I have seen this article shared numerous times by followers of the Wim Hof Method, and the comments associated with it are at times ambiguous to say the least. Here is my opinion:
Does the article present a beneficial medical use of cold?
Absolutely! And it’s very interesting! It can apparently save lives. Let’s be careful though, we’re only talking about a handful of people for now.
Does the protocol presented in this article have anything to do with the Wim Hof Method?
Absolutely not ! (Or very remotely…)
Why?
The protocol consists of immersing patients in hypothermia: 48 hours at 34.5˚C !!! If you go into hypothermia while practicing the Wim Hof Method, you missed something… you went too far, for example. Instructors are supposed to educate participants about the afterdrop phenomenon, in order to prevent it. So I’m not even talking about hypothermia which is not a pleasant experience, and can be very dangerous (described in the article).
By practicing the Wim Hof Method, you learn to “awaken your inner fire”, to maintain your internal heat when exposure to cold is prolonged (during a winter walk, for example). You don’t learn to go into hypothermia.
Furthermore, the Wim Hof Method consists of practicing three pillars. However, in this protocol:
1- breathing: patients cannot breathe (they are too sick for that);
2- exposure to cold: they are hypothermic, which is not the desired goal of the Wim Hof Method;
3- mindset: it is unlikely that the patients are doing any mindset exercises.
Conclusion : This protocol is interesting, it does involve cold exposure but it has nothing to do with the Wim Hof Method. All cold exposure are not equal. If we start to associate any kind of cold exposure that induces a positive outcome with the Wim Hof Method, then enjoying an ice cream may also be the Wim Hof Method. Ridiculous, isn’t it?
Practice well, and be well!
🔥❄️🧠✌️
Sébastien.
Sébastien Zappa, PhD
Oxygen Advantage Master InstructorREBO2T – Practitioner
Wim Hof Method Instructor Level 2
ELDOA Practitioner Level 2
Overall Breathing & Cold Geek, Homo cryopulmosapiens…
Happy to coach you since 2018
Well if you timed the ICU rebreather to wim hoffs patterning without overpressuring the lungs you could probably incorporate his breathing method. Apparently for bacterial infections holding your breath can starve bacteria of oxygen or something.. I remember something about that. There is a video where he was tested by doctors after being injected and he neutralized the stuff.
Hey,
Thanks for your comment. As a bacteriologist myself, I really doubt that breath holds can starve an active infection from O2. Especially, since a lot of these infectious bugs are not obligate aerobes. Nevertheless, breath holds can help produce nitric oxyde, which has an antiviral and antibacterial effects. Is this NO production significant enough to stop and clear and infection? I would not be able to answer, to be honest.
Regarding the second part of your comment, you are referring to the “endotoxin study”. There is a lot of confusion with that study regarding how it is often prsented in the general public. Indeed, subjects were not injected with an active living bacteria but with a “non-living bacterial extract”. So, this study, which is great by the way, does not address the question of “infection” but of “inflammation”.
https://respire-aligne.com/wim-hof-method-and-the-e-coli-confusion/
Bests,
Sébastien.