Winter cold is good for your body, Ottawa researcher explains

We often curse winter's chill,but that cold canactually be good for you, according toresearchers at the University of Ottawa and the University of Sherbrookewho are studyingthe effects of extended cold temperatures on the body.

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Denis Blondin, a post-doctoral fellow in thermal physiology at the University of Ottawa, told Robyn Bresnahan, host of CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, that thestudy uses a cooling suit to test this hypothesis.

The suit is keptat 18 C thanks to circulatingcold water which feels likewearing shorts and a T-shirt in the fall. This suit allows researchers to examine the effects of cold on the body, Blondin said Wednesday.

Researchers have found two key therapeutic benefits from being exposed to cold temperatures.

1. We expend more energy

This might not be surprising.

The average person expends about 100 calories per hour, but the cold forces us to expend up to 500 calories per hour, even when sitting.

Movement is also more laboured during the winter, which leads to burning more calories.

2. We use what's called "brown fat"

People generally think fatstores energy to keep warm. ButBlondin said adults can produce"brown fat" that actually burns energy like a furnace.

All mammals have it, but those in cold climates burn more of it.

"Shivering is not an effective way of staying warm. It costs a lot of energy," Blondin explained.

Brown fat produces heat, so it's more effective. It alsohelps fight chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes where there is an over-supply of fat and glucose.

If someone is exposed to cold, it increases the demand for those fuels and takes them out of circulation, Blondin said.

He also shared a tip for those cursing the cold weather: "Embrace it."

"We know by the end of the winter we get comfortable with it, we're OKwith it and we tolerate the cold a lot better. I think we just have to get into that frame of mind sooner," Blondin said.

• You can listen to his full interview on Ottawa Morning here.