How Does Diet Affect Your Body Temperature?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/does-diet-affect-body-temperature/

Research Questions:

• Can diet change basal body temperature?
• Which foods can change the temperature of my body?

Certain elements in a diet are believed to be able to increase a person’s basal body temperature and, as a result, improve metabolism. This experiment will evaluate whether simple diet modifications are truly able to increase body temperature.

Materials:

• Basal thermometer
• Coconut oil and other temperature-elevating food you identify in your research
• Notebook for recording and analyzing results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Record your basal body temperature each morning when you wake up. Be sure to take your temperature before getting out of bed. Record temperatures for approximately 2 months to get an accurate view of your average basal body temperature.
2. Research diets believed to increase basal body temperature. For example, you should be sure to drink plenty of fluids, cook with coconut oil, increase protein intake, and eat complex, high-fiber carbohydrates.
3. Follow your new diet for approximately 2 months.
4. Record your basal body temperature each morning for the duration of the experiment.
5. Analyze your results. Do you notice changes in your body temperature after beginning your new diet? How quickly do changes take place? Does your temperature return to its starting level when you stop the diet?