By Matt Olszewski — Correspondent
On scorching summer days, keeping cool is not only a matter of comfort. It can be a matter of good health.
But what happens when your routine forces you to be out in the heat on days like today, when the National Weather Service pegs the heat index at a balmy 97 degrees?
The Nano-Ice cooling necklace, a product developed by Concordian Sam White, may be one way to stay chill(er).
White developed Nano-Ice in 2014 while he and his then-fiancée were living in Mumbai, India. Faced with the challenge of extreme heat, White created a cooling technology for farmers to cold-store perishable foods without relying on diesel generators, given the limited electricity supply.
This experience laid the foundation for Nano-Ice.
“I took the formula that goes into the water that creates more thermal energy from the same unit of ice than if you were to just put normal water in these balls,” explained White, whose self-styled title is “Chief Cooling Officer.”
White recently expanded the availability of Nano-Ice necklaces to Debra’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord.
Maintaining chill
Concordian Colleen Daly said she’s found the necklace helpful in these steamy times we live in.
“I used the necklace a couple of times already,” she said. “I just volunteered for a community event and I wore it that day. It was super hot and we were moving stuff all around. [I] did not feel nearly as hot, despite the weather.”
The necklace cools the blood as it travels through the neck arteries to the brain. It features eight specially packed balls, each containing a cooling solution that chills in your freezer and lasts up to three hours.
To keep the necklace wearer chilled out, White uses a nucleating agent that encourages ice formation.
“The crystals form in a more compact way, so there is more ice inside each sphere of the necklace,” he said.
Cooler days
For some people, overheating may be related not only to the weather, but to an underlying medical issue.
“We are continuing to see an increase in the number of individuals developing forms of dysautonomia (autonomic dysfunction) around the world,” said Rachel Hellman, the president and founder of Awareness for POTSies.
POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, is a condition that can produce myriad symptoms when one shifts from sitting to standing — including heat intolerance.
Hellman said something as simple as Nano-Ice can help with day-to-day functioning.
“When struggling with heat intolerance, having access to supportive tools they can use when in warmer environments can allow for increased functioning, comfort, and quality of life,” Hellman said.
