Woman Uses Thermometer To Measure Metabolism—Here's What an Expert Thinks

A woman has shown how she uses a thermometer to measure her metabolism in a social media video, but a hormonal health expert isn't convinced that her technique is quite as helpful as it may appear.

The Canadian woman, Kali, who is known as @TheKaliLife on Instagram, named her thermometer her "new staple wellness tool" in the post that she shared to the platform.

Health-conscious because of a family history of thyroid-related conditions, 24-year-old Kali now swears by her thermometer, claiming that it can help her track and monitor the fragile health and sensitivities she sadly suffers from, which she attributes to childhood mold exposure.

"I've struggled with mystery health issues my whole life, but my health picture finally made sense when three years ago I was diagnosed with mold illness. Little did I know that my old moldy home was silently making me sick my entire life with digestive issues, hormonal imbalances and chronic injuries that wouldn't heal," Kali told Newsweek.

"I recently purchased a thermometer after learning all the things you track with it. For example, I struggle with a dysregulated nervous system and high stress hormones due to my chronic health issues. I do a lot of vagal toning, meditation and somatic exercises to regulate my nervous system. Apparently, you can see if you have elevated stress hormones by checking your body temperature, so I've been trying out to track my progress."

"Also, mold illness can negatively impact your thyroid and I'm extra concerned about it since thyroid issues run in my family. So, It's one of the many tools that I can use to monitor my thyroid, along with blood tests and ultrasound scans, but you can just take this measurement from home," she added.

The creator went on to explain in the short video that she uses the small thermometer to measure exactly how fast or slow her metabolism is, and whether her stress hormone levels are interfering with her overall health status.

According to Kali, you can check if you have elevated stress levels just by checking your temperature with the handy device. Viewers were shown a demonstration of the creator measuring her basal, or lowest, body temperature with the tool first thing in the morning, which is the recommended time to get the best reading from when the body is at rest.

Can a Thermometer Measure Cortisol Levels and Metabolism?

Dr. Bruce Dorr is an experienced gynecologist from Michigan who now practices in Colorado. He has focused his current practice on hormonal health and was able to dissect why relying on a thermometer alone for stress and metabolism measurements may not produce the accurate results people want.

"Hormone levels can only be accurately measured with a blood test, not a thermometer," Dorr told Newsweek.

"A temperature gives you the response to an interaction going on in the body. Specifically, women can record their basal body temperature. This is an assessment for ovulation and progesterone production.

"Women can take their temperature first thing every morning and when they ovulated their progesterone, the main hormone of the second part of the menstrual cycle, would raise their basal body temperature by about 1 degree."

"So, plotting on a daily graph, we can then see that women were ovulating. This method has been replaced by ovulation predictor kits, which give us information about when ovulation is going to occur, instead of simply reporting it after the fact," he added.

The creator had added in the social media post that she had also been using the thermometer to track her ovulation days, but Dorr is cautious of that data being attributed to other markers, like Kali's cortisol levels.

"Blood tests for hormones are the accepted standard of care. While home blood tests exist, it's better to have a physician administer hormone testing as they will likely draw levels to coincide with where a woman is in her menstrual cycle," he explained.

Despite Dorr's reservations about how robust its cortisol measurements are, Kali's thermometer hack looks to be a hit with her followers, many of whom have left supportive comments below the video.

"Basal body temperature tracking is my favorite birth-control method. Super effective with zero side effects. While I, too, have heard that a lower temperature can mean lower metabolism, I can run low but have a crazy fast metabolism (like, I seriously eat so much food), so I think there's some individuality to it," one user wrote.

"Also try to not actually get up to check your temperature. Once you start moving around your basal body temperature changes, so you won't get the accurate reading," another user advised.

While Dorr isn't certain that the thermometer method can do much more than indicate if you've got a cold or if you're fertile, Kali appears confident that the method can help her track how she's doing as she heals from the mold which damaged her health as a child and never truly left her.

The young woman made a separate post on her platform where she explained that she had grown up in moldy homes, which have left her with gut sensitivities and other health issues. She is now working through those with the support of a holistic health professional, a medical doctor and a naturopath, and hopes to finally make a full recovery and help others on the way.

"Struggling with multiple chronic illnesses is very difficult and isolating so I share my wellness journey on TikTok and Instagram in hopes of helping others, whom have similar struggles, feel less alone and to spread awareness," Kali said.

"As I detox mold and heal, the measurements I take are useful data that I can share and consult with my primary care providers. All forms of medicine I'm using have different things to offer so I like hearing all sides when it comes to all my health concerns," she added.

Update 9/15/23, 4:05 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional comment and information from the original poster.

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