Drinking Cold Drinks

[mr tin]

Han and Uyghurs a like can't help but question my preference of drinking cold drinks with all meals, now that the weather has started to get cold. I always tell them it's a culture thing. But recently a friend informed me that the overwhelming preference for hot drinks in both Sinic and Muslim cultures probably has a scientific basis, one of those allegedly being drinking cold drinks with your meals will cause the fat in your foods to congeal and coat your gastrointestinal systems for less-efficient and slightly more uncomfortable digesting. I also "guessed" that heating drinks has the advantage of killing microbes in the liquid - well, that of course is a fact, my guess being that's one of the reasons why the practice is so widespread. Is anyone more familiar with the origins of this little cultural difference? I'm not sure how valid these types of arguments are.