The Impact of our Breath on Health
When speaking of breathing, the first thing most people think about is the oxygen. But carbon dioxide (C02 ) is actually just as important. We need a certain concentration of carbon di-oxide– around 6.5 percent – in order to stay well and healthy. C02 has many important functions in the body; It is essential for oxygen delivery to cells, maintaining blood pH and much more.
Under normal circumstances our breath automatically adjusts to maintain an optimal balance of oxygen and carbon di-oxide in our blood. If we interfere with our natural breathing pattern by over-breathing or force our exhale we can easily upset this. Giving attention to our breath is therefore a first line of defence in maintaining or restoring good health.
Why CO2 is Important
- CO2 is an important ingredient in the process of releasing oxygen from the blood to the cells in the body. Our blood might be fully saturated with oxygen but it will not be used of the carbon di-oxide levels are too low.
- If C02 is too low the body may raise blood pressure and heart beat in order to distribute more oxygen.
- Low CO2 levels cause blood pH balance to change. Maintaining a healthy pH level is important to maintain a healthy immune system and an imbalanced pH level has been linked to the formation of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
- CO2 acts as a relaxant for the smooth muscles of airway passages (bronchi) and blood vessels. When CO2 is low, airway passages and blood vessels constrict and become narrower, leading to the risk of stroke.
- Maintaining adequate C02 levels helps keep the nervous system remain calm and unstressed. Low CO2 levels cause the nervous system to react more strongly to stimuli leading to high stress, and low ability to focus.
- With adequate levels of C02 you can do much more exercise, more intensely without getting out of breath. Low CO2 cause you to get out of breath more quickly if you exercise.
- C02 plays an important role in delivering glucose to the cells. Low CO2 content causes decreased uptake of glucose from the blood and raises your blood sugar levels.
- A low CO2 level weakens your immune system by lowering the antibody-antigen affinity.