According to exercise physiologist, Ben Greenfield, exposing yourself to cold in the morning before you will be eating a large, blood sugar spiking meal (like at the holidays or before a birthday or celebration dinner will help keep blood sugar from spiking.
While he takes a 10-minute plunge in an ice tub (which most of us don’t have and definitely wouldn’t do) there are other ways to access the benefits of cold exposure. Intermittent cold exposure activates brown fat and balances glucose response.
You can experience similar benefits from dunking your face into a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds or taking a cold shower. I typically end my shower with 60 seconds of cold water and always end washing my face with cold water. He says most of the benefits come anywhere from 30 seconds to a maximum of about 10 minutes of that intense cold exposure so you don’t have to devote much time to this.
You can also reap some of those benefits from simply exercising outside in the cold (55 degrees or colder). However, while it does have some effect, it doesn’t have as much of an impact as that cold water immersion.
Simply starting the day before a feast or celebration with cold water exposure seems like a pretty simple way to manage a blood sugar spike. One caution: if you have any cardiovascular issues, only do this with your doctor’s ok.
Do you ever use cold water exposure? If you have blood sugar issues, would you consider this?
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My husband ends his shower with a cold rinse. He’ll love this info. I’m sorry, but I love a hot shower!
I do too Debbie – so much! Honestly if I didn’t make myself switch to cold to end it I could stay in a hot shower for an hour!
Hmm… I wonder if feeding my livestock in freezing weather counts? I almost always wait to eat until my morning chores are done (at least the feeding ones).
Most definitely, my friend!