FIRE AND ICE
Using hyperthermia and hypothermia to get healthier
The Microcellular Level
Chaos and entropy are always battling homeostasis on a cellular level; we are never doing “nothing”, even when we are asleep. With so many things going on at a cellular level constantly it can be dizzying to contemplate trying to influence our cells along with so many other things life requires but we can and this activity may even seem pleasant and low impact.
Vicious prions attack us from the inside like secret assassins inside our cells. Even the word prion sounds scary to me, like an evil alien that would suck out your brain with a straw and in some sense they do. Prions are mis-folded proteins that unfortunately can replicate themselves even though they are mis-folded and dysfunctional. When a protein folds in an incorrect way it can happen spontaneously without reason, at least that is what scientists know now. Most of the time, only the native conformation is produced in the cell but as millions of copies of each protein are made in our lifetimes, a random event may occur leading to a mis-fold then one of these molecules changes to a toxic shape.
These molecules have a bad influence on other molecules and can affect other copies of the same protein and guide their transition into a toxic state. This repetitive loop amplifies the toxicity and leads to a catastrophic ending, eventually killing or impairing cells nearby. A prime example of proteins that catalyze their own conformational change into this harmful form are the prion proteins. They aggregate into beta amyloid plaques and other harmful clumps of different proteins. Prions along with other proteins are responsible for several neurodegenerative diseases that slowly destroy humans such as, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Huntington disease and Parkinson’s disease.
All horrible and seemingly inexorable, what is to be done? Luckily, we do have an auto-correct in our cells, the chaperone proteins. Chaperone cells refold proteins and get rid of ones that need to be gone, like fix-it men going over the house of the cell and repairing it. Another name for chaperone proteins is heat-shock proteins.
The Macro Treatment
Helping our Chaperone proteins flourish is possible through 20–30 minutes in a sauna at a temperature of 163-degree Fahrenheit. The first saunas were thought to originate somewhere in northern Europe around 2,000 BC way before scientific proof existed when only our bodies informed us. Saunas have remained an important part of life to this day in countries including Estonia, Latvia, and Russia, as well as Finland. Saunas, along with exercise and calorie restriction, can also activate chaperone proteins. All these things cause damage to the cells in your body and that damage kicks some of the heat-shock proteins into action.
Immediately they begin to repair those damaged cells by producing large amounts of proteins in your body. Also, they help prevent cell death and strengthen your immune system, prevent disease-causing mutations, repair damaged cells, rehabilitate mis-folded proteins and release more growth hormones. Sauna bathing even helps proper kidney function. Sweating through the pores releases the body’s wastes and reduces the load put on the kidneys. Perspiration is such an effective detoxifier that some doctors recommend Sauna usage to supplement people on kidney dialysis.
Meditation can Conquer Matter-if you practice A LOT
There are several types of heat shock proteins and there are even cold shock proteins that can be used to help us become healthier. A well-functioning immune system protects us against viruses and bacteria but over-activation of the immune system can cause tissue and organ damage. Our immune system is, in part, controlled by the autonomic nervous system, a system which cannot be deliberately influenced by our mind, supposedly. Professor Peter Pickkers and PhD candidate Matthijs Kox investigated effects of the autonomic nervous system on the immune response by administering endotoxin, a dead cell-wall component of bacteria, to healthy volunteers. Their immune system reacted as if real live bacteria had entered the body and mounted an immune response characterized by the production of inflammatory mediators and flu-like symptoms of fever, chills, and headache. These experiments are completely safe and have been performed on more than 240 subjects in their center.”
Wim Hof, also known as the ice man, is well known for his remarkable activities in extremely low temperatures. Hof claims that he can influence his autonomic nervous system and thereby suppress his immune response through concentration and meditation. In an experiment investigating this, Hof was administered endotoxin while practicing his concentration and meditation technique. During this time various measurements were performed on Hof, including brain activity, autonomic nervous system activity and inflammatory mediators in the blood.
Pickkers said: “After endotoxin administration, the increase of the stress hormone cortisol in Hof was much more pronounced compared to other healthy volunteers. We know that this hormone is released in response to increased autonomic nervous system activity and that it suppresses the immune response. However, the levels of inflammatory mediators in Hof’s blood were much lower. On average, Hof’s immune response was decreased by 50 percent compared to other healthy volunteers. In addition, hardly any flu-like symptoms were observed. Results such as these are remarkable but they have only been obtained in a single individual and therefore cannot serve as scientific evidence for the hypothesis that the autonomic nervous system and the immune response can be influenced through concentration and meditation techniques. Further research is warranted in which a group of volunteers that have acquired Hof’s concentration and meditation techniques is compared to a group that has not mastered these techniques.”
If you go through the you tube below and you need to breathe during a hold -do so.
When you alternate exposing your body to hot and cold temperatures, it is called contrast therapy. There are so many benefits to this if you can overcome the discomfort of these extreme stimuli and even more if you gain meditation technique as strong and well-practiced as Wim Hof’s. Contrast therapy has been shown to help clinical depression and rheumatoid arthritis, and preventing epileptic seizures from brain injuries (Atkins et al., 2010).
The large amount of protein produced in your body from stimulating the chaperone proteins through hot and cold therapies then helps you build up a tolerance for future stressors. Self-care and intense training to accomplish this result may feel like a slow, repetitive, and sometimes boring process that is changing nothing but it is. I like to compare it to filling a bucket with an eye dropper if you are consistent eventually the bucket will be full but consistency is key and eventually an overall feeling of wellness will emerge if you can keep pushing through a daily routine of exercise, stretching and time in the sauna.
The wonderful thing about the sauna is some people due to chronic disease, disability or other reasons may not be able to work out but they can make some healing steps by sitting in a sauna for 20–30 minutes. If you are new to saunas, it is important to drink PLENTY of water and make sure people know you are going into the sauna and need someone to check on you in 10 minutes to see how you are doing. We can all benefit from sitting in a sauna every day if we have time or just one day a week. We may not cure everything completely but progress will made, some healing will happen and energy will be gained.
