India, Dec. 26 -- Clearing the bowel regularly is essential for good health, and water is commonly known to help with the process.

Many believe warm water to be particularly beneficial for the purpose, and Dr Kunal Sood, a Maryland-based physician in Anesthesiology and Interventional Pain Medicine, agrees.

Taking to Instagram on 26 December, Dr Sood reacted to a video in which a woman recommends drinking warm water for three days to get rid of constipation.

Warm water is not a laxative, he clarified, and drinking it to cure constipation "sounds like a home remedy." However, there is "real physiology" behind why it can help the gut to move things more efficiently.

"Warm water can gently stimulate the gastrocolic reflex," shared Dr Sood...