Fact file: What does extreme cold weather do to the body?

TORONTO – A cold snap is sweeping the country as temperatures drop and Canadians stay indoors to keep warm.

Environment Canada has issued extreme cold weather alerts for a number of cities, a warning saved for days when temperatures dip below a frigid -15C.

If you’re healthy and bundle up while you’re outside, the icy weather shouldn’t affect you. But for some Canadians, the freezing temperatures could take a toll.

Take a look at what extreme cold weather does to the body:

Chest pain

Cold weather can stress the body’s cardiovascular system. Your body works overtime to conserve heat as you brave the cold, your breath gets shorter if you’re racing to get indoors, and your blood thickens, all factors that can lead to chest pain, especially for people with heart disease.

Heart disease

Meanwhile, the winter tends to slow down the heart’s supply of blood. The medical community has documented in plenty of reports a link between heart attack, stroke, heart failure and the winter.

One large study pointed to 53 per cent more cases of heart attack reported in the winter than in the summer, the New York Times reports.

“Cold weather narrows arteries and raises blood pressure, stressing the heart. Physical strain and ruptured plaques caused by shoveling snow are also commonly cited,” the paper writes.

For those of you with underlying heart conditions, avoid overexerting your body in the winter – having trouble breathing with lower levels of blood flow as your body works to stay warm, could be dangerous.

Weight loss

Harvard University notes that there’s some good in braving the cold weather. For example, a bit of exposure to cold burns body fat and calories. This is because your body is burning energy trying to stay warm, so it could help control weight.

“When we get chilled this winter, we may take some consolation that at least we’re firing up those fat cells,” the researchers write.

The report notes that in some countries, women take plunges into cold water that’s just above freezing to burn calories – which may be the equivalent of walking to the bus stop in January in Canada.

Metabolism

The cold also jump-starts your metabolism, as your body craves heat and turns to fat stores for energy. Our natural layer of body fat is insulating, and our metabolism is put to work as we turn to our hearty winter meals for fuel to stay warm, reports suggest.

Asthma

In advice given to readers looking for protection against the cold, asthma appears as a common condition that acts up during the winter. That’s because breathing in cold, dry winter air during the season triggers bronchospasms – when the lungs’ air passages contract, according to Discovery.

That trouble breathing in cold air constricts the lungs, exerting the body and sometimes sparking asthma attacks.

Doctors advise their patients to take their anti-asthma medications before they head out into the cold.

Dry skin, chapped lips

Cosmetics companies capitalize on the winter season as consumers stock up on lip balms and skin creams to battle the winter air.

“When it’s very cold, there is less moisture in the environment. This lack of moisture is compounded by wind, which blows moisture away from the skin,” dermatologist Dr. Susan Mayou tells the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom.

In the dry, cold environment, our skin cells are depleted of moisture, leaving skin feeling tight or chapped. Sensitive parts of the skin, such as our lips or the skin around our eyes, are most vulnerable.

High blood pressure

As your body fights to stay warm, muscles contract and that affects how blood moves into your arms and legs. Instead, the extra blood is sent to your vital organs, boosting blood pressure, Discovery says.

carmen.chai(at)globalnews.ca

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