Wim HofInstructor and teacher, Wim Hof Method

Wim Hof Method & The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

31 Oct 2019 · 1 min

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The video links the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to William Kaelin, Peter Ratcliffe, and Gregg Semenza, to the Wim Hof Method. The laureates discovered how cells sense low oxygen via the hypoxia‑inducible factor (HIF) pathway, which drives new blood‑vessel formation and up‑regulates erythropoietin (EPO) production. The narrator explains that Wim Hof’s controlled breathing deliberately creates systemic hypoxia and alkalized blood, allowing prolonged breath‑holds and extreme drops in blood‑oxygen saturation—as demonstrated in the Radboud University study where participants’ oxygen levels fell to the point of turning off oximeters. This artificial hypoxic stress is proposed to boost HIF expression, potentially delivering the same health benefits (e.g., improved oxygen transport, disease resilience) that the Nobel‑winning research uncovered, and may also explain Hof’s rapid adaptation to high altitude during climbs of Everest and Kilimanjaro. The segment concludes with gratitude to the Nobel researchers, positioning their findings as scientific validation for the Wim Hof Method.

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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three researchers: William Caelin, Peter Ratcliffe, and Gregg Semenza. These researchers helped reveal the mechanisms by which cells in the body sense and adapt to low oxygen availability, mechanisms that has deepened our understanding and ability to treat diseases such as anemia and cancer. When the body is experiencing low oxygen levels, A protein complex builds up in nearly all the cells in the body. This protein complex is called HIF, or hypoxia-induced factor. HIF has a number of effects on the body, including the formation of new blood vessels, and strikingly seems to upregulate the expression of genes used to produce erythropoietin, EPO, a hormone that stimulates the creation of new oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
Why is this so important to the method? Because the Wim Hof breathing method simulates this low oxygen stress throughout the body. Through deep controlled breathing, blood is alkalized. This alkaline blood affects the release of oxygen in the body and allows a person to hold their breath for a long time, meaning oxygen saturation in the body can lower to unprecedented levels. This was shown in the Radboud study where Wim managed to lower his blood oxygen saturation to levels that would literally turn off the oximeter measuring him. The participants of the Radboud study also demonstrated this low oxygen saturation. Have a look. Lowering deeper and deeper after each round. This low oxygen stress on the body could stimulate greater expression of the HIF protein, allowing a person to reap the benefits this protein offers at home through natural means. This research can also help explain how Wim Hof could train himself and others to adapt to high altitudes quickly with his breathing technique, climbing Everest or Kilimanjaro in shorts, no less.
In this spirit, we would like to thank these researchers. For many years, Wim has been trying to get this message out there, and there seems to be more evidence every day. Humbly, we thank you.