Wim Hof (The Ice-Man): Revolutionizing Medicine through Meditation; Using the Mind to Control the Immune System & Nervous System; Mental Health; Epi-genetics; & the Science of the Wim Hof Method

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According to the Proceedings of the National Academy for Sciences (PNAS) of the United States: It has long been presumed that it was NOT possible to voluntarily influence the Autonomic Nervous System & Innate Immune System. In 2014, a peer reviewed study that was published after Wim Hof demonstrated that through practicing the Wim Hof Method (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCaZQqAs9I&t=1s), a self developed technique that involves a combination of breathing, cold exposure & meditation, the sympathetic nervous system & immune system CAN indeed be voluntarily influenced. Here is the link to this study:(https://www.pnas.org/content/111/20/7379).

In today's episode, we're sitting down with the Ice-Man himself! Wim owns 26 official Guinness World Records, all of which are beyond comprehension to most who hear them! In 2007 he climbed 22,000ft up Mount Everest in only shorts & shoes. In 2009 he ran a full marathon in the Arctic circle in temperatures close to -20°C, wearing only a pair of shorts and having not trained at all. In 2011, Wim broke his own cold-endurance record, remaining submerged neck-deep in an ice bath for 112 minutes. The same year he completed another marathon without training, this time in the Namibian desert in temperatures of up to 40°C, without drinking a drop of water! 

I made sure to study EVERY peer-reviewed study ever published on Wim before this interview (links to these studies are below). Wim & I discussed how he is revolutionizing medicine & medical science through meditation; How it is possible to use the mind to control the immune system & nervous system; mental health; epi-genetics; & the Science of the Wim Hof Method. P

RESEARCH:

2018

Article: “Brain over body”–A study on the willful regulation of autonomic function during cold exposure

Authors: O. Muzik, K. Reilly, V. Diwadkar - Wayne State Univeristy School of Medicine Summary: In this paper, a brain imaging study was conducted to measure the relative contributions of the brain and the periphery that endow the Iceman to withstand the cold using his Wim Hof Method techniques. The results provide compelling evidence for the primacy of the brain (CNS) rather than the body (peripheral mechanisms) in mediating the Iceman's responses to cold exposure. They also suggest the compelling possibility that the WHM might allow practitioners to develop higher level of control over key components of the autonomous system, with implications for lifestyle interventions that might ameliorate multiple clinical syndromes.

2015

Article: The Role of Outcome Expectancies for a Training Program Consisting of Meditation, Breathing Exercises, and Cold Exposure on the Response to Endotoxin Administration: a Proof-of-Principle Study

Authors: H. van Middendorp, M. Kox, P. Pickkers, A.W.M. Evers - Radboud University Medical Centre Summary: This paper adds to a previous study, published in 2014, on the ability to voluntarily influence the physiological stress response in healthy men to experimentally induced inflammation, after WHM training. It is a proof-of-principle study that investigated how one’s expectancies might play a role in treatment outcome. Indications were found that generalized outcome expectancy optimism is a potential determinant of the autonomic and immune response to induced inflammation after training.

2014

• Article: Voluntary Activation of The Sympathetic Nervous System and Attenuation of the Innate Immune Response In Humans
  
  Authors: M. Kox, P. Pickkers et al. - Radboud University Medical Center (published in PNAS) Summary: In this paper, the effects of the Wim Hof Method on the autonomic nervous system and innate immune response are evaluated. A group of twelve people was trained with the Wim Hof Method before undergoing an experiment to induce inflammation, normally resulting in flu-like symptoms. Compared to a control group who were not trained in the Wim Hof Method, the trained participants showed fewer flu-like symptoms, lower levels of proinflammatory mediators, and increased plasma epinephrine levels. In conclusion, the trained group was able to voluntarily activate their sympathetic nervous system.

 

• Article: Controlled Hyperventilation After Training May Accelerate Altitude Acclimatization
  
  Authors: G. Buijze, M.T. Hopman Summary: This report deals with the effects of the Wim Hof Method on acute mountain sickness (AMS). During an expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro, a group of 26 trekkers who were trained in the Wim Hof Method used the breathing techniques to largely prevent and, if needed, reverse symptoms of AMS.

 

• Article: Frequent Extreme Cold Exposure and Brown Fat and Cold-Induced Thermogenesis: A Study in a Monozygotic Twin
  
  Authors: J. Vosselman, W.D. van Marken-Lichtenbeld - Maastricht University Medical Center Summary: This study tested the effects of a lifestyle with frequent exposure to extreme cold on brown adipose tissue (BAT) and cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT). The experiment compared Wim Hof, who is used to extreme cold exposure, to his monozygotic twin brother who isn’t. Both used a g-Tummo like breathing technique. The results showed no significant difference in BAT or CIT between the two subjects. However, Wim’s core temperature dropped less compared to his brother and his subjective response to the cold temperature was more positive. Furthermore, the body heat generated of both brothers was considerably higher than the average person. Thus, it seems that g-Tummo like breathing during cold exposure might cause additional heat production.

2012 

Article: The Influence of Concentration/meditation on Autonomic Nervous System Activity and the Innate Immune Response: A Case Study

Authors: M. Kox, M. Hopman, P. Pickkers. et al. - Radboud University Medical Center Summary: This case-study research was conducted after Wim Hof claimed he could influence his autonomic nervous system and thereby his innate immune response. His inflammatory response was measured during an 80-minute full body ice immersion and practicing the Wim Hof Method concentration technique. In addition, an endotoxemia experiment was conducted to study Wim’s in vivo innate immune response. The results showed how the techniques of the Wim Hof Method seemed to evoke a controlled stress response. This response is characterized by sympathetic nervous system activation, which seems to attenuate the innate immune system. Here, Wim Hof proved he was able to influence his a

2009

Letter: Blood tests during meditation and breathing exercises in New York led by Dr. K. Kamler & G. Stewart

Summary: During Wim’s world record attempt of full ice immersion wearing only shorts, he swallowed a vital sense monitor capsule to measure his core temperature. His core temperature started at 98.6 °F and dropped to 88 °F after 75 minutes of cold immersion. Remarkably, his temperature rose again to 94 °F within the next 20 minutes. Standard medical dogma states that once your core temperature falls below 90 °F, your body is not able to warm itself again. Thus, if no external source of heat is provided, your temperature will continue to spiral downward and you will eventually die of hypothermia. However, Wim proved he was able to raise his core temperature from 88 °F to 94 °F by using the Wim Hof Method techniques

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034215/)

 

2019 - Research currently being conducted:

• Motivation and Experiences of WHM Practioners
  
  RMIT University in Australia has conducted a survey study, exploring the motivation and experiences of Wim Hof Method practitioners worldwide. This will offer insight into 1) the positive impact of practicing the WHM on health & wellbeing and 2) any potential adverse effects, which in turn improves safety protocols. The data is currently being analyzed.
• Inflammation & Pain
  
  In the Netherlands, Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen is completing a new study about the effects of the various components of the WHM on inflammation and pain.
• Metabolic Activity
  
  Kenkodo Metabolomic Discoveries in Germany is working closely with Radboud UMC. They are analyzing blood samples that have been taken by Radboud UMC in previous studies. Using this data, they seek to deepen the understanding of the metabolic activity in blood cells when practicing the WHM. Its various parameters can provide new insight into shifts in metabolic rate.
• Auto-immune Disease
  
  The Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC) in the Netherlands is conducting a study into the effects of the WHM on inflammation and quality of life of people with Spondylitis.
• Brain Activity
  
  Wayne State University in Michigan, USA, is measuring the effect of the WHM on brain activity. This research consists of 2 parts: 1. Effects of isolated cold exposure 2. Effects of cold exposure combined with WHM breathing exercises and mind-set
• Hof wore a water perfusion suit, which continuously pumps ice cold water in and out of tubes in the suit, while lying in fMRI and PET machines. They also monitored his heart and metabolic rates.
• “I was heating the water at first,” he said.

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You can find Wim Hof on Social Media:

Instagram: @iceman_hof

YouTube: Wim Hof

Facebook: Wim Hof

Wim's website: https://www.wimhofmethod.com