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Winter (bathing) time: ice bathing and healthy alternatives

Pastor Kneipp showed us how it was done in his day in the ice-cold Danube, thereby completely curing his tuberculosis: bathing in ice water or swimming in a pool in winter. What happens in the process? The metabolism is activated very quickly and blood sugar levels immediately drop dramatically in order to maintain body temperature. In addition, the much healthier fat metabolism is stimulated at the same time and the immune system is strengthened. Of course, ice bathing is only for the particularly tough and those with absolutely healthy cardiovascular systems. Measured: blood sugar levels drop by 20–30 mg/dl after a cold shower or a jump into a cold pool … now that is news for diabetics too, encouraging them to follow Pastor Kneipp’s example, isn’t it?

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Winter bathing – what to keep in mind

But even if you count yourself among the healthy, it is still important not to overestimate yourself right away and, at first, not to stay in the water for longer than a few seconds or minutes. After all, winter bathing is meant to benefit your health, not endanger it. For this reason, it is also immensely important not to become chilled before entering the water. Therefore: keep warm with warming clothing, just as competitive swimmers do at the Olympics. After jumping into the ice-cold water, please wrap up well again immediately and also keep moving. This minimizes the risk of hypothermia. It is also advisable not to do winter bathing alone – accompanying persons or a swimming group can be helpful if needed.

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The healthy alternatives to ice bathing

What alternatives are there to ice bathing? Another method of activating the metabolism would be contrast bathing in the sauna or a cold shower. However, people with high blood pressure, heart problems, or older individuals should also start this as moderately as possible. At first, it is best to do it only on the arms and legs. It is important not to go to extremes. The rule here is: start slowly and very gradually increase the cold treatment over the entire area of the extremities.

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Another option is the following method: Take an ice pack or an ice-cold stainless-steel thermos flask from the freezer with both hands, hold it firmly with both hands, and perform the exercise regularly as follows: Move your head slowly back and forth (not too quickly, so that no neck injuries occur). Since our hands, after the lips, are the second most important sensors for perceiving cold, the brain is signaled via the hands that it is so cold that the brown fat cells can be activated and increasingly come into action. Through all these methods, our body’s own heating system can be increasingly set in motion and consume additional energy through increased sugar and fat burning. In nutritional science, this is therefore often referred to as a thermogenic lifestyle or, in the spirit of Pastor Kneipp, hardening.

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