What is the reason for cold hands and feet, why do women have this problem

Women are more likely to have cold hands and feet. Old people always say that no one feels sorry for people with cold hands and feet. In fact, there are reasons why women have cold hands and feet. It is related to estrogen, blood circulation, and body fat. You can adjust your diet to keep yourself warmer.

1 Skin temperature is related to microcirculation heat dissipation. Normally, human skin will try to maintain a comfortable temperature. This is thanks to the "microcirculation" (Microcalculation) composed of countless capillaries in the skin, which continuously "pump" hot blood from deep inside the body to warm the skin. [In fact, the greater function of skin microcirculation is to dissipate heat from deep inside the body (core) to prevent the internal organs (like a "reactor") from overheating due to metabolic heat production (if the temperature of the internal organs or muscles is too high, they will not be able to maintain normal metabolism)]. However, when the outside temperature drops and the "temperature sensors" on the skin sense the cold, in order to prevent the internal organs from cooling down (normal metabolism cannot be maintained if the temperature of the internal organs is too low), the skin microcirculation (capillaries) immediately contracts and limits the flow to reduce heat dissipation. That is, the blood flowing to the superficial skin is reduced, and the blood flowing to the deep skin is increased. Therefore, the increase/decrease in skin microcirculation blood flow determines the high/low skin temperature, thereby regulating the body's heat dissipation. This regulatory ability is very strong because the range of variation of skin microcirculation blood flow is very large, from 0.02 liters/minute (extremely cold) to 2~3 liters/minute (extremely hot), a difference of 100 times.

2. The effect of estrogen One reason why women's hands and feet are more prone to coldness is that the above-mentioned regulatory mechanism is more intense in women. When exposed to the cold, women's vasoconstriction occurs more quickly and more intensely than men's, and it takes more time to recover. A study published in The Lancet in 1998 (on 219 subjects) confirmed this: although women's average body temperature is 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit higher than men's, their hand temperature is 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit (note, not Celsius) lower. This difference between men and women can be attributed to estrogen, which is involved in regulating peripheral vascular (including skin microcirculation). Estrogen makes women more sensitive to temperature. The more estrogen there is, the more sensitive they are. Therefore, women's body temperature changes with their menstrual cycle (fluctuations in estrogen levels).

3. The influence of body fat Another reason why women’s hands and feet are more prone to coldness is that women have more body fat than men (on average). The more subcutaneous fat there is, the more difficult it is for heat from deep inside the body to reach the skin [yes, in addition to dissipating heat through blood flow, heat generated by the metabolism of internal organs or organs can also be directly conducted and dissipated through the body], so the skin temperature of fat people is often lower.