ION Osteopaths

Cold Thermogenesis

The skinny on Cold thermogenesis

 

So Jonathan and I have been recently throwing ourselves into our pool at 6 in the morning. Jonathan goes for the brutal dive in then rapidly swims 4 lengths. Shivers for about 5 mins then gets out. I who can’t stand the thought of freezing water in my ears, ease myself in slowly. Torturous like until I am up to my neck. After about 3 minutes the bliss feeling takes over and I soak for anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes depending on my day. Why you may ask, are we doing this? Well for a few reasons:

1. To practice what we believe to be beneficial, before unleashing it on our people
2. Because the research about doing it is very interesting
3. It actually is quite amazing how great it makes us feel
4. We are completely nuts, clearly.

Let me sum up a few points here so you can get started. Jonathan and I both started by just doing it, and to be honest as long as you do not have any major heart complaints you can just go for the ‘get in the pool’ method. Where we live in Australia in the Gold Coast the pool never really gets that cold. All the recommendations by people ho have been doing this for a lot longer than us is to work your

 

way up to ice baths slowly!

Firstly let me briefly explain thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is a long word for heat production. If you walk quickly or start running you will start to feel your body warming up , you will breath a little faster and you may start sweating etc. This is exercise induced thermogenesis happening. For our bodies to produce heat it must burn calories, most of those calories come from stored fat. As I hate exercise fortunately for me, exercise is not the only way to induce thermogenesis. Cold does it as well. As we drop the temperature around us our bodies will use stored energy to keep us warm. Hence the cold water. Cold water is 24 times more effective at dropping the temperature around us than air, So making your environment cold will induce cold thermogenesis. By increasing your exposure to cold you will increase your metabolism and that is just the start - it has many other health benefits including the prevention and elimination of metabolic, auto immune and age related illness. Go here to read many studies on this stuff PhysOrg.com Search - thermogenesis – some of these are so interesting! Be warned you could be here for hours!

 

So how cold is cold and how long?

Our pool measures about 12 degrees at 6 in the morning. Jonathan stays in 5 – 8 minutes, I stay in 30 – 45. I have significantly more body fat than him! So once I bliss out I find it quite tolerable, Jonathan would probably get hypothermia if he stayed in for 30 minutes. [caption i

Jonathan, loving it? or is that a grimace?[/caption]   Tim Ferris - promotes ice packs on the back of the neck and belly for 30 mins at night – I tried this once and for me I way prefer to just get in the pool. Others are big fans of cold showers, again I find this so brutal and really unpleasant. Getting into the cold pool is no picnic - but for me I find it much easier than a cold shower blast! I have a cold shower after the pool anyway. Basically find the method that works best for you. But everyone agrees you should go until your skin is pink, you start to shiver or your skin goes numb. Obviously if you feel faint get out at once!      

How will I know if it's working?

Jonathan and I both notice great benefits straight away. If I feel like I am coming down with a cold or a throaty cough I get in in the pool and feel great for the rest of the day. I start the day with such a buzz of energy. We have both had seasonal hay fever which in me has gone and with Jonathan is greatly reduced. Jonathan has lost 4 kg (as if he needed to) and has gained a six pack of defined muscle, he also recovers much quicker from exercise aches and pains. It has also decreased his appetite. But let’s be frank Jonathan does not have any health problems that need addressing. He is nearly 50, his resting pulse is 51 and his blood pressure 98/54 and he has 8 percent body fat. He is genetically blessed and we don’t like him for it. I on the other hand have a slew of all too common health issues. I am insulin resistant, very overweight, have hormonal and anxiety issues. Has CT helped any of those?? Well yes, I have lost 5kg in 12 days, I feel so much better – I am also in ketosis and taking massive amounts of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2 – more on that to come, so for me it is helping but as I am also addressing these issues through a dense nutrient rich diet and nutrient quality supplementation I am not at this point able to separate out what is helping the most. All I know is that since fully adopting this lifestyle 3 months ago I have managed to radically reduce my cholesterol and lose 19 kg in weight. The first 12kg I lost using the HCG protocol – yes it’s a common theme more to come on that soon. The next 5 by going Paleo/bulletproof and taking supplements and CT.

 

 

Should I be on a Ketogenic diet?

If you have been into the ion health clinic in the last couple of weeks you will hear us banging on about a Ketogenic diet.

Basically if you have a major weight issue, cardiac issues, auto immune or metabolic heath problems you should be on a Ketogenic diet until that is resolved or resolving - so for me yes. However if you are just consuming the Standard Australian Diet (SAD – how fitting!) you will still gain great benefits from doing Cold Thermogenesis. You should really cut PolyUnsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) out of your diet for now and ever more – more on this coming soon as well, and do not eat processed junk food. Period.

What about supplements/food?

Apparently there are certain foods that increase the effectiveness of CT. I have only been doing it for 12 days at the posting of this blog and most of these foods I eat anyway. My theory is eat these foods because they are good for you anyway and they are yum – it can’t hurt. These foods are – Dark chocolate, green Tea, turmeric and cinnamon. My final word is, do it, go cautiously, do your own research and let us know if you do and how it’s going, we would seriously love to hear! So here are some links about this CT madness that we have entered into Go her to read Mark Sisson – Primal granddaddy from has fantastic blog marks daily apple and his discussion on the benefits of cold water:http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cold-...#axzz1s7vWHYg1 Ray Cronise at Thermogenex - Fuel the Burn is a former NASA scientist and proponent of cold thermogenesis. He is generally credited with re introducing CT back into the very recent realm of Paleo, health world. Dr. Jack Kruse nureosurgeon and completely nutter – he fell asleep in a bath of ice for 12 hours! He has written extensively on the benefits of cold thermogenesis at COLD THERMOGENESIS 1: THEORY TO PRACTICE BEGINS: - Jack Kruse If you have any concerns please consult with your doctor before taking the plunge Love and above Charlotte xx