Cold showers may increase glutathione -- one of your body’s most powerful antioxidants. In fact, many of the antioxidants you ingest orally work by helping your body produce glutathione.
A study of winter swimmers hints that cold water therapy can stimulate increases in glutathione levels. The study followed ten healthy subjects who swam regularly in cold water, and compared their glutathione levels to non-winter swimmers. They found that immediately after swimming, the cold-water swimmers had an inflated amount of oxidized glutathione.
What does this mean? Oxidation is a process in which a cell gets an electron stolen from it, becoming damaged. Antioxidants sacrifice their own electrons for the benefit of the cells. Immediately after a cold shower, your antioxidant glutathione becomes “oxidized”, meaning the protective form will be more plentiful.
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