The Proof with Simon Hill Science of ice baths, brown fat and metabolism | Susanna Soeberg, PhD
Episode #250. Ice baths and other forms of cold water exposure have gained a huge amount of traction in the past few years. I’m joined by expert Dr Susanna Søberg to examine what the science says – is cold water exposure safe? What does the research say about the bold health claims? Is brown fat just a buzzword? How do you safely and effectively implement hot and cold exposure into your life? Dr Søberg answers these questions and many more in this three-hour deep dive into cold water immersion.
Specifically, we discuss:
- Intro (00:00)
- The tradition of winter swimming (01:52)
- Cold water swimming and activating brown fat (09:44)
- Dr. Søburg's personal experience with cold water bathing (23:13)
- Funding hurdles and potential benefits of cold water immersion (25:34)
- Cold water immersion and the body's response (33:36)
- Brown fat activation and more physiological responses (40:45)
- What is brown fat? (45:54)
- Is brown fat genetic? (55:28)
- Benefits of activating brown fat (58:32)
- Winter swimming, sauna, and disease: what the data says (1:01:10)
- Metabolism and shivering (1:13:01)
- Brown fat activation and muscle building (1:25:06)
- Who has more brown fat: Women or Men? (1:36:33)
- Chronic inflammation, exercise, and more benefits of deliberate cold exposure (1:46:11)
- Cold water immersion for beginners (2:06:18)
- The minimum threshold for health benefits using cold and heat (2:15:03)
- Clothes or no clothes? (2:22:57)
- Temperature regulation and gender differences (2:26:30)
- Safety protocols & understanding ice plunging lingo (2:34:08)
- Outro (2:47:18)
To connect with Dr Susanna Søberg, you can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Head to her website, www.soeberginstitute.com, to learn more about Dr Søberg’s work – including her research and her book Winter Swimming. Friends of The Proof can also receive a 10% discount on her Thermalist course with code SIMONHILL.
Discover more insights and supporting resources in the full show notes.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)
Creator of theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
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