Skin icing? Skin icing, also called cold thermogenesis, is a method of stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and triggering the local browning of fat. Cold thermogenesis improves skin appearance, boosts immunity, and helps weight loss. Chronic skin icing can also improve athletic performance and reduce the healing time for injuries.
The method has been gaining momentum over the past few years in the medical community as a non-pharmaceutical treatment for chronic pain, inflammation, and weight loss. Cold thermogenesis is the opposite of hot sauna therapy. The two techniques can be used in tandem to produce even better health results.
Skin icing stimulates the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT). Brown fat cells are found in human adults as well as other mammals. They contain more mitochondria and smaller lipid droplets than white adipose tissue cells.
Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue (BAT), is found to be significantly increased in lean people and reduced in those with obesity and diabetes. The browning of white adipocytes after regular skin icing suggests that it can be used as a weight management treatment.
Cold thermogenesis lowers body fat by increasing the levels of norepinephrine, dopamine, and thyroid hormones in the body. Norepinephrine increases the release of stored lipids from white adipocytes for energy expenditure at mitochondria.
These have more antioxidant power than plain water ice cubes. The antioxidants in green tea, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), stop the degeneration of new cells and help with healing. Icing is one way to trigger brown fat to consume more calories. Green tea icing is a great way to do this after workouts.
Coffee ices have caffeine, which helps to reduce the inflammation that comes from free radical damage. Coffee ices are especially helpful in preventing the increase in cortisol that comes from intense workouts.
Compared to green tea bags, black tea ices have more antioxidants. They are also rich in polyphenols and lower inflammation after intense exercise. Black tea has been used by indigenous medicine to reduce pain and treat inflammatory diseases. It can also reduce stiffness, swelling, and bleeding in the gums.
In addition to using ice cubes made from tea bags, you can add a few drops of peppermint oil to your water ice tray for an invigorating face ice treatment.
Avoid using ice cubes on injured or sensitive areas. In the case of injury, moist heat therapy may be better, as it improves blood flow and lymphatic drainage. Ice should not be applied directly to an open wound without being wrapped in a barrier such as a gauze or a clean cloth. Avoid using ice if you have hypertension, heart disease, thrombophlebitis, hemophilia, or frostbite.
Ice cubes are recommended only for the face and neck area. If pain occurs in other areas of the body during icing treatment, stop immediately. Exercise caution when using the skin icing method at home, especially with small children. Young children are more sensitive to temperature extremes and can get frostbite on the face very quickly. Only use high-quality ice cubes made of filtered water or tea bags. Avoid using store-bought ice, which may contain chemicals that will cause skin irritation.
Proper skin icing is extremely beneficial for the body, especially after intense exercise or work. It reduces inflammation, pain, and stiffness in joints. The main benefit of skin icing is to improve blood flow by reducing inflammation throughout the entire circulatory system.