Wim Hof claims the ability to control his immune system, switch off stress and boost his metabolism by 300% – all with his mind. What’s more, he believes he can teach you the same. You just need to embrace the cold. MH travelled to the Dutch hinterland to get under the impermeable skin of the Iceman
In 2013, scientists at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands injected volunteers with a dead strain of e.coli to promote a flu-like immune response. The subjects had been randomly split into two groups; the first comprised healthy individuals and was the control group against which the other was to be measured. The second – the test group – was virtually the same except for one difference: for 10 days they undertook an intense programme of meditation, breathing techniques and cold exposure.
The aim was to discern whether, despite the prevailing science, we might have written into our biological code an almost superhuman ability to control immune responses on demand. In essence, the researchers wanted to know if regular men could fight off pathogens with their minds. Having observed the subjects, it was concluded that, yes, they could.
On hand beside nurses, physiologists and scientists was self-experimenting civilian Wim Hof. It was Hof’s formula of severe cold exposure and modified breathing – the so-called Wim Hof Method – that the test group had learned. And it was Hof, the established poster boy for extremophiles, who first postulated the existence of this innate ability to influence the immune system at will.
The results of the experiment continue to shake our understanding of the human body and its capabilities. They have also given Hof a reputation as a maverick outlier of biology. But should we be giving credence to a self-taught medical radical over decades of established research? And, should you be brave enough to follow Hof’s lead into his boundary pushing blizzard, would you emerge a master of your body and mind? Or will your health simply be left out in the cold?
The Iceman Cometh
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Every Question You Ever Had About Really Eating Well
Nutrition is a maddening business. Foods are in one day, compost the next; vitamins that cured ills last week are promptly debunked. We all want to eat better, but who has the time to sift fact from fad? Rest easy because this is your easily digestible, bite-sized guide to doing precisely that
The False Prophets Of Wellness
Muscle, fat loss, wisdom… Whatever you seek, there is now an entrepreneurial guru armed with hashtags who claims to have the answer. But is it gospel?
The Brexit Diet
Whether you voted Leave or Remain, the EU has transformed the way we eat – and crashing out threatens to deal a mighty blow to both our palates and our nutritional health. MH spoke to the experts worried that the true impact of Brexit will leave a very bad taste in our mouths.
Stamina? It's As Easy As Pie
Don’t flake on post-workout pastry. Pie and mash is your new performance enhancer
The Trip Treatment
Once the poison of the counterculture, psychedelic drugs are gaining credibility as a powerful, viable mental health tool that could transform the way we understand ourselves. Are you ready to turn on, tune in and dose up?
The Gastropub Nutrition Plan
New research suggests you don’t need to cut back on flavour either to satisfy your cravings or to cook off kilos. Better pass that piccalilli
Your Detox Doner Card
The vilified sat fat in your kebab is actually the antidote to offset booze’s impact on your liver. How convenient
Reach For The Stars
He has crossed the Atlantic, from Peckham to Hollywood, carrying multiple blockbusters on his newly broad shoulders. But while John Boyega’s star is in the ascendant, his feet remain firmly on the ground – thanks to a few fundamental life lessons learned along the way. Take note and look up.
One Word Answer #43
As tedious as they might have seemed at the time, most of the lessons our parents taught us as kids were worthy of adherence. Sit up straight at the table; look people in the eye when you thank them; try not to spit at strangers – even as an adult, these are values to live by.
Son Of A Gun
For most men, joining the family business is the easier option. Not so for Scott Eastwood, a man whose father might just be the most iconic Hollywood hard man ever. But while he is, in many ways, a chip off the old block, the firebrand’s son has his own life well figured out
