Are you someone who’d relied on instant water geysers the whole winter season? And, have no plans to let go of warm summer showers? What if you were told there’s a link between cold showers and weight loss? What!?
Has that already happened? We see that weight loss has become one of your priorities. And you think you’ll be motivated after you get answers to one question: Do cold showers burn fat?
It’s understandable how weight loss requires numerous life-changing efforts. So, it’s sensible to base these efforts on credible sources of information. To be more precise, you can’t plan a weight loss regimen considering myths and fallacies. Considering that, this guide aims to examine this topic with a critical approach. Let’s get right into it without further delays.
A Historical Overview
There’s a root cause behind everything. So has it been the case with exposing the human body to cold temperatures for therapeutic reasons. History shows where this concept came from and how it had been used in primitive ages. Based on this information, a comparative analysis can be done to determine how the procedure has evolved till now.
The Term Behind
The ancient therapeutic hypothermia method got its name from a Greek term, the breakdown of which turns out as hypo, meaning under, and therme, meaning heat. Interestingly, this procedure did exist for centuries until it was recognized with such a term.
Existence in Writing
Therapeutic hypothermia was documented in a medical treatise called the Edwin Smith Papyrus for the first time in 3,500 B.C.E. This treatise proposed treatment plans for a broad spectrum of ailments and injuries.
Dr. Phil Jeakl, a science writer with an academic background in neuroscience, makes mention of another ancient textbook regarding hypothermia as a mode of treatment.
This Egyptian compilation revolved around the medical teachings of Imhotep (Pharaoh Zoser’s advisor). Many of the illnesses in this book that were prescribed to be treated with cold exposure were skin irritations.
The Humoral Theory
Down the line, exposing the human body to cold extremities became a means of treatment to balance an irregularity in naturally existing humoral states. This came along in connection with Hippocrates’s theory of four humors.
According to the famous Greek physician, health prevailed as long as the four humors (yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm) remained in equilibrium inside an individual’s body. These humors were also synonymous with physical states like hot, cold, wet, and dry.
Evolution into A Medical Emergency
Modern science considers hypothermia a medical crisis in which bodily temperature reduces beyond 35C. It happens when the body cannot produce heat as fast as it’s losing heat. Immersion into cold water and exposure to cold weather have been identified as the two causative factors.
The Mechanism Behind
When arguing about cold showers for fat burn, it’s important to highlight how efficiently they affect physiological processes contributing to weight loss. There are some assumptions in this regard and properly researched domains. Following is an overview of all the probable physiological processes that could lead to fat burn if stimulated.
Increased Heart Rate
The British Journal of Sports Medicine combined numerous studies on cold water immersion, highlighting three physiological processes it stimulated. Out of this list of three processes, an increased heart rate is one of the processes that could lead to fat burn.
Whether cardio exercise or cold shower exposure, it’s evident that both activities increase cardiac activity. This increase in cardiac activity produces a ripple effect that further increases heart rate (as the British Journal highlighted). And when that happens, blood flow speeds up.
Something is known as the fat burning heart rate has already been introduced into the fitness world in correspondence with weight loss. It is the rate at which an individual’s heart should beat in a minute’s time to achieve optimal fat-burning effects. What happens following clarifies things further. As an individual reaches their fat-burning heart rate, their body starts to burn stored fats more than carbs and sugars.
Faster Metabolism
When the human body is immersed in cold water, be it in the shape and form of a shower, the shivering thermogenesis occurs as a reflex reaction. It produces heat energy to keep the body warm with the rapid movements of skeletal muscles.
So, where does metabolism come in between the whole scenario? The answer to this question has to do with something called brown fat. Brown fat comes into action when the body gets cold.
As a response, this fatty tissue burns calories to produce heat. This type of fat comprises tiny fat droplets and mitochondria (the powerhouse of cells). These powerhouses turn the stored fats inside the white fat tissue to break down and produce heat energy.
How much does a 10 minute cold shower burn fat?
Though techically cold showers increase energy expenditure but that differential is too low to significantly affect any weight loss without a healthy diet based on calorie deficit and physical activity.
If we assume that a cold shower will increase calorie burning by up to 2 calories per minute because of the cold water, a 10 minute cold shower will increase calorie burning by only between 10 to 20 extra calories which is not an effective solution for trimming your waist at all.
Negative Repercussions
Cold exposure can yield almost the same results cardio exercises can produce. However, specific caution should be considered when you plan to omit physical activity and replace it with cold showers. A list of counterarguments supporting restrictions on cold water showers is as follows.
- A research article published in the 2013 issue of Cell Metabolism proposed that the risk of cardiovascular disease could be triggered by cold exposure in mice.
- Dr Sylvia Gonsahm-Bollie, a medical practitioner interested in weight loss, claims that shivering does contribute to calorie burn. Still, scientific evidence must support this outcome to produce measurable results.
- People who’re already suffering from cardiac issues are at risk of experiencing irregular beats (arrhythmia) upon cold water exposure. Furthermore, the air sacs in their lungs could have fluid deposits. This could make way for pulmonary edema.
Final Word
After considering all the research quoted above, the answer to your question (Do cold showers burn fat?) comes differently than expected (i.e., not in the form of a straight yes or no).
Although it does yield weight loss effects, among other benefits documented in History, similar results can be planned with much safer methods. Among these safe methods, exercise and diet management stand out from others.
All in all, cold showers could be incorporated into a weight loss regimen, including exercise and diet, after consultation with a health expert.
