We were told that the consumption of certain fruits and vegetables could significantly strengthen our immune system, and prevent us from getting sick. But today, a new technique to stimulate our natural defenses is born. Take out your coats, it may make a little chilly!
We all like to take long hot showers to warm our bodies, especially during the coldest. But this cold that you believe to be your enemy is on the contrary good for your health. From now on, you will no longer take your showers as usual!
Ice baths
You are already shivering because said like that, one would think that it is more a torture than a relaxing bath. But the icy baths have enjoyed a dazzling success for a long time. And the reasons for doing so are not lacking.
Professor Sergei Bubnovskiy, an expert in Chinese medicine from Moscow, strongly recommends foot bathing with ice water daily for about 15 minutes to strengthen the immune system.
The technique
Pour cold water into a basin with a few ice cubes. Soak your feet for at least 10 minutes. Do it every night before going to bed to allow your body to consolidate its natural defenses.
Why Ice Water?
You have certainly seen people swim in the middle of winter. If they do, there is a reason! In reality, there is not one. Indeed, cold showers have several therapeutic properties on the body. They increase levels of antioxidants including glutathione, reduce stress and improve the quality of life in general.
Cold shower stimulates immune system
Cold water is excellent for boosting the immune system by producing white blood cells. An English study reveals that daily intake of cold showers greatly increases their production. The metabolite accelerates during the shower, stimulates the immune system and releases the white blood cells. Their role is to fight diseases and protect the body.
Cold shower fights depressive states
Research at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Virginia reveals that short cold showers can stimulate a part of the brain called "blue spot". This is responsible for the production of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that has the effect of promoting vigilance, attention, emotions, wakefulness, learning, and so on. Noradrenaline can also help fight depression.
Cold shower stimulates glutathione production
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant naturally present and produced by the body. Antioxidants fight the aging of the body's cells, fight disease, prevent cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and help eliminate toxins and free radicals from the body ...
Cold shower improves male fertility
A good reason to push your partner to go take a good shower ... cold! Ice water makes it easier to conceive a baby. The high temperature of the testes considerably reduces the production of spermatozoa. An experiment conducted on men at the University of California consisted of having men take a hot shower daily for a week. The results show that once the hot showers stopped, the amount of sperm produced increased by 491% and the motility of the latter was improved. Okay, we admit, this is certainly not the most pleasant solution, but it is nonetheless a natural method to promote your chances of conceiving.
Other Benefits ...
- The icy foot baths offer the body several other small beneficial benefits, namely:
- The reduction of stress, sleep disorders or insomnia. Indeed, the frozen baths allow you to free your mind and promote your falling asleep.
- The baths of cold water reinvigorate, give a boost to the body and combat the temporary fatigue. They also fight migraines and dizziness.
- Cold water seat baths help prevent hemorrhoids.
- The cold water baths ensure a better quality of the skin, because the skin becomes firmer on contact with the cold.
The cold shower allows the body to burn more calories because the cold stimulates the self-defense mechanism. The body, in contact with the cold, naturally heats up by tapping into its stored energy. This is why we need more food intake in winter than in summer.
Attention: foot baths and cold showers should last only a few minutes, at the risk of suffering from hypothermia.