Will hot tea cool you down on a hot day?

[Sinisterniik]

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one reading this NPR nugget.

Unsurprisingly, all of the user comments on NPR call the article “a load of old rubbish”. The internets yield conflicting reports, but I did track down a scientific study (that’s got a bit too much jargon for me to read through). Here’s their conclusion:

CONCLUSION:

Under conditions permitting full sweat evaporation, body heat storage is lower with warm water ingestion, likely because of disproportionate modulations in sweat output arising from warm-sensitive thermosensors in the esophagus/stomach. Local temperature changes of the rectum following fluid ingestion exacerbate the previously identified error of thermometric heat storage estimations.

Well that certainly doesn’t sound definitive… So what’s the real answer?

[barbitu8]

Not all the comments called the NPR report rubbish. Re-read fennic’s comment, and also JahJackson. It does appear that NPR’s reasoning was incomplete, but the conclusion was correct.

[Morgenstern]

Speaking from experience, ice water does a better job of cooling me down than a hot drink would. I don’t need a hot drink (as the article suggests) to start sweating on a hot day.

Google hit on this little bit of info on the subject.
http://www.sennir.co.uk/Journal/Does_Tea_Cool_You_Down

[Hermitian]

Under conditions permitting full sweat evaporation…

How many places is that applicable? Just about anytime you see someone hot, they are covered in sweat (outside of a dessert). That means their sweat is not evaporating effectively. More sweat won’t help them cool off more.

This is like saying “ignoring air resistance and gravity, my system works great!”

[Sinisterniik]

I don’t really listen to NPR for science stories, btw. Not only should I drink hot tea on a hot day, but I should do it in brutal, stagnant air.