Taking a bath of cold water may not be the most pleasant thing in the world – but it is good for health. It can prevent disease and slow cell aging.
A study recently in Advanced Biology proved that it is enough cold water baths to make body cells start the process of Autophagy.
Autophagy is the natural process of cellular regeneration. This process maintains healthy cells, protecting us from disease.
The new investigation, conducted by the University of Ottawa, Canada, found that maintaining diving in cold water for seven consecutive days produces real changes in cell protective functioning.
“Our findings indicate that repeated exposure to cold significantly improves autophagic function, a critical mechanism of cellular protection,” the corresponding author of the study told Glen Kenny.
“This improvement allows cells to better manage stress And it may have important implications for health and longevity, ”he added.
In this study, 10 healthy and physically active men, with an average age of 23 years, plunged into water at 14 ° C one hour a day for one week.
Then the proteins were monitored in the blood of men to see how cold water dives affected the responses to cell stress, including autophagia, inflammation and responses to thermal shock.
Throughout the seven -day study, researchers have observed “striking changes at the cellular level.” Initially, men had a “autophagic dysfunction” indicated by an accumulation of P62 protein. The accumulation of this protein suggests that autophagia was not working properly.
High levels of P62 were observed along with an increase in Caspase-3, an enzyme that plays a key role in apoptosis or cell self-destruction, probably due to cold-induced stress.
On the fourth day of the experience, P62 levels had decreased (though they continued higher than in the base line) and Caspase-3 remained high. Investigators suggest that this is due to the fact that “autophagic responses are not sufficient to counteract cold -induced stress.”
But on the seventh day, Protective autophagic activity surpassed the signaling of cell death.
Researchers theorize that the implications of cold baths go beyond popular use in an athlete’s post-exercise recovery.
Investigators say their conclusions that continuous diving in cold water positively affect autophagia, delaying aging and preventing diseases.
“The main conclusion of the study is that exposure to cold can help prevent disease and, potentially, until it slows aging at the cellular level,” said the investigation leader, Kelli Kingin New Atlas.
