The Benefits of Cold Exposure for People with Type 2 Diabetes

Cold exposure has become a popular wellness trend, with many people using cold showers, ice baths, and cold-water swimming to improve their health. While these practices have gained attention for boosting energy and recovery, researchers are also investigating whether cold exposure could benefit people living with type 2 diabetes.

Alongside suitable medical treatment and healthy lifestyle habits, emerging research suggests that mild cold exposure may offer additional metabolic benefits. 

Regular exposure to mild cold may improve insulin sensitivity, help lower blood sugar levels, and increase the body’s ability to burn glucose and fat. However, it is important to understand that cold exposure is not a replacement for healthy eating, exercise, or prescribed diabetes treatment. 

People living with diabetes often seek various ways to help them live a healthier lifestyle, and often that shift also includes reviewing their long-term financial planning. Part of financial planning means having appropriate life insurance in place to help protect their family’s financial future.

Cold exposure for diabetics does not replace the role of life cover

Living with type 2 diabetes requires a combination of healthy lifestyle choices and ongoing medical care. If you are living with type 2 diabetes, it is not only important to manage your condition, but also to think about the future and to consider the legacy you want to leave behind. Taking out life cover is one of the ways you can create a legacy for your loved ones.  

However, many people believe that a diabetes diagnosis means they will not qualify for life insurance, but this is not correct. AllLife specialises in life insurance for people living with diabetes, offering cover of up to R10 million. The application process is quick; simply complete the form and an AllLife consultant will call you back.

What happens to your body during cold exposure?

When your body is exposed to cold temperatures, it works harder to maintain a normal core temperature. This process increases energy expenditure and activates several natural responses, including:

• Increased calorie burning
• Greater use of glucose for energy
• Higher fat oxidation
• Activation of brown fat and skeletal muscles
• Improved insulin sensitivity

Unlike extreme cold, mild cold exposure allows the body to maintain its normal temperature while increasing metabolism.

How cold exposure may help people with type 2 diabetes

Research has shown several promising benefits for people with type 2 diabetes.

Improved Insulin Sensitivity

One of the biggest challenges in type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, where the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin.

Studies have found that both single sessions and repeated mild cold exposure can improve insulin sensitivity. This allows glucose to move more effectively from the bloodstream into muscle cells where it can be used for energy.

Better insulin sensitivity may help improve long-term blood sugar control.

Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Researchers have observed reductions in fasting blood glucose after repeated mild cold exposure.

In people with well-controlled type 2 diabetes, even a single cold exposure session reduced blood glucose levels during the exposure period. Daily cold exposure over several days has also been shown to improve glucose disposal by the muscles.

Although these findings are encouraging, larger long-term studies are still needed.

Increased Glucose Uptake by Muscles

Skeletal muscles play a major role during cold exposure.

As muscles generate heat through small involuntary contractions, they use more glucose as fuel. This increased demand helps remove glucose from the bloodstream.

Researchers believe this muscle activity is responsible for many of the improvements seen in blood sugar control.

More Calories Burned

Cold exposure increases the body’s energy expenditure because extra energy is needed to maintain body temperature.

While the increase is modest, regular cold exposure may support weight management when combined with a healthy lifestyle.

Since maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of managing type 2 diabetes, this may offer an additional benefit.

Does Brown Fat Play a Role?

Brown adipose tissue, commonly called brown fat, helps generate heat when you become cold.

Brown fat uses both glucose and fatty acids to produce heat, helping remove these fuels from the bloodstream.

Although brown fat contributes to these effects, researchers now believe skeletal muscles account for most of the increased glucose use during mild cold exposure.

Can cold exposure replace exercise if diagnosed with diabetes?

No.

Cold exposure should be viewed as a possible complementary strategy rather than a replacement for physical activity.

Exercise provides a wide range of proven health benefits, including:

• Better blood sugar control
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Increased muscle strength
• Weight management
• Reduced risk of diabetes complications

Cold exposure may provide some similar metabolic benefits, but it cannot match the overall health improvements gained through regular exercise.

Is cold exposure safe for everyone?

Cold exposure is not suitable for everyone.

People with the following conditions should speak to their healthcare provider before trying cold therapy:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Poor circulation
• Severe nerve damage
• Respiratory conditions
• Other chronic medical conditions
• Use of insulin or medicines that can cause low blood sugar

Cold temperatures naturally cause blood vessels to narrow, which can temporarily increase blood pressure. For most healthy people, this increase is small, but those with cardiovascular disease should take extra care.

People using insulin or medicines that can cause low blood sugar should also discuss cold exposure with their healthcare provider, as changes in energy use may affect glucose management.

What researchers still need to learn

Although current studies are promising, several important questions remain unanswered.

Researchers are still investigating:

• The ideal temperature for health benefits
• How long each cold exposure session should last
• How often cold exposure should be performed
• Whether women respond differently from men
• The long-term effects on people with obesity and type 2 diabetes
• Which forms of cold exposure work best, such as cold air, cold showers, or cold water immersion

More clinical research is needed before cold exposure becomes a standard recommendation for diabetes management.

Overall, the evidence to date should be considered promising but limited. Much of the research is recent and based on relatively small study samples, which means the findings should be interpreted with caution. Larger, longer-term studies are needed before firm conclusions can be made about the role of cold exposure in type 2 diabetes management.

The bottom line

Cold exposure shows exciting potential as an additional tool for improving metabolic health in people with type 2 diabetes. Although cold-water swimming and cold exposure have become popular, there is still limited human research explaining exactly how they may improve health. Animal studies over many years suggest that cold exposure may support metabolism by helping the body manage insulin, blood sugar, and fat more effectively.

To conclude, cold exposure may have health benefits, especially for metabolism, but more human research is needed to understand how it works

However, cold exposure should never replace prescribed medication, healthy eating, or regular physical activity. Instead, it may become another supportive lifestyle strategy alongside existing diabetes treatments.

If you are living with type 2 diabetes and are considering life insurance to ensure you leave a legacy for your loved ones, speak to AllLife.

Sources

• American Physiological Society. Research Paper: Cold Exposure as an Adjunct Therapeutic Strategy in the Management of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Published 27 April 2026
• American Diabetes Association. Website: Exercising with Diabetes Complications Published (no date listed)
• National Library of Medicine: PubMed, Abstract: Examining the benefits of cold exposure as a therapeutic strategy for obesity and type 2 diabetes, Published, 25 March 2021
• CDC. Article: Managing Diabetes in Cold Weather, Published, 15 May 2024

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Readers should consider their individual financial needs and circumstances before taking out any financial product.

AllLife (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP No 4946. Products insured by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Limited (OMART Life).