Immune-mediated effects of Wim Hof technique [adrenaline + endotoxin study] | Wim Hof
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Scientists are investigating the effects that Wim Hof's breathing methods have on the immune system. Study results showed that individuals trained in his breathing practices produced adrenaline when injected with a bacterial endotoxin, potentially affecting the immune response. In this clip, Wim Hof discusses how his breathing techniques may allow the body to tap into its natural disease-fighting abilities.
Wim: We got to go back to nature. Our nature. The inner nature, the inner mechanisms. And it's not so difficult. It's very easy, actually. Very simple.
Rhonda: So I want to dive a little more into the science, but I have a question. So after the 4 days of training, these 12 individuals were completely untrained, they did the 4 days of training. How soon after that did they have the endotoxin injected?
Wim: Four days later.
Rhonda: Four days later. So they did training for four days and then they had the... So they weren't...were they doing any of the breathing techniques or anything right before the endotoxin?
Wim: Right before the endotoxin they did this breathing...
Rhonda: The breathing.
Wim: ...and that made them able to go into the brainstem, which is the cause of adrenaline, direct adrenaline. And in a way, comparatively, they compared it with studies wherein people go into a...in fear, first time, going into a bungee jump. And these guys were just lying in bed and producing more adrenaline. That means control within, you know, controlled stress hormone like adrenaline, epinephrine and all this, that means it works like medicine. It ignites the immune system, "Go and reset and do what you got to do." And what we are able to do is to fend ourselves off from disease, like animals, like mammals. I don't see any psychiatric asylums in nature. I don't see pharmacies in nature, no hospitals. But they still live and they run and they are fast and they go and they live and they enjoy life. Even though there are predators and everything, it's a beautiful cycle. But we thought we are better. We dominate nature. But we don't.
A catecholamine hormone produced by the adrenal glands and some neurons. Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, exerts many effects in the body, the most notable being those associated with the “fight or flight” response to stressors. The effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine (a related catecholamine) are mediated by adrenergic receptors, which act as the interface between the sympathetic nervous system and the cardiovascular system.
A type of toxin released when bacteria die. Endotoxins can leak through the intestinal wall and pass directly into the bloodstream. The most common endotoxin is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of the cell membrane of gram-negative bacteria. If LPS leaks into the bloodstream, it can trigger an acute inflammatory reaction. LPS has been linked with a number of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disorders (celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes), and psychiatric disorders (anxiety and depression).
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