Dear Mark,
I’ve been a follower of your website for almost a year now and I have a question that I would like your help on.
For a long time now (2 years or so) I have suffered from very cold feet and occasionally cold hands. I visited my doctor who basically told me that it’s “normal” and “to live with it”. Wearing extra socks does not cut it and I often have to use a fan heater to keep my feet warm.
I know that these things don’t just happen for a reason but I’m not sure what the cause could be. I have read somewhere that it could be related to stress where blood rushes back towards internal organs for emergency usage. I have to say that I’m not at all stressed, in any form.
Thank you
Nathan
We can be stressed without “feeling stressed,” if that makes any sense. Some people call it hidden stress, and it usually occurs when someone has gotten so accustomed to chronic stress that it doesn’t even register in his or her waking consciousness. Just to be sure that stress isn’t bothering you, try a few simple strategies for reducing it:
Deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Take ten minutes out of every day to do long, slow, deep belly breathing, split into two five minute sessions (noon and night).
Meditation is also highly useful for reducing stress, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Get really adept at it and you can even raise your body temperature! Guided meditations are good for beginners.
Do some gentle movement first thing in the morning, preferably outside if it’s not too cold. Five, ten minutes max. I’ve linked to this before, but Angelo’s (from PrimalCon) VitaMoves is fantastic.
Check out a previous post on the subject.
If it turns out stress wasn’t the culprit, hey, at least you’re doing healthy breathing, meditation, and morning movement! Since you’ve been having this problem for two years, and you’ve been Primal for around one year (maybe a bit less), it’s not the cause, but it’s not fixing the problem. Something is still causing lower body temperatures. Does that sound right? I’ll discuss some potential culprits. All or none or some of them could be the answer.
Lack of sleep: Seems to be a theme today, doesn’t it? Sleep deprivation reduces body temperature pretty consistently (PDF). Are you getting around 8 hours a night? Are you waking up relatively refreshed, with steady energy throughout the day?
Lack of food: Are you eating enough? Eating under maintenance, especially on a chronic, ongoing basis, can reduce body temperature. This problem can get even worse if you’re exercising on top of a massive calorie deficit. If you’re trying to cut weight, consider throwing in a few days per week of major overfeeding (preferably situated around exercise) so that you’re not in a constant state of deprivation.
Hyperhydration: I’ve always questioned the standard “8-glasses-a-day” mantra, and hyperhydration is an effective way to lower body temperature. Don’t drink so much water if you aren’t actually thirsty. And when you are thirsty, go for mineral water or add trace mineral drops to regular water.
Lack of salt: A common result of eliminating processed food is a spontaneous reduction in salt intake. You’re no longer going out for fries and burgers, you don’t buy potato chips, you’re eating lots more vegetables and fresh, rather than processed, meats. It’s pretty common to eat less salt than you were before. Some people even get the idea that the PB restricts any added salt, which just isn’t the case. Eat more salt, because sodium can increase body temperature. Go ahead and monitor your blood pressure if that’s a concern, but as long as you get plenty of potassium and magnesium with your salt, it shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re stressed, salt needs increase during stress.
Hypothyroidism: You could be hypothyroid, as cold hands and feet are common symptoms. If you have other symptoms, like general fatigue/malaise and weight gain, try eating more seaweed and other seafood for the iodine.
