Longevity
A Comfort: How Heat Makes You Healthy
Heat stress activates protective mechanisms in the body and works similarly to exercise—with potential benefits for lifespan, inflammation, and metabolism.
Longevity
Heat stress activates protective mechanisms in the body and works similarly to exercise—with potential benefits for lifespan, inflammation, and metabolism.
Line items
Today, let's offer some comfort. At least briefly and concisely.
From what I remember, it used to be hot on days when we could read 28° or 29° on the thermometer.
These days... we're talking about quite different categories. Today, 28 or 29 degrees is "normal," and it's hot on days with temperatures up to 40 degrees. (Please, let's not start a discussion about climate change here.)
And you have to admit that it feels wonderful at night in bed when we experience what used to be considered hot during the day. Because with today's heat reaching up to 40 degrees, nights can become quite agonizing.
But there's good news! As often happens, it pays off when you have to exert yourself a bit and suffer for a moment (or are made to suffer).
Because when it's this hot, we can expect the body to slowly begin activating protective proteins—so-called heat stress or heat shock proteins. These proteins are produced by the body to counteract the changes in cells caused by heat.
What these heat shock proteins can do, [source no longer available]. We quote:
The upregulation of heat shock proteins therefore provides:
…and so on.
We concluded:
Heat stress essentially acts like exercise.
Which makes sense, after all—the body warms up significantly during exercise, and therefore exercise itself will trigger a heat stress response.
This is why heat stress may even be able to extend lifespan—at least if you believe the results of studies conducted on lower organisms.
A great treatment of the subject, unfortunately in English, [source no longer available].
And what does the body have in mind when it "produces" fever in case of illness? Heat. [source no longer available] whether heat treatment might not also be used for severe diseases like cancer—because some heat shock proteins appear to stimulate the immune system.
Allegedly, Hippocrates once said:
"Those who cannot be healed by medicine can be healed by surgery. Those who cannot be healed by surgery can be healed by heat. Those who cannot be healed by heat are considered incurable."
Well then, into the heat. It becomes much more bearable that way, doesn't it?
