Body Temperature as low as 34.9 degrees C

[Matt]

When I first started calorie restriction I noticed my body temperature was super low. At some point, something changed. Not long after I started CR, a few years, I developed chronic bacterial prostatitis... probably from an untreated UTI (I already had a history of them). It took forever to get rid of, almost impossible to cure. I read through lots of papers and combined antibiotics with supplements to increase change of curing it. After a long time with trial and error, I cured it and it hasn't come back now for about 5 years. 

One thing I noticed was that my temperature never got down as low as it used to be, despite feeling "cured". 

 

So fast forward to the last few months. As of September, I've noticed my body temperature (measured by ear) is always really low. It's usually around 35.5, but towards the evening and morning it is as low as 34.9 degrees C.

 

Does anyone else have a temperature this low? I let my parents use the thermometer and they were both at 37 degrees C when I checked last night. 

 

It may have been a coincidence, but this happened when two things changed:

 

1. I started taking Finasteride 1.25 mg a day  

 

2. I had a couple old fillings removed because of cavities, which one of them he said may need root canal because it reached the nerve. So far I've not had any pain after the first month, but i need x rays in April to check if the tooth is okay. Both have temporary fillings for now. This seems unlikely as the reason though?

 

Might have been a coincidence but could it have been one of these which brought my temperature down from about 36.1 degrees C to average of about 35.5?  I'm always cold again now, too... 

I was thinking maybe the finasteride had shrunk the prostate or removed inflammatory cells and/or bacteria from the prostate that were not removed previously. Or maybe it was the dental work.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this little anecdote because I thought it was kind of interesting. If you've read my blog you'd know that I had a chronic infection for years which required long periods of low dose antibiotics like trimethoprim and doxycycline.

 

Temperature this morning was 35.1 degrees C. Ear temperature is a little higher than oral temperature.
 

[Gordo]

I wonder what years of continuous antibiotics does to your gut biome? Anyway, normal body temperature for adults can be as low as 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to WebMD. I would think if you had higher BAT activity your body temp would be higher, which may be desirable depending on who you believe :)

[Burak]

Gordo, I am also a bit confused about that conundrum. In the CE topic, it's been concluded that having a lower body temperature is better. On the other hand, if you have a high BAT activity, your body temperature tends not to go lower that much. I prefer higher BAT activity or higher metabolic rate in general, since I always feel hot after meals (and feel energetic in general without fear of gaining weight from excess eating) and this leads me to think that I am burning glucose at higher rate to prevent it to escalate in blood which should be good. On the other hand, by the logic of "using a lot consumes battery much faster", it doesn't seem right. We are not cellphones though, and the metabolism of burning for heat is different AFAIK, and knowing this at least is comforting. 

[Matt]

I feel better when my body temperature is low... If my temperature ever gets close to 37 I start feeling ill like I have a fever. Explaining this to doctors and such can be difficult  

 

As for taking antibiotics: I never noticed any digestive issues, but I concede that my gut health can't have been that great. I did take probiotics most of the time though (if that helped at all). I was taking trimethoprim, and then later took doxycycline after the Trim stopped working - except for when I had bladder symptoms. Anyway, it was either antibiotics or constant pain and UTI symptoms... So a pretty easy choice. :) 

 

Body temperature and longevity doesn't seem to be straight forward... Although in humans, it has been found that lower body temperature in males significantly decreases mortality. 

 

Being cool: how body temperature influences ageing and longevity

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4486781/

 

Considerations on Temperature, Longevity and Aging

A modest reduction in body temperature prolongs longevity and possibly retards aging in both poikilotherm and homeotherm animals. Some of the possible mechanisms mediating these effects are considered here with respect to major aging models and theories.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2574693/

 

Is Older Colder or Colder Older? The Association of Age With Body Temperature in 18,630 Individuals

https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/66A/5/487/571283/Is-Older-Colder-or-Colder-Older-The-Association-of

[Gordo]

"I feel better when my body temperature is low."

 

I agree completely.   Just to clarify, doing cold exposure isn't going to result in a higher body temp compared to an average person, for sure you will end up with a lower body temp, but with solid BAT activity, your core body temp should not drop below some threshold which will vary from person to person, if it did, you'd end up with hypothermia symptoms (with shivering being an obvious early warning sign).  When I'm doing CE my BAT "hot spots" feel really warm (clavicle area, thighs, and rib cages especially). I think the body soaking up excess blood sugar (and triglycerides) and burning it off can only be good for one's long term health (not to mention the favorable shift in hormones).

[AIL]

I would think that lower body-temperature is an expected side-effect of Cr and ketosis. Slower metabolism producing less heat and at the same time causing less wear on the cells causing them to last longer.

[AIL]

Now this is starting to become somewhat of a problem to me.

It's not super bad or anything but it is quite uncomfortable.

 

And it's only September. I always hated the cold temperatures in winter. But now with so much less of a protective layer of fat and less glucose to "waste" for heating, I'm really not looking forward to winter. Gonna have to compensate with my clothing.

 

Makes me really feel with the poor reptiles.

[mccoy]

Thar was good during the summertime though (I suppose).

[Gordo]

Now this is starting to become somewhat of a problem to me.

It's not super bad or anything but it is quite uncomfortable.

 

And it's only September. I always hated the cold temperatures in winter. But now with so much less of a protective layer of fat and less glucose to "waste" for heating, I'm really not looking forward to winter. Gonna have to compensate with my clothing.

 

Makes me really feel with the poor reptiles.

 

I think cold (and heat) tolerance is likely just a mind issue.  If you embrace it, especially after recognizing the health benefits that it can bring, you will start to feel differently about it.  As with so many things, this requires some practice and "build up".  Or perhaps it is not really a mind matter, but a BAT matter, in which case it takes the same exact practice and build up, and once you've got good BAT physiology, you won't be bothered by cold. See:

http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/87615-brownbeige-adipose-tissue-activation-bat-via-cold-exposure-and-diet-for-health-and-longevity/