Oxygen | Radio Show
Today, having a low blood oxygen level is a normal clinical finding for people with chronic diseases. Why is that?
In this episode, Raederle (me), Lytenian and Lenny Revell discuss oxygen, its function in the body, and why oxygen is critical in healing disease. To listen to the audio, click here.
The connection between oxygen and cancer
Dr. Otto Warburg, 1931 Nobel prize winner, discovered a connection between oxygen and cancer. His studies showed that part of the cause of cancer is related to oxygen-deprived cells. He found that cancer cells are anaerobic and thrive in an oxygen-deficient environment.
Warburg also discovered that a slightly alkaline pH in the body meant higher levels of oxygen uptake.
Breathing: How We Utilize Oxygen
When we inhale, oxygen from the air we breathe is diffused through membranes and into red blood cells. Oxygen-rich blood circulates throughout the body and finds tissues needing oxygen.
Enzymes in the body combine with oxygen and initiate metabolic/oxidative processes in the body. One waste product of oxidation is carbon dioxide, which we exhale. Carbon dioxide combines with hemoglobin and bicarbonates and is transported back to the lungs.
Aerobic Respiration
The above reaction occurs in mitochondria within cells. Aerobic respiration extracts the maximum amount of energy from glucose, because the molecule is completely broken down.
When the supply of oxygen is insufficient, there is a back-up system known as anaerobic respiration, that can release energy without oxygen, as shown:
This reaction occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell. It does not put any extra pressure on the respiratory or circulatory systems, because it does not produce carbon dioxide. Enzymatic decomposition of glucose in the absence of oxygen is also known as "fermentation", though in humans the end result is the production of lactic acid, not alcohol, because we lack the enzymes to produce alcohol.
Oxygen & Detoxification
Good health, in short, is the efficient absorption of things we do need, and the efficient elimination of things we don't need.
Detoxification is the process of eliminating the things we do not need.
Removing waste is something all of our cells must do, and must continue to do to maintain health.
Cellular waste is removed from the body through the kidneys, skin, liver and colon.
Part of the waste is dissolved in water and transported through the lymph system and/or blood to the kidneys and liver for filtration. Waste is taken from the liver and kidneys to then eliminated through the urine and bowels. Toxins are also excreted from the body through perspiration.
Toxins even leave our body through nostril mucus, tears, breast milk and menstruation. However, none of these are methods by which the body is purposely disposing of large amounts of toxins, except perhaps menstruation.
Some of the most toxic poisons in the body can only be neutralized through oxidation. This is the job of oxygen-rich red blood cells that circulate throughout the body.
Minimizing your exposure to environmental toxins and restoring oxygen balance in the body is the path to cellular rejuvenation and disease prevention.
The Dangers In Lacking Oxygen
The heart becomes over-worked without adequate oxygen supply from the lungs. Over time, this puts you at risk for a heart attack.
Oxygen is required for collagen synthesis. Collagen is what allows us to heal wounds and keeps our skin healthy and looking young. Lacking in oxygen can lead to lacking in collagen which causes our skin to become wrinkly and less flexible.
Cancer cells have either wholly or partially switched to anaerobic respiration. The more our bodies lack for oxygen the more cancerous cells we have within our bodies.
Increasing Oxygen In Your Cells
Alkalizing Foods
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Increase your intake of alkalizing foods. Alkalizing foods are leafy greens, and most fruits and vegetables at large. Acidifying foods are processed foods and most animal products. Dark leafy green vegetables are the king when it comes to get calcium-rich alkaline minerals.
To get a feel for just how nutritious vegetables are, take a look at this chart shown to the right.
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Hydration
For all aspects of health, it is important to keep hydrated by drinking enough clean water. Water is essential for the utilization of oxygen as well as for the transportation of nutrients and wastes within the body. Without enough water, every bodily function is impaired, including cellular respiration and detoxification.
Breathing Deeply
This one may be obvious: for adequate oxygen you must breathe properly. Deep, slow, steady breaths through the nose into the diaphragm (the belly area) increase the oxygen that is brought into the body. Contrary to what we would be inclined to think, rapid breathing does not increase oxygenation in the body.
Impact Exercises
Daily exercise is vital to oxygen utilization. Our lymph system only moves when we move. We have more than five times as much lymph fluid as we do blood, and yet our lymph fluid has no heart to pump it. Our exercise is the pump for our lymph. For people who spend a ton of time at home behind a desk (like I do), I highly recommend an indoor trampoline for several-minute bursts of lymphatic stimulation throughout the day.
Aerobic exercises such as walking, jumping, swimming, biking, and hiking stimulate all of the organs of the body. While I highly recommend yoga, pilates and Tai Chi, none of these have "impact" to stimulate the lymph system like jumping does. A combination of walking, rebounding (on a trampoline) and yoga (or a similar practice such as Qi Gong) come together to provide a holistic scope of health benefits.
Nature
Keeping plants besides the bed and on the desk is a powerful way to improve the quality of your life. Not only will there be more oxygen in the air (created by the plants), but also, you'll have something green and alive nearby to uplift you. Green has been shown to be the most pleasing color to the human eye. This makes sense, as in the wild it is the color green that indicates a habitat suitable for mankind.
For a particularly powerful boost to your blood-oxygen levels, keep a tray of wheatgrass or sprouts besides your bed and at your desk and eat sprouts and/or drink wheatgrass juice on a daily basis. They'll provide you with oxygen while they're growing directly, and indirectly when you consume them through their alkalizing minerals.
Turn off the heater and put on a sweater!
For incredible relief from dizziness and fatigue reduce use of the heater and air conditioner. Both of these temperature managers remove oxygen from the air, leaving your home and office stale and suffocating. "A breath of fresh air" feels so good because the indoor air has no source of oxygen.
If your home is running a heater/furnace or air conditioner for hours of the day, or all the time, and people are breathing inside, and yet there are no plants replenishing the oxygen indoors, then guess what happens? Your bodily cells begin to starve for oxygen no matter your healthy diet or deep breathing.
Conclusions
Adequate oxygenation has a host of important functions. If you're currently suffering from a lack of oxygen in your body, then increasing the oxygenation of your body will have many benefits, such as increased level of energy and reduced stress.
~ Raederle Phoenix
and Lytenian and Lenny Revell
Quotes From My Sources
"Cancer cells also do not grow well in the presence of oxygen. When oxygen levels are low, cancer cells have more of an opportunity to thrive and multiple. When body tissues have a high alkaline level, they are able to hold much more oxygen as compared to tissues with a high acid level." ~ Alkaline Diet
"An oxygen-depleting diet would consist of one high cooked foods, red meat, sugar, saturated fats, white bread, processed and frozen foods, and carbonated beverages. Switching to an oxygen-rich diet often brings immediate energy and a more vibrant face, skin and positive attitude." ~ Breathing.com
"Oxygen is incorporated by two amino acids, proline and lysine, in collagen chain synthesis. Collagen cannot be synthesized by the fibroblast unless adequate amounts of both proline and lysine are hydroxylated with oxygen. Synthesis requires one atom of oxygen for every three amino acids in sequence. Oxygen is also required in increased amounts during the repair process to provide energy for protein synthesis." ~ Brian A. Youn, M.D.
"Aerobic cellular respiration creates about 30 ATP molecules from each glucose molecule, and anaerobic respiration creates only 2 ATP molecules. Anaerobic respiration releases only a small fraction of the available energy. Cancer cells must feel very tired!" ~ Alkalize For Health
