March 13, 2016
OBVIOUSLY MORALLY STRONGER:
Can the cold make you stronger? (Sophie Knight, 13 March 2016, The Guardian)Hof's belief is that cold exposure and breathing exercises can enable people to tap into a neglected part of their brain and control their nervous systems, staving off illness and disease. "Eighteen years ago I said in my book that these techniques could influence the immune system," he says. "If I had said that on TV, people would have told me I was crazy."
Some will remain sceptical, but Hof's claims have been supported by limited scientific studies. Two years ago, researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands confirmed that he and 12 of his students could consciously control their autonomic nervous system and innate immune response.
The doctors injected the men with an endotoxin, which usually elicits flu-like symptoms, while they practised Hof's meditation and breathing techniques. While the control group sweated and shivered, Hof's group were asymptomatic. The doctors found that their bodies had released epinephrine, triggering a flood of anti-inflammatory agents that fought off the endotoxin.
The authors of the study said that the finding could have huge implications for people suffering autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. Hof himself responded by taking people with Crohn's disease and coronary problems up and down Mount Kilimanjaro in 48 hours after training them last year.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 13, 2016 6:32 AM