Wim Hof, the “iceman”, taught volunteers how to tolerate cold (Image: Henny Boogert)
EARLY last year we travelled to the icy mountains of Poland as part of an unusual experiment. A group of volunteers that we had recruited spent the next four days immersing themselves in freezing-cold water, lying in snow or hiking up a mountain wearing just shorts in temperatures as low as -27 °C. We were hoping these volunteers might shed new light on the workings of the immune system.
Our immune system is vital for protection against invaders such as bacteria and viruses, and without it…
