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Ice Baths: To Dip Or Not To Dip?

Plus: what eating dandelions will do to your body

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The 10almonds Team
April 26, 2024

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

Did you know? Copper has natural antimicrobial properties, and kills a lot of nasties just by contact.

Brass (an alloy of copper and zinc) shares these properties by virtue of its copper content, making it the perfect metal to use for doorhandles and more.

Time to give your house a steampunk makeover?

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

  • Cold water immersion can be dangerous and can kill people, but there is a big difference between falling into an icy lake, and taking a cold dip in the comfort and safety of your bathroom.

    • 10–15 minutes per day in an ice bath that’s 10–15℃, which for Americans is 50–59℉, is generally considered (for most people) safe, sufficient, and beneficial.

    • Today’s main feature looks at the science of this, who should not take ice baths, and for the rest of us, what benefits we can expect

  • As we age, our collagen levels tend to get depleted more easily. Collagen is important not just for youthful good looks, but also for the health of bones and joints

    • Today’s sponsor NativePath are offering high-quality collagen without additives or harmful impurities

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

🤫 A WORD TO THE WISE

How stigma perpetuates substance use

…and what we can do about it if we really want to minimize addictions

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Eating Dandelions Will Do This To Your Body (4:52)

Fun fact: the word for “dandelion” in several languages is some variation on a literal equivalent of “piss-in-bed” (perhaps most well-known being the French “pissenlit”).

In reality, it won’t affect bladder control (although it is a diuretic), and/but it has a stack of notable beneficial medical properties:

Dandy menu:

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

❓ MYSTERY ITEM

Cleanliness Is Key

Hint: today’s mystery item is the key to avoiding unnecessary sharing of germs between yourself and countless strangers

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

❄️ MAIN FEATURE

Many Are Cold, But Few Are Frozen

We asked you for your (health-related) view of ice baths, and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses:

  • About 31% said “ice baths are great for the health; we should take them”

  • About 29% said “ice baths’ risks outweigh their few benefits”

  • About 26% said “ice baths’ benefits outweigh their few risks”

  • About 14% said “ice baths are dangerous and can kill you; best avoided”

So what does the science say?

Freezing water is very dangerous: True or False?

True! Water close to freezing point is indeed very dangerous, and can most certainly kill you.

Fun fact, though: many such people are still saveable with timely medical intervention, in part because the same hypothermia that is killing them also slows down the process* of death

Source (and science) for both parts of that:

*and biologically speaking, death is a process, not an event, by the way. But we don’t have room for that today!

(unless you die in some sudden violent way, such as a powerful explosion that destroys your brain instantly; then it’s an event)

Ice baths are thus also very dangerous: True or False?

False! Assuming that they are undertaken responsibly and you have no chronic diseases that make it more dangerous for you.

What does “undertaken responsibly” mean?

Firstly, the temperature should not be near freezing. It should be 10–15℃, which for Americans is 50–59℉.

You can get a bath thermometer to check this, by the way. Here’s an example product on Amazon.

Secondly, your ice bath should last no more than 10–15 minutes. This is not a place to go to sleep.

What chronic diseases would make it dangerous?

Do check with your doctor if you have any doubts, as no list we make can be exhaustive and we don’t know your personal medical history, but the main culprits are:

  • Cardiovascular disease

  • Hypertension

  • Diabetes (any type)

The first two are for heart attack risk; the latter is because diabetes can affect core temperature regulation.

Ice baths are good for the heart: True or False?

True or False depending on how they’re done, and your health before starting.

For most people, undertaking ice baths responsibly, repeated ice bath use causes the cardiovascular system to adapt to better maintain homeostasis when subjected to thermal shock (i.e. sudden rapid changes in temperature).

And because that was a small study, here’s a big research review with a lot of data; just scroll to where it has the heading“Specific thermoregulative adaptations to regular exposure to cold air and/or cold water exposure“ for many examples and much discussion:

Ice baths are good against inflammation: True or False?

True! Here’s one example:

Uric acid and glutathione levels (important markers of chronic inflammation) are also significantly affected:

Want to know more?

That’s all we have room for today, but check out our previous “Expert Insights” main feature looking at Wim Hof’s work in cryotherapy:

Enjoy!

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

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📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

The Modern Art and Science of Mobility – by Aurélien Broussal-Derval

We've reviewed mobility books before, so what makes this one stand out?

We'll be honest: the illustrations are lovely.

The science, the information, the exercises, the routines, the programs... All these things are excellent too, but these can be found in many a book.

What can't usually be found is very beautiful (yet no less clear) watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches as anatomical illustrations.

There are photos too (also of high quality), but the artistry of the paintings and sketches is what makes the reader want to spend time perusing the books.

At least, that's what this reviewer found! Because it's all very well having access to a lot of information (and indeed, I read so much), but making it enjoyable increases the chances of rereading it much more often.

As for the rest of the content, the book’s information is divided in categories:

  1. Pain (what causes it, what it means, and how to manage it)

  2. Breathing (yes, a whole section devoted to this, and it is aligned heavily to posture also, as well as psychological state and the effect of stress on tension, inflammation, and more)

  3. Movement (this is mostly about kinds of movement and ranges of movement)

  4. Mobility (this is about aggregating movements as a fully mobile human)

So, each builds on from the previous because any pain needs addressing before anything else, breathing (and with it, posture) comes next, then we learn about movement, then we bring it all together for mobility.

Bottom line: this is a beautiful and comprehensive book that will make learning a joy

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Wishing you a day full of vitality today and every day,

The 10almonds Team