do you need to know?

Some people believe that drinking cold water is a bad habit that can harm your long-term health. However, according to a March 2023 report on Healthline.com, there’s no evidence that drinking cold water is bad for your health. But the report added that there are some health conditions that drinking cold water can aggravate as drinking cold water was linked with triggering migraine in people who already experience migraine, per a 2001 study published in PubMed.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.