Salt consumption, ginger consumption and cold intolerance

 For the past few weeks, I have been consuming ginger tea at night around 10 pm due to my work schedule (fresh ginger and tea powder are added to the water, boiled, filtered and consumed with sugar and milk). For the past 10 days, I avoided salt completely in my cooked food. However, I have been taking bread, lunch from a restaurant and snacks every day. These items still contain salt. I eat my cooked food in the night only. Also, I had been consuming chicken everyday for the last 10 days.

Now, the weather is cold. I am driving today morning and the car dashboard displays the temperature of 9 deg C. I did not wear any sweater/jacket/coat. Yet, I did not feel cold. Instead, the sensation of cold was pleasant and enjoyable. This effect was observed for the past one week suggesting some correlation with reduced salt intake/chicken consumption.

I need to explore the mechanism behind this. 

Low salt consumption has produced the following effects:

Positive effects:

1. Normalised blood pressure

2. Reduced aggression and irritability

3. More clarity in thinking

4. Almost no post-lunch sleepiness (most striking effect)

5. Reduced hypersensitivity of mind and emotions (reduced fight with wife)

Negative effects:

1. Reduced loudness and tone in voice

The mechanisms appear to be reduced vasoconstriction and increased blood flow in the brain and in the peripheral organs.

My cold intolerance - Vitamin D3 Cholecalciferol increases tolerance to cold

My general condition is that I used to feel more cold in airconditioned places where similarly aged and similarly dressed people feel normal. I suspected that it may be due to hypothyroidism. However, my thyroid hormones levels are nor very abnormal. Moreover, supplementation with thyroxin 25 mcg per day did not produce any improvement in cold intolerance condition.

I have taken Vitamin D3 cholecalciferol 2000 I.U. chewable tablets 1 tablet/per day after the breakfast. It has increased my tolerance to cold temperature especially the office air conditioning. I have not taken any other medication during this time. The effect is visible from the second dose itself.

Positive effects:

1. Increased tolerance to cold

2. Reduced frequency of urination - (suggesting a steroid-like effect)

3. Reduced the appearance of under-eye dark circles.

4. Improved the focus and concentration slightly

5. Reduced the muscle pain and hand pain associated with mouse use

Negative effects:

1. Although I could sleep and wake up early to go to office on time, there is a sleep debt.

2. Slightly increased stuttering

Update on 7 Jan 2021

1. I observed three things with respect to cold tolerance/intolerance. If I skip my breakfast, I feel more cold.

2. If I do simple walking for 30 minutes duration in night time around 8.30 pm when the temperature is around 15 - 18 deg C, I feel more warm. During the walking I wear sweater and after returning my house, I can wear only normal T-shirt for 1-2 hours where the room temperature is around 15 deg C.

3. After I eat food (lunch/dinner), within 15 minutes, I feel more cold.

The above observations indicate that my cold tolerance has some connection with my blood circulation. After eating, more blood flow is diverted to stomach and intestine area. Therefore, other areas of the body receive less blood flow. Less blood flow means less heat exchange and more cold intolerance. Exercise such as walking for 30 minutes improves blood flow to all parts of the body. More blood flow, more heat exchange and more warm feeling.

Therefore, I need to do appropriate exercises to improve my blood circulation to avoid cold intolerance.

Update on 23 Dec 2023:

Daily consumption of ginger tea, masala tea, multivitamin tablet (supradyn multivitamin), and daily elliptical training for 20 minutes increases cold tolerance.

Update on 04 Jan 2025:

I have been taking Centrum energy tablets (1/2 tablet everyday after lunch) for last 6 days. This increases cold tolerance especially after taking mutton. Yesterday, I took mutton in lunch and dinner and also half tablet of Centrum energy. Today, I don't feel any cold even though the room temperature is 21.5 deg C. Really surprising!

Composition of Centrum energy tablet:

This tablet appears to contain 18 mcg (750%) of Vitamin B12 (normal adult dose is 2.4 mcg). Other than that, all other components are more/less in the usual range.