Plunging into very cold water, deep breathing and practicing mindfulness could reduce the risk of a host of diseases – including cancer, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK set out to test the Wim Hof Method of healthy living – a lifestyle popularized by wellness guru Hof, which includes all of the above.
Results of the new trial showed that the regime significantly reduced signs of inflammation in the body – thought to be the first sign and contributor to a number of diseases, including cancer and asthma.
The scientists analyzed nine studies and found that multiple showed the Whim Hof method significantly increased levels of a protein that fights inflammation, called interleukin-10.
Wim Hof is an eccentric wellness guru who claims dunking in cold water and practicing mindfulness can help the body fight disease.
It also lowered levels of proteins that increase inflammation, called pro-inflammatory cytokines, in participants’ bodies.
The researchers did not conclude, however, that his method had an affect on exercise abilities.
Wim Hof has previously claimed that his extreme lifestyle reduces inflammation.
‘By doing the breathing exercises, you’ll increase the blood flow everywhere in the body and brain, decreasing inflammation,’ he said in 2022.
However if it works, this finding is potentially significant given increasing evidence that inflammation may be a major factor in many chronic diseases.
Inflammation is incredibly helpful in appropriate circumstances, Dr. Hope Ricotti and Dr. Toni Golen from Harvard Women’s Health Watch, wrote for Harvard University’s website.
The health influencer Wim Hof has long argued that cold water therapy and deep breathing fights inflammation in the body – and now a study seems to have proven this to be true
For example, when you get a cut, your body mounts an inflammation response to kill of bacteria that could infect it.
‘But sometimes this immune response occurs when it shouldn’t,’ Ricotti and Golen wrote. It can be trigged repeatedly by stress, obesity or autoimmune disorders.
This sort of chronic inflammation can lead to heart disease, depression, arthritis, cancer and even Alzheimer’s, they wrote.
Wim Hof has his own explanations as to why his methods might improve your health.
He said that putting your body under these stressful conditions allows it to grow stronger in response.
‘We’re always in this state of weakening warmth, covered up in layers of clothing, and never exercising the cardiovascular system. So a cold shower a day keeps the doctor away,’ he previously told DailyMail.com.
Some of the papers included in this review might have been biased, the study’s authors cautioned.
But they wrote to EurekaAlert that their findings offer, ”offering valuable insights into its potential as a complementary approach to wellness’.
