The effects of cold exposure on gut bacteria

Is the cold good for your gut microbiome?

How does cold therapy affect gut bacteria?

We know that cold therapy is good for health and that you can't be healthy without the right gut bacteria, but what effects does the one have over the other? Do they interlink somehow? Let's see what the science says.

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Cold exposure changes the gut microbiome

This study found that mice developed different gut bacteria when they were subjected to cold, compared to those who were kept at room temperature. These new microbes caused certain bodily changes in the cold mice.

When feces (containing gut bacteria) were transplanted from the cold mice into mice that didn't have any gut bacteria of their own, the recipients experienced body chances that were similar to the adaptions that they would have developed if they were the ones who spent time in the cold.

Their body fat turned from white fat (primary role of storage, causes obesity) into brown fat (primary role of heat generation, counteracts obesity). Insulin sensitivity increased and the absorptive surface of the digestive tract had increased in order to increase caloric absorption.

If you want more brown fat and less white fat, better insulin sensitivity, a faster metabolism and more nutrient absorption in your gut; your gut bacteria will do this for you when you expose yourself to cold temperatures.

This study proves that cold exposure and gut bacteria are closely interlinked. Cold exposure changes the gut microbiome - and the gut microbiome influences your body's ability to cope with cold temperatures.

Temperatures affect your gut bacteria.

Exercise and cold exposure improve gut health when combined

This study looked at the effects of exercise on gut bacteria under different temperatures. They had obese mice exercise at room temperature, short bursts of cold and a longer period of cold or sustained coldness.

They concluded that exercise lead to more conversion of fat from white fat to brown fat when done in the cold, compared to exercise on its own or cold exposure on its own. Other health markers like cardiovascular health and metabolism were mostly improved when exercise and cold exposure was combined.

They say that exercise reversed some of the effects that colder temperatures had on gut bacteria and therefore protected against cold-induced cardio-vascular damage.

The moral of the story is this: Exercise combined with cold exposure reduces obesity and improves cardiovascular health more than cold exposure or exercise on its own.

Combine cold exposure with exercise.

Does this mean that cold exposure is good for our gut microbiome or not?

What we do know for sure is that cold exposure triggers changes in gut bacteria that are favorable to our overall health.

Cold exposure creates a gut microbiome that increases our metabolism, converts white fat into brown fat (which is a good thing), increases absorption of nutrients from food, improves glucose metabolism, reduces obesity and increases insulin sensitivity.

I could not find any studies or hard scientific evidence that found an increase or decrease in specific types of gut bacteria, whether good or bad, as a result of cold exposure. If you know of any research on this, please let me know in the comments below.

What I can look at, though, are how the changes brought on by cold exposure will affect the gut microbiome.

Physical changes in health brought on by gut bacteria

We know that these changes are brought on by gut bacteria (independent on the body's own adaptions) because these changes happen to mice when they receive the gut microbes from cold-exposed mice.

1. Improved insulin sensitivity

2. Increased brown fat

3. Increased nutrient absorption

4. Better glucose metabolism

5. Reduced obesity or white fat mass

Cold-exposed gut bacteria change our bodies.

We still have a lot to learn about our gut bacteria and how they interact with various stimuli like cold exposure. What we do know for sure is that the long term effects of cold exposure, mediated by gut bacteria, are beneficial to our health in many ways. The positive health effects of cold exposure are dramatically increased when you add exercise into the equation.

In my personal opinion, we will probably find out with future research that overall fitness, on many levels, improves the composition and diversity of gut bacteria in our digestive system. I suspect that cold exposure, heat exposure, exercise and other extrinsic stressors that force the body to get stronger will ultimately improve gut health. Stay Strong!

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