Wim Hof (the Iceman) on Defeating Extreme Cold & Attenuating the Immune Response

Dr. Rhonda Patrick interviews Wim Hof also known as the "Iceman." Wim holds the world record for the longest ice bath (1 hour and 53 minutes and 12 seconds), just to name one of his many impressive feats. Dr. Patrick and Wim talk a bit about Wim's back story that culminated in him trying out cold water immersion, the relatively recent 2014 scientific publication of the “Wim Hof Method” which includes cold exposure during training, exposure to bacterial endotoxin, Wim's breathing techniques, and meditation (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24799686). The 2014 study demonstrated the effects of just 4 days of training with the “Wim Hof method” on 12 volunteers injected with bacterial endotoxin. Some of the effects include: increased epinephrine, norepinephrine, increased anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10), decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha), increased blood ph to 7.75 (in some cases), and decreased carbon dioxide blood levels. The results of this study hint at some very interesting possibilities that might explain why Wim's technique helps him to endure the cold more, as well as how he was able to suppress his inflammatory response to endotoxin himself.