Are you one of those people who is cold wherever they are, almost regardless of how cold it actually is outside?
This could say something about your health. It could be nothing, but it could also be pretty serious.
- You could be low on iron. Low iron levels are a pretty common cause for being chronically cold. Iron is essential to helping your body bring heat to all your cells, and it helps your thyroid operate correctly. Try eating more spinach, meat, and seafood to up your iron intake.
- You could have bad circulation. If your hands and feet are always cold but the rest of you feels fine, it could be a circulation issue. It could be cardiovascular disease, or even Raynauds disease, which makes the blood vessels in your extremities constrict in the cold.
- It could be your thyroid. If you’re always cold, one common cause is hypothyroidism, which is what happens when your thyroid doesn’t release enough hormones. This slows your metabolism, and therefore your body’s ability to heat itself.
- You could need more sleep. When you’re sleep deprived, your body gets thrown off, and your body temperature drops. This is because without enough sleep, your metabolism can’t function as well.
- You’re dehydrated. The answer to all the world’s health problems, it seems, is just to drink more water. Water warms you up and speeds up metabolism, which will warm you up more.
- You’re female. One of the numerous disadvantages to being a woman, healthwise, is that our circulation Is far poorer than men’s. Women conserve heat in their vital organs, leaving less blood flow to our hands and feet. Men, however, radiate heat constantly, everywhere, all the time.
- You’re underweight. A BMI of 18.5 or under means you don’t have adequate amounts of fat to keep you warm. If your BMI is that low, it also probably means you don’t eat very much, and your metabolism is slowing.
So there you go. Talk to your doctor to see which one of these may be affecting you. In the meantime, keep a sweater on your person, no matter what the weather is.
