The humorist Dominic Paquet undertook cryotherapy to lose weight in January, in front of the cameras of Julie Snyder’s show. But do we really know if submitting your body to a temperature below -110 ° C makes you lose weight? Verification.
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The origin of the rumor
Cryotherapy involves exposing the body to extreme cold for about three minutes. The temperature of this air, cooled electrically or with liquid nitrogen, is usually from -70 ° C to -140 ° C, and can even drop to -160 ° C. Faced with the cold, the body consumes more energy. It starts producing heat by drawing on its energy resources and it could – according to promoters – burn an average of 500 kcal per three-minute session.
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The sessions take place in a room whose air is cooled (whole body) or in a box whose only head protrudes (partial body).
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Uncertain benefits
While it is true that our body spends more energy when exposed to the cold and that the muscles become more toned, the idea that it burns 500 kcal per 3-minute session has never been proven. No study has shown that cryotherapy causes a change in weight.
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Some clinics that offer cryotherapy suggest that when accompanied by a massage, it could firm the skin to the point of causing it to lose a few inches of hip measurement. Again, nothing has been scientifically proven. Health Canada also warns against cryotherapy, saying that the other alleged benefits, such as pain reduction or cellulite, have not been proven either.
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