5 ms·

If you are interested in this topic (inflammation prevention and reduction), take a look at the Wim Hof method (the Iceman). In its simplest form, it consists o

by Daril 3y ago

If you are interested in this topic (inflammation prevention and reduction), take a look at the Wim Hof method (the Iceman). In its simplest form, it consists of two simple techniques: cold exposure and deep breathing with hyper-oxygenation. Anyone can do it, whatever their age or physical condition.

Broken_Hippo 3y ago
In general, the best thing about this is that it is unlikely to hurt you. It is unlikely to help you, either, of course. At best, this is in the "studies suggest" but there also isn't anything robust to link it to, well, anything.
- clumsysmurf 3y ago
  > unlikely to hurt you Cold causes vasoconstriction, leading to increase in arterial blood pressure. Might not be good for some people.
- mandmandam 3y ago
  > It is unlikely to help you, either, of course I don't think that's true, or fair to say... > there also isn't anything robust to link it to, well, anything. That's not really fair either. Wim Hof has been working with scientists for decades, and there are entire chapters in textbooks about how he has helped develop our understanding of physiology [0]. Read the comments there! See https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science for more links. There's a lot of interesting things being learned. I am biased, because after many years and many attempts to quit tobacco, I quit forever within a week of starting Wim Hof. It was so much less effort. I didn't even spend any money - just YouTube videos and a free app were enough. I've also gone from someone who hates the winter to someone who quite enjoys it - another huge quality of life bump. It's real easy to see how effective the method is--you just do it. Maybe it didn't work for you, but ignoring the testimony of thousands of people (and significant actual research) seems like a weird grudg. 0 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM
  - esperent 3y ago
    Not to discount those studies, but it's best to look outside of the main website for a balanced view. If there were ten studies showing the Wim Hof method works, and five hundred showing it doesn't, which studies do you think wimhofmethod.com would choose to link to? This is why you need to find an unconnected source. For example: https://www.webmd.com/balance/wim-hof-breathing-technique https://www.webmd.com/balance/wim-hof-breathing-technique Reading through that gives the more expected info: studies are mostly inconclusive and of small sample size.
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      From your own link: > Two studies have had significant, promising results. One had a small group of people practice the technique for eight weeks while they prepared to travel to Antarctica. They didn’t find significant chemical changes, but that may be due to the small sample size. They did, however, find that people’s reported stress levels and depressive symptoms had significantly decreased thanks to the technique. > Another study injected people with E. coli endotoxin. Those who had been practicing the Wim Hof technique had fewer symptoms and better overall immune responses than those who hadn’t. This isn't a case of there being no there there. More studies would be great but let's not pretend this is woo. Your link also doesn't show that there are many studies the Wim Hof website are ignoring, so that's a really weird point to try and make. Would you prefer that I link to some other collection of the same exact links?
  - jb1991 3y ago
    There is also evidence that Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle, as he has a twin brother with similar responses, despite that his brother leads a sedentary lifestyle without any of the practices to cold exposure of his brother. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof#Resistance_to_cold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof#Resistance_to_cold
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      > There is also evidence that Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle I think you're misinterpreting the point of that study. "A lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme cold does not seem to affect BAT activity and CIT (cold-induced thermogenesis)" is not the same thing as "Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle." Wim teaches people to do what he does. He has trained people to do some of the things he does, like their blood killing E. Coli (!), or bringing 70+ year olds up mountains in their boxers (!). I know from personal experience that those methods increase resistance to cold. But you don't need to rely on my testimony, there's video of him teaching people this stuff. It's not a trick.

by Daril 3y ago

Broken_Hippo 3y ago

In general, the best thing about this is that it is unlikely to hurt you. It is unlikely to help you, either, of course. At best, this is in the "studies suggest" but there also isn't anything robust to link it to, well, anything.

clumsysmurf 3y ago
> unlikely to hurt you Cold causes vasoconstriction, leading to increase in arterial blood pressure. Might not be good for some people.
mandmandam 3y ago
> It is unlikely to help you, either, of course I don't think that's true, or fair to say... > there also isn't anything robust to link it to, well, anything. That's not really fair either. Wim Hof has been working with scientists for decades, and there are entire chapters in textbooks about how he has helped develop our understanding of physiology [0]. Read the comments there! See https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science for more links. There's a lot of interesting things being learned. I am biased, because after many years and many attempts to quit tobacco, I quit forever within a week of starting Wim Hof. It was so much less effort. I didn't even spend any money - just YouTube videos and a free app were enough. I've also gone from someone who hates the winter to someone who quite enjoys it - another huge quality of life bump. It's real easy to see how effective the method is--you just do it. Maybe it didn't work for you, but ignoring the testimony of thousands of people (and significant actual research) seems like a weird grudg. 0 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM
- esperent 3y ago
  Not to discount those studies, but it's best to look outside of the main website for a balanced view. If there were ten studies showing the Wim Hof method works, and five hundred showing it doesn't, which studies do you think wimhofmethod.com would choose to link to? This is why you need to find an unconnected source. For example: https://www.webmd.com/balance/wim-hof-breathing-technique https://www.webmd.com/balance/wim-hof-breathing-technique Reading through that gives the more expected info: studies are mostly inconclusive and of small sample size.
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    From your own link: > Two studies have had significant, promising results. One had a small group of people practice the technique for eight weeks while they prepared to travel to Antarctica. They didn’t find significant chemical changes, but that may be due to the small sample size. They did, however, find that people’s reported stress levels and depressive symptoms had significantly decreased thanks to the technique. > Another study injected people with E. coli endotoxin. Those who had been practicing the Wim Hof technique had fewer symptoms and better overall immune responses than those who hadn’t. This isn't a case of there being no there there. More studies would be great but let's not pretend this is woo. Your link also doesn't show that there are many studies the Wim Hof website are ignoring, so that's a really weird point to try and make. Would you prefer that I link to some other collection of the same exact links?
- jb1991 3y ago
  There is also evidence that Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle, as he has a twin brother with similar responses, despite that his brother leads a sedentary lifestyle without any of the practices to cold exposure of his brother. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof#Resistance_to_cold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof#Resistance_to_cold
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    > There is also evidence that Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle I think you're misinterpreting the point of that study. "A lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme cold does not seem to affect BAT activity and CIT (cold-induced thermogenesis)" is not the same thing as "Wim Hof's abilities are not related to his lifestyle." Wim teaches people to do what he does. He has trained people to do some of the things he does, like their blood killing E. Coli (!), or bringing 70+ year olds up mountains in their boxers (!). I know from personal experience that those methods increase resistance to cold. But you don't need to rely on my testimony, there's video of him teaching people this stuff. It's not a trick.