Body temperature: What is the new normal?

[helvella]

Do just take this as just one article, one paper, one viewpoint. I am neither endorsing it, nor disagreeing. But it does strike me as at least somewhat interesting.

This is an introductory overview:

Body temperature: What is the new normal?

A recent analysis of temperature trends suggests that the average human body temperature has dropped since the 19th century due to physiological changes. The authors of the new study also highlight potential causes of these alterations.

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

And this is the paper:

elifesciences.org/articles/...

I do not know what you might have to go through or accept in order to gain access. It was not a problem for me.

[DippyDame]

My b/temp seems stuck around 36C too....my GP told me last week that temp was not a guide to T3 dosing! She favours heart rate.

[humanbean]

I have no evidence for this statement, but I think diet is likely to be the biggest cause of changes in body temperature in developed countries where obesity is now common. There have been many changes in the average diet in the last 150 years.

I try (sadly with lots of fails due to severe carb addiction) to keep my carb intake lower than I did throughout most of my life and I eat more fat and protein.

If I manage a run of two or three weeks of doing well by my own standards, I have noticed that I feel warmer, and my temperature also rises. When my diet is too high in carbs my basal temperature is usually below 97 F (36.1 C) and can be as low as 96.4 F (35.8 C). But if I eat more fat and protein and lower my carbs my temperature will go above 97 F (36.1 C).

When I was in my 20s my temperature was lower than it is now, and getting a result below 96 F (35.6 C) was common. I think I've been hypothyroid since my teens. I didn't get my first Levo prescription until I was in my 50s.

[helvella Administrator in reply to humanbean]

A very interesting thought!

[Lesleyg13 in reply to humanbean]

Protein has a known thermic effect. It takes more energy for the body to process protein than the other macronutrients, so it makes total sense to me.

healthline.com/nutrition/me...

[humanbean in reply to Lesleyg13]

Thanks for the link - very interesting.

[bookish in reply to humanbean]

How interesting - I've noticed that I am no longer as ridiculously cold as I had been for several years, and have stopped eating gluten (all grains) which I ate a lot of, and now eat veg, fruit, more protein and good fats. I'd assumed getting supplements to a more reasonable level had made the difference, but maybe that's not the only reason. Thank you