NEW ORLEANS — It's one of the latest wellness trends, taking a plunge into very cold water for several minutes.
So, why are people doing this?
Can it help not only with aches and pain, but also with your weight loss goal?
“There is nothing on the surface of the earth that will remove calories from your body, or burn fat at the rate that getting in cold water will,” said Gary Brecka in a Life Fuel TV post on TikTok.
His video is circulating about why multi-gold medal Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, had to eat thousands more calories when swimming in a pool four degrees colder.
And it's one of the benefits Tom Teachworth says he and his wife have noticed doing cold-water plunges a few times a week.
“It really relieves some inflammation. I've noticed probably in the past six weeks since I started coming, I've probably lost about 10 to 12 pounds. I just enjoyed how I felt afterwards. You sleep a lot better. You're more relaxed,” said Teachworth, 64.
Amanda Martiny changed her career as a registered nurse caring for sick patients, to open Melt, a place where people can do contrast therapy, going from a private infrared sauna to a plunge in 40-degree water.
“The wellness side,” Amanda Martiny said is the reason she started Melt. “So, health care is really, you know, it's not preventative medicine. So, seeing this side of it really, really intrigued me and I dove in.”
She, and another owner, say people are coming back for more and more. They even take portable tubs to big, citywide events to let people give it a try.
“A lot of people are coming for recovery, and so they did it when they were younger with sports. They had, they'd come in after football practice, and they would do it. So now, as they get older, they see the benefits of recovery when they workout. They are feeling better. There's less inflammation,” said Melt owner Hillary Alread.
“It helps me recover faster, and my skin, I found has just been tighter and more youthful,” said Martiny.
“My whole body is more relaxed. My visceral fat has gone down to seven. My body fat is down to 7.5 percent. I'm the same size I was in high school. I’m 172 pounds right now. My recovery time is so much faster when I do the cold plunge. I'm working out pain free,” said 65-year-old former New Orleans Police Chief, Eddie Compass.
Six weeks ago, Compass added the combination of red light heat and cold plunges to his diet and exercise routine.
“This is a game changer. You know, it's a holistic approach of physical fitness. I'm 65 years old right now, and I feel better than I did when I was in my 30s,” he added.
One woman in her 40s says with no changes to her diet and exercise routine, she has less cellulite on her buttocks area.
So, we looked into the science.
“Temperature is a powerful stimulus on our nervous system, and indeed on every organ, and system in our body, and cold in particular, can be leveraged to improve mental health, physical health, and performance,” said Stanford University neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman in his podcast on cold-water immersion.
He quotes studies that show a total of 11 minutes a week of cold-water immersion, can raise your metabolism. So, you burn more calories, but he says the more lasting boost is that it converts white storage fat, to metabolically active brown fat. That, he says, serves as a furnace to increase metabolism helping you stay lean.
It's also an effective post workout recovery tool, reducing soreness and muscle damage, getting you back into training more quickly.
Dr. Jacob Mey of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, world-renowned for discoveries related to obesity and nutrition, has a caution. While cold plunges definitely have effects at the cellular level that appear beneficial to health and metabolism, don't expect this alone to get rid of an expanded waistline.
“The quick summary is cold plunges definitely have effects at the cellular level in the body, early data suggest these effects may even be beneficial to health and metabolism. However, the magnitude of these effects appear small, and if you’re expecting cold plunges to strip off your belly fat, you’re going to be disappointed,” Dr. Jacob Mey wrote.
If the first time seems in the cold water is unbearable, studies show because of the way it changes your body, it gets more comfortable to take the plunge the more you do.
I have to agree, the very first time I did it, it was a shock. It took my breath away, but the second and third time where I did the sauna first, and then the cold plunge, it did get easier.
“It sounds really cold, and it is, but your body adjusts rapidly. You settle into that cold, uncomfortable feeling, and you kind of surrender to that just euphoric, yes, you feel euphoric,” Martiny laughs.
Of course, always check with your doctor before starting a program like this, especially if you have any medical conditions.
More information on Melt New Orleans and Harahan can be located here.
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