The word “hack” has several meanings, and the most common ones can be perceived as a solution, a method, a method, and even a secret. When they talk about the popular method of reducing body mass index, Ice hack, they mean not only weight loss with the help of special nutrition, but in general – a health-improving practice for the body. Because the process of “weight loss” is multifactorial, and is most effective when a set of actions is used.
Nutritionists, endocrinologists and technologists – food production specialists know very well that with a conditionally initial healthy body excess weight is a cumulative effect, a discrepancy between the rate at which the body absorbs food ingredients and their calorie content. For any result when trying to lose weight, several conditions apply. That is why, with the same diet or the same method of influencing the body, different people get different results. The main thing is hidden in the details. In this case, in the medical condition of a particular organism.
In 2014, Dr. Brian Weiner (New Jersey, USA) developed his own “ice diet” based on the proven hypothesis “eating ice burns calories because the body requires energy to melt the cubes.” Each of the numerous researchers is right in his own way. Temperature, weight and metabolism are interconnected in the human body in a complex way, and a qualitative and, importantly, irreversible result of reducing BMI can be achieved not only with the help of a nutritional supplement, but in a complex of regular activities.
Scientific research
According to the results of studies conducted at Stanford University published in 2020, the formation of excess weight is associated with metabolic processes in the human body, simplified – the process of digestion and breakdown of food.
Depending on how the vital organs of a particular person work, his blood composition, general condition and age, systematic physical activity and the quality (composition) of food taken. This is more or less known. And the staff at Stanford Medical School tried to prove that body temperature affects metabolism. After their research, the media even operate with flawed statistics: “the core body temperature of humans in the United States has decreased by an average of 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since the 1800s.” Allegedly, this is already a prerequisite for the diseases of the century: obesity and bulimia.
There are actually a lot of factors influencing the result: changes in the functionality of the human immune system, the activity of beneficial bacteria in the body and their composition, the use of “artificial” products, organic ersatz meat substitutes, etc.
A sedentary lifestyle, the influence of infectious diseases and even the habit of air conditioning and indoor temperature conditions. Several conclusions immediately follow from the studies, in particular about the influence and correlation between the temperature of food consumed and the rate of its digestion.
But it is pointless to argue that the body temperature of a person, as a highly organized animal (a species of mammal), without evidence: the relationship between the body temperature of a particular person and his mass alone is not obvious. Someone in an absolutely medically healthy state (for various reasons) has a body temperature of 36.1°C, and does not increase with weight gain; for someone, the conditional temperature norm is 36.8°C. This delta of the “norm” is known to specialists with medical education.
About Alpine Ice Hack
Experts recognize a special place and almost universal importance in the complex of diet measures. One of them is known as Alpine Ice Hack.
Alpine ice hack ingredients include Dika nut (African mango seed), golden seaweed (fucoxanthin), drumstick or moringa leaf, bigarad or bitter orange, ginger root, turmeric root. When crushed, the ingredients are packaged in capsules and are recommended for regular use in a 30-day course format. Courses can be repeated. It is recommended to take “magic” capsules one per day with 200 ml of cold water.
But whether the ingredients were actually collected in the Tangu Valley in the Himalayas or in other places, the average person cannot check. From here, one can assume anything, including the influence of the “selling” marketing moves of the manufacturer and the adherent of such a diet. There is no valid and verifiable data unconditionally indicating an unambiguous improvement in the regulation of human body temperature (and metabolism) after using the indicated diet in a complex of ingredients.
Ice hack alternatives
It is known that a healthy liver, as a self-healing organ, is the key to good metabolism. In this regard, food supplements – organic medicinal preparations based on berberine, milk thistle extract, resveratrol, choline, genistein and chlorogenic acid improve liver function and the ability to “burn fat”. And humanity knows many ways to cleanse – detoxify and regenerate the liver. Their meaning is that with the help of good liver function, the quality of blood and hematopoiesis improves, therefore, the whole body functions better.
By the way, the cost of even a kilogram of such drugs is significantly lower than the cost of a course of Alpine ice hack capsules. The manufacturer (like anyone) is interested in promoting its product, and essentially offers consumers – along with advertising – “benefits” adapted into capsules for interested parties. But this does not mean that alternative paths do not exist.
The “cold food” system includes and recommends not only food additives manufactured and packaged industrially. And this was not open yesterday either. Excellent from the point of view of benefits for the body and reducing BMI is, in general, eating “food with ice”.
Danish (in general, Scandinavian) and German cold soups are considered not only features of the national cuisine and are served with great fanfare in restaurants, but also have real benefits. The same applies to “alpine porridge with ice” or tourist and “military” food of unheated food in conditions of low ambient temperatures (for example, in the mountains and not only). In this regard, what is important is “what exactly” you consume.
There is a big difference between a soup (even cream soup, cream soup, for example, gazpacho, botvigna, galantine or kallakeitto (Karelian and Finnish fish soup with cream) or even beetroot soup – with ice) and, say, a piece of cold veal or pork stew with ice. For the benefit of the body and metabolism, to reduce BMI, in this case, ice products are needed in the consistency of a liquid form factor. However, we are not talking about a special diet. With this knowledge, almost anyone can now reduce their BMI by systematically using cold nutrition and a set of related procedures.
Myths and arguments
Myth one – “Low body temperature predisposes a person to obesity due to “thermogenic deficiency”
Yes and no. Because body temperature is controlled by the body’s thermoregulatory center, located in the anterior hypothalamus, and is the result of a complex balance between metabolic processes, muscle activity and possibly the microbiome.
Body temperature is influenced by the external environment through radiation or conduction. This is illustrated by the practice of a healthy lifestyle (HLS) using the example of regular exercise in the pool or even healthy swimming in cold water. Regular exercises in the pool take place in water areas with a temperature of +27…+29°C, which is below the conventional normal human temperature of +36.6°C. But BMI decreases even more rapidly not only when “walking on the bottom” in the pool, but also during heavy physical activity in the water – intense swimming or aqua aerobics.
As for “winter swimming” or short-term immersion in cold water, including at negative air and water temperatures (down to -4°C – the temperature of rapid “freezing”), in this case the same effect of improving the body’s metabolism occurs after the blood flow is activated as a reaction to external cold. But in order for the effect to be even more significant, specialists practice a contrast (not only cold) “shower”, and when “diving into an ice hole”, pre-warm up the body with the help of physical exercises.
Myth two – “Systematic exposure to cold leads to overeating”
Indeed, the human body, as a complexly organized structure, is subject to internal changes under the influence of external ones, especially with a cumulative effect. In this case, in simple terms, it is appropriate to say that under the systematic influence of cold, appetite increases and, as a result, the accumulation of “reserves” in the body and weight gain.
Changing (lowering) body temperature and exposure to cold actually has a slight effect on metabolism, but in certain circumstances it can have the opposite effect. Therefore, the details of a specific situation are important.
Myth three – “Athletes who quench their thirst with cold water during training or long-distance running reduce their metabolic rate.”
In fact, water taken during sports activity replenishes the water-salt balance of fluid in the body. About the same thing (thirst) occurs after conditioned alcohol intoxication with alcohol-containing products. Therefore, metabolism increases.
This is noticeably subjective: a person is thirsty, but simply wants to drink. There is no direct connection with a decrease in BMI; weight loss occurs for a complex of reasons, including due to the physical activity of the athlete, when the pulse increases, the heart pumps blood faster, and the processes of blood purification and metabolism in general intensify.
But here a lot depends on the diet in which a person eats after training and sports activity. It is necessary to wait at least two hours before eating (you can drink non-carbonated clean water according to your body’s needs without restrictions). If this condition is not met, a decrease in BMI is not guaranteed. In addition, there are a lot of myths, as well as opinions.
Reasons for the popularity of dietary supplements
The popularity of dietary supplements in the example of a diet called “ice hack” is understandable not only in view of successful marketing moves.
Manufacturers and lobbyists have successfully chosen the main argument and emphasis for the target audience – people with excess body weight (obesity). They claim that the complex of ingredients in the dietary supplement “always works” and even “while you sleep.” With such arguments, the subjective popularity of the product increases significantly as a kind of “magic pill” that cures everything, and does not require direct human effort. It’s enough to take a “pill” and forget… That is, continue the same lifestyle. And this is a significant misconception.
