Startling reason you may always feel cold – and it's nothing to do with your heating

Are you always the odd-one-out feeling chilly when everyone else is warm?

While you may assume it's time to switch up the heating, a specialist claims you can sort these shivers out by simply fixing your diet. Licensed therapist and certified intuitive eating coach Libby Supan took to TikTok to share her wisdom, stressing that people who don't eat enough are more likely to be cold.

"This comes straight from Doctor Jennifer Gaudiani's website who's an MD and eating disorder specialist," she said, posting to her account @foodfreedoomwithlibby. "Patients who aren't eating enough run chilly body temperatures and lack consistent flow of warm, calorie-heated blood to their hands and feet.

"Not only does your body cool its thermostat and shut off warm blood to the extremities, but it also grows extra fine soft hair, most visible on your face." This feathery facial hair is widely referred to as 'lanugo' among the medical community and it's often noticeable on newborns.

Believe it not, this plays a crucial role in keeping babies warm in the uterus, before they shed it towards the end of the pregnancy or a couple of weeks after their birth. However, lanugo growth on adults or teenagers is a typical sign of malnutrition and/or an eating disorder, like anorexia.

Regardless of your weight, studies show that sustaining a low calorie diet is linked to a low core body temperature. Intermittent fasting diets may also have a similar effect, so lanugo may grow to keep you warm. Libby continued: "This hair is called lanugo and it literally has been regrown to try and keep you warm by holding in heat as if you're growing a pelt.

"And here's something super interesting and ironic. Calorie deprivation - with or without over-exercise or purging - puts your body into extreme metabolic hibernation. Amazingly, eating enough and resting your body within the first two or so weeks will not cause weight gain, but rather, will all go towards speeding up your metabolism.

"Your heart rate increases, your body temperature warms up as do your hands and feet all before any weight is gained." A balanced diet is therefore not only vital to stay warm but for improving your overall health.

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