Trying to strengthen my immune system against sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, I embarked on a unique experiment involving cold exposure therapy.
The decision to delve into this unexplored territory was prompted by my yoga teacher telling me about the benefits she herself felt from activating brown fat. She and her team organize something like day retreats, to bathe in icy water and practice the Wim Hof breathing. I was intrigued enough to start reading about the topic and decided to give it a try. The results were certainly chilling…
Table of Contents
What is cold exposure therapy?
Cold exposure therapy encompasses a spectrum of practices, including cold showers, ice baths, open water swimming, and cold climate walks. Typically, the goal is to improve energy expenditure and enhance metabolic health. The fundamental mechanism revolves around heat production, known as thermogenesis, which demands increased energy expenditure. As Dr. Mehmet Yildiz explains in his article on brown fat, he himself used this technique:
I used cold therapy in two ways. For me, the most significant contributor to the increase in my brown fat was daily cold showers.
Discovering Wim Hof’s cold method
It was quite interesting to delve into how to use cold exposure therapy and discover that many people are using it to improve their health. In fact, I read Wim Hof’s first book about his experience. Since the age of 12, I’ve been practicing yoga and firsthand know different yogic breathing techniques. Therefore, when I started reading this book fragment mentioning one of yoga’s most powerful breaths, I decided I had to try this and learn more about it, to write with real and experienced knowledge.
As Kat Brancato explains in this story, Wim Hof’s technique is actually based on three pillars:
- Breathing
- Cold Therapy
- Commitment
But in this article, I want to focus on the second option and try to find scientific evidence to support it without the need to include more variables. Breathing and commitment really depend on each individual, so deeper research and even a study with different types of people would be needed to objectively verify the benefits.
Brown fat: a key player
Digging into the science, I realized that brown fat (brown adipose tissue – BAT) occupies a central place. Unlike its white adipose tissue counterpart (WAT), BAT has unique characteristics, such as higher metabolic activity. And it is this brown fat that allows us to survive in extreme winter conditions. The role of brown fat in thermogenesis involves heat generation, activated through the sympathetic nervous system and the release of noradrenaline.
Importance of brown fat for humans
The importance of brown fat is more pronounced during childhood and gradually decreases as we age. However, small deposits persist into adulthood, especially around the neck and upper shoulders. Measurement of brown fat volume is based on BAT metabolic activity, often assessed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. Studies show increased BAT activity in humans subjected to cold acclimatization.
Impact of BAT activation on energy expenditure
While the estimated mass of BAT in adults is relatively small, ranging from 10 to 300 g, its contribution to resting energy expenditure is notable. During brief cold exposure, glucose uptake per gram of BAT exceeds that of skeletal muscle. However, considering the large mass difference between skeletal muscle and BAT, the overall impact on metabolism is rather small.
My conclusion
Cold exposure therapies are based on the mechanism of BAT activation. Seasonal temperature changes correlate with increased BAT activity. However, the overall contribution of cold-induced BAT activation to total energy expenditure in adults remains relatively small. The justification for these therapies may be valid at the cellular level, but the impact on whole-body energy expenditure is minimal.
And, on the other hand, we don’t know to what extent activation of noradrenaline, the neurotransmitter with direct impact on the heart, may have negative effects on health.
As in everything, we have to continue exploring the internal world of the human being. And the only thing we can take for granted is:
I know that I know nothing. – Socrates
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