Steve Richfield - Fixlowbodytemp.com

[thebigpeatowski]

jyb -
I am interested to understand why you think I have a high metabolism? My metabolism is low. A high metabolism = shorter life. I no longer use adrenaline to keep warm and now feel cold when my temperature drops below 37C, so I know to wear more clothes. I can raise my metabolism in very cold weather to sustain my set point until I can go somewhere where the ambient temperature is warmer. As a result of my low metabolism I am eating less than I used to, my diet is not strict, I tend to eat when I am hungry, but I try to keep my carbs to 40g and I incorporate plenty of fat, I am just on the cusp of ketosis, above that and my brain feels foggier.

peata

It really depends whether a low temperature is simply a low temperature or central hypothermia. Most people who have reset never get out of their morning shower unless they have got to 37C or a little above. This pulls the set point to 37C as well. My set point comes up now without the hot shower, but I still love my very strong adrenal boosting coffee and I do love a hot shower!.
Some low set point people do pretty well by just getting their temperatures to 37C for an hour per day. this approach did not work for me, I only noticed an improvement in my health when my set point and temperature were both 37C.

The definition of METABOLISM according to Wiki (bold is mine):

Metabolism (from Greek: μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The word metabolism can also refer to all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cells, in which case the set of reactions within the cells is called intermediary metabolism or intermediate metabolism.


Hmmm, a set of life-sustaining transformations that allow an organism to grow, reproduce, maintain their structure and respond to their environment....WHY ON EARTH would someone desire a lowered metabolism??? I don't get it, can someone please explain? I am kinda slow

 

[tara]

Hmmm, a set of life-sustaining transformations that allow an organism to grow, reproduce, maintain their structure and respond to their environment....WHY ON EARTH would someone desire a lowered metabolism??? I don't get it, can someone please explain? I am kinda slow

Hi tbp, My guess is that Janey was thinking of her own experience of running on high adrenaline (which can sometimes burn a lot of fuel) as high metabolism, and lowering adrenaline as a good thing. I don't think this is an unusual way to look at it, even though a lot of us here tend to think of higher metabolism in terms of higher functioning of thyroid hormones.

My take on it is that depending on our state, we may be able to run our metabolism primarily on thyroid with occasional top-ups from stress hormones, or if thyroid metabolism is low, then we rely on much more stress hormones to keep us going. The stress hormones come into play to adapt to situations when regular (thyroid-based) energy production is inadequate to meet the current demands for energy. Adrenaline etc do function to sustain metabolism to some extent - they ensure that there is some energy for at least the most urgent jobs that cells need to perform. But it is the emergency fuel system, it can't sustain all metabolic functions as well as good thyroid function, and it has costs, so ideally it's good not to be relying on it for more than occasional brief emergencies.
High adrenaline can increase heart-rate and sustain core body temps, but it tends to sacrifice temperature of extremities, increases breathing rate (useful for a physical fight or flight situation but lowers CO2 levels otherwise).
Janie may be right that it is good that she is not running on as much adrenaline as she was. My guess is that she is probably running on more thyroid than before, too. It's also possible she can sustain herself with less food, since adrenaline can burn through quite a bit. This is another common way people think of metabolism. Peat has talked about this sometimes happening - improved thyroid function > reduced stress hormones > reduced calorie requirements .

If I've misunderstood this, I'd be pleased to know how it really works.

 

[AmanitaVirosa]

Hi
I reset my core temperature in April 2014 using the Steve Richfield shower method. From the age of 3 after having my tonsils and adenoids removed I had suffered multiple bouts of bronchitis as many as 8 times every year until the reset. The bronchitis was getting worse and life threatening. I reset at nearly 59 years of age. Since the reset I have not had any bronchitis or even a cold. My reset has been the greatest success by far in achieving 'health'. My average oral temp was 36C and now it's 36.8C. I only needed one reset to achieve this. The second best regime that improved my health was the avoidance as much as practically possible of polyunsaturated fats. In the summer of 2011 I hit a low temperature of 34.7C with a resting pulse rate of 26bpm accompanied by a dull headache for 3 days. I had hypothermia on a hot day in August. I now vary between 37.3C and 36.6C in the daytime and my temp eventually drops to 36.3C at night. I did not use any supplements to achieve this. This shows conclusively at least to me that the hypothalamus is the master controller the temperature set point. I think that a temp reset needs to be the primary focus. Once a reset is attempted supplements can be helpful but I would prefer to attempt the reset 'clean'.

 

[Brian]

Hi
I reset my core temperature in April 2014 using the Steve Richfield shower method. From the age of 3 after having my tonsils and adenoids removed I had suffered multiple bouts of bronchitis as many as 8 times every year until the reset. The bronchitis was getting worse and life threatening. I reset at nearly 59 years of age. Since the reset I have not had any bronchitis or even a cold. My reset has been the greatest success by far in achieving 'health'. My average oral temp was 36C and now it's 36.8C. I only needed one reset to achieve this. The second best regime that improved my health was the avoidance as much as practically possible of polyunsaturated fats. In the summer of 2011 I hit a low temperature of 34.7C with a resting pulse rate of 26bpm accompanied by a dull headache for 3 days. I had hypothermia on a hot day in August. I now vary between 37.3C and 36.6C in the daytime and my temp eventually drops to 36.3C at night. I did not use any supplements to achieve this. This shows conclusively at least to me that the hypothalamus is the master controller the temperature set point. I think that a temp reset needs to be the primary focus. Once a reset is attempted supplements can be helpful but I would prefer to attempt the reset 'clean'.

I agree there is something very healing to artificially maintaining body temperature above 98.6 degrees F, maybe even higher to around 100 degrees for an extended amount of time. It may not have a lasting effect on many conditions, but for some it seems to allow the body to escape a stress trap if good habits are maintained.

It's definitely something to try if you don't have the advantage of living in a year round hot climate. A hot shower or bath to start the day, plus wearing some thermal layers and keeping the thermostat a little higher in the house isn't that hard or expensive of a lifestyle change to make to aid in lowering stress hormones.

My suspicion is that body temperature below 98.6 degrees or so is itself a major stressor if oxidative metabolism is not already fully functioning. I would put ambient temps at number one, a lack of bright day light as a close second, then lack of digestible nutrition and calories as third in terms of what stimulates stress hormones the most when you are stuck in glycolysis. Addressing them all will obviously have the greatest effect though.

 

[AmanitaVirosa]

I agree there is something very healing to artificially maintaining body temperature above 98.6 degrees F, maybe even higher to around 100 degrees for an extended amount of time. It may not have a lasting effect on many conditions, but for some it seems to allow the body to escape a stress trap if good habits are maintained.

It's definitely something to try if you don't have the advantage of living in a year round hot climate. A hot shower or bath to start the day, plus wearing some thermal layers and keeping the thermostat a little higher in the house isn't that hard or expensive of a lifestyle change to make to aid in lowering stress hormones.

My suspicion is that body temperature below 98.6 degrees or so is itself a major stressor if oxidative metabolism is not already fully functioning. I would put ambient temps at number one, a lack of bright day light as a close second, then lack of digestible nutrition and calories as third in terms of what stimulates stress hormones the most when you are stuck in glycolysis. Addressing them all will obviously have the greatest effect though.

"I would put ambient temps at number one, a lack of bright day light as a close second"
What is interesting is that I try to have up to an hour of full body sun daily throughout the winter months and a little bit less during the warmer months. I have been doing this since 2010. My aim is to make a lot of vitamin D without damaging my skin. When sitting outside in the winter sun wearing only shorts with ambient temperatures below zero Celsius, before the reset, my core temperature [measured orally] would drop below the usual 36C. Since the reset my core temperature remains at 36.8C, sometimes with a slight increase up to 37.1C. I think that resetting the temperature set point via the hypothalamus has a greater result than ambient temperatures. Just to be clear, the time in August that my pulse and temperature dropped was before my reset. The hypothalamus is the master controller of the temperature set point, my thyroid has never been underactive, even at low body temperatures. My adrenal glands probably were underactive but I have no hormone level tests for these.

 

[Brian]

"I would put ambient temps at number one, a lack of bright day light as a close second"
What is interesting is that I try to have up to an hour of full body sun daily throughout the winter months and a little bit less during the warmer months. I have been doing this since 2010. My aim is to make a lot of vitamin D without damaging my skin. When sitting outside in the winter sun wearing only shorts with ambient temperatures below zero Celsius, before the reset, my core temperature [measured orally] would drop below the usual 36C. Since the reset my core temperature remains at 36.8C, sometimes with a slight increase up to 37.1C. I think that resetting the temperature set point via the hypothalamus has a greater result than ambient temperatures. Just to be clear, the time in August that my pulse and temperature dropped was before my reset. The hypothalamus is the master controller of the temperature set point, my thyroid has never been underactive, even at low body temperatures. My adrenal glands probably were underactive but I have no hormone level tests for these.

My point was that low ambient temperatures are only overly stressful when oxidative metabolism is not functioning producing large amounts of heat. But when it is working relatively cooler room or outdoor temperatures shouldn't be stressful at all. Then lack of sun and ambient bright light would become the number one stressor in my experience.

I'm not sure I'm convinced of the hypothalamus body temperature set point theory, but I do strongly agree that a period of intentionally maintaining higher body temperature is very stress relieving while working on restoring oxidative metabolism.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I've stopped thyroid and I'm going to try this reset. I'm thinking the downsides aren't that high and it may work. Why not? I'm tired of being at 95 or 96F and getting headaches and digestive issues all the time.

 

[AmanitaVirosa]

I've stopped thyroid and I'm going to try this reset. I'm thinking the downsides aren't that high and it may work. Why not? I'm tired of being at 95 or 96F and getting headaches and digestive issues all the time.

I think it's best to reduce thyroid gradually. It is possible to perform a reset while still taking thyroid medications but temperatures could get out of hand so a cooling strategy must be in hand. Steve Richfield's website is full of good information and in my opinion worth thoroughly researching before a reset attempt.
Central Metabolic Control System Therapy
FixLowBodyTemp.com Library
Good luck in your quest.

 

[tara]

My reset has been the greatest success by far in achieving 'health'. My average oral temp was 36C and now it's 36.8C. I only needed one reset to achieve this. The second best regime that improved my health was the avoidance as much as practically possible of polyunsaturated fats.

Great!

my thyroid has never been underactive, even at low body temperatures

How did you assess this? I tend to think of low body temps (along with low heartrate) as almost part of the definition of low metabolism. Do you mean you think your thyroid gland was working fine, but thyroid function/metabolism downstream was impaired?

 

[jyb]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't raised more curiosity. There are not many theories or methods out there concerned about temperature and thyroid. I personally have never found supplementing thyroid to have had much impressive effects, so to me any protocol that goes beyond that is worth looking into.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I'm trying is in a few days. I'll keep you posted.

 

[AmanitaVirosa]

Great!

How did you assess this? I tend to think of low body temps (along with low heartrate) as almost part of the definition of low metabolism. Do you mean you think your thyroid gland was working fine, but thyroid function/metabolism downstream was impaired?

My TSH was 0.99, my hair and nail growth was fast, as it is today. My reactions were very fast. My intestinal transit time was very fast, around about 6 hours. Cuts healed quickly. I don't think the problem with low body temperature was the result of low thyroid function. On the other hand my adrenals were probably under functioning but I have no measurements to support this. Before the reset my resting pulse rate averaged 44bpm. My resting pulse rate now varies from 58bpm to 72bpm depending on time of day. I keep a log of temperature and pulse rate going back to 2010. Sometimes my pulse would be low at a higher temperature and vice versa. There is an overall trend to low body temperature and low pulse rate but not always. There are many factors that influence both. Before the reset I would develop colds and my temperatures would drop down to 35.6C and lower, 2-3 days before symptoms appeared. Nowadays if I am feeling a bit 'off' I develop a high temperature for a day and then the feeling disappears when my temperature drops back to 36.8C. Before the reset I did not develop the necessary short sharp fever. I think that my new temperature helped to reactivate my heat shock proteins.

 

[AmanitaVirosa]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't raised more curiosity. There are not many theories or methods out there concerned about temperature and thyroid. I personally have never found supplementing thyroid to have had much impressive effects, so to me any protocol that goes beyond that is worth looking into.

There are many influences on metabolic rate. The endocrine organs are all connected in a feedback loop. The leptin levels in the fat cells are closely linked to the hypothalamus gland which is closely linked to the thymus G [immunity] and the pineal G. There is a cascade from hypothalamus to pituitary to thyroid to adrenals to uterus or testes to hypothalamus. The cascade can work backwards or forwards. The condition of the gut can affect all of them, this is where the largest percentage of immune function operates. Simple to see the whole picture but difficult to predict because of so many variables. This is why one size doesn't fit all, we are all different.

 

[Such_Saturation]

The hypothalamus is the master controller of the temperature set point, my thyroid has never been underactive, even at low body temperatures.

Before the reset my resting pulse rate averaged 44bpm. My resting pulse rate now varies from 58bpm to 72bpm depending on time of day

 

[Zachs]

I had an online friend who tried this and it ended up plummeting her temps. She even did the consult. In the end she couldn't take the stress of it and quit. She ended up curing her issues with a no fat, high sugar diet and progesterone.

 

[tomisonbottom]

I had an online friend who tried this and it ended up plummeting her temps. She even did the consult. In the end she couldn't take the stress of it and quit. She ended up curing her issues with a no fat, high sugar diet and progesterone.

How much sugar and progesterone did she use?

 

[Lecarpetron]

Anyone had luck with this method using NDT? I tried once and it didn't work. NDT typically raises my temps a tad if I take 1/4 grain every 15 minutes, but the coffee/hot shower aspects didn't raise it further in any sustainable way. I think the uncomfortably hot shower/clothes just raised my temp via stress hormones. I was living near Miami at the time, and ambient outdoor heat produced the same stress-related temp increase that the hot shower did.

If anyone has made this work via NDT, I'd love to hear about it. I'm getting so frustrated because I am an exhausted block of ice before 2pm these days. Cold until 2pm > body thinks the day doesn't start until 2pm > I'm only tired between the hours of 6am and 2pm. This is a problem as my alarm goes off at 6:30 am.

I've been trying to reset my circadian rhythm for 8 years and I think body temp is the key.

 

[Tcrazyjam]

Hello

Is it only taking hot shower? can someone explaine me this method. I read the page and did not find therapy option.

thanks

david from germany

 

[stcrim]

Same here - can anyone explain this method (Steve Richfield shower method) or any method that will normalize body temps?

 

[ecstatichamster]

steve's method is to force your body to get up to temperature until you let it off the hook. This somehow retrains the body to stay there.