Health Matters: Correct breathing

breathing-
Trust Marandure
This week we are looking at correct ways of breathing. We have some people who do not realise that every minute of each day we breathe 10-15 times, taking in 500 ml of air each time, that is, 60 litres per minute or over 8,000 litres [2000 galls.] per day.

Twenty percent of this air is oxygen, but we use only about four percent, the remaining 16 percent is breathed out [exhaled]. It is this exhaled oxygen that is useful in mouth-to–mouth resuscitation. What happens to the four percent oxygen we retain? We look briefly at these questions and discuss how the body protects its airways against pollution in the atmosphere. We will also give hints for stopping smoking.

When we take a breath [inspire] the air is humidifed in the nasal passages and upper airways as it passes down the windpipe [trachea] and smaller airways into the lung alveoli. These are the small sacs from which oxygen passes or diffuses into the blood vessels which surround them.

The majority of small particles in the inspired air which could damage lung tissues are removed either by being exhaled straight away or by sticking to the lining [mucosa] of the airways before the air researches the lungs. Small hairs [cilia] line the airways and move about twenty times per second. In non-smokers these cilia move the trapped particles continuously like a conveyor belt towards the mouth where they are swallowed or coughed out. Hence, the airways are kept clear and the inspired air [except for the smallest of particles] is filtered.

In coal miners inhaling 150 grams of coal dust a year [more than is usual in today’s pits] only 1.5-15 grams reach the alveoli, the rest is either exhaled straight away or is trapped and is moved upwards by the cilia. Only 0.5 grams of coal dust are permanently retained in the lungs and these particles are absorbed by scavenger cells [phagocytes] which store them away relatively harmlessly.

In smokers, the situation is complicated by loss of ciliary action, hence the continual clearance cannot occur. A similar loss of action occurs in bronchitics.

Once the air reaches the alveoli the oxygen passes in the blood stream and is carried from the lungs to the rest of the body via the left side of the heart. Every cell in the body requires oxygen for burning food and obtaining its energy. This use of oxygen is called aerobic respiration. If the cellular oxygen supply of oxygen is lessened by sudden loss of blood and loss of oxygen-carrying capacity, the body preferentially shunts blood from less important areas- skin, or gut to those more vital to life, such as the brain. Should the supply of oxygen be entirely removed, as in asphyxia, then cells which are totally incapable of functioning without oxygen such as brain cells, will die within four minutes.

Some cells like those of the heart can keep going for longer periods by burning fuel [albeit very inefficiently] without oxygen. [This is anaerobic respiration.] Even so, survival of these cells is measured in terms of minutes.

The difference between survival and death, then, is very short, yet who of us makes a resolution to keep breathing before going to sleep?

The centre for respiratory control lies in the mid-brain. This centre receives constant information regarding the body and its respiratory requirement. Adjustments can be made to regulate the type of breathing depending on the muscular activity. We can, of course, override our “automatic” respiratory control centre by consciously breathing with shallow or deep breaths. This, then, is a brief discussion of the physiology of respiration.

We live in an increasingly polluted environment. The by-products of industry and motor cars are being continuously expelled in the atmosphere. How does the body cope with such a situation? We have already mentioned the continuous ciliary and macrophage activity of the respiratory system which clears particles from inspired air and either expels them or stores them away. These two clearing systems cope admirably with everyday pollution and even with the majority of the dust in coal mines as we have seen. The argument that one occasionally hears from smokers that they live in a polluted environment and hence are no worse off than non-smokers can be countered effectively by the fact that they are eliminating one of the protective mechanisms [ciliary action] against pollution.

Carbon monoxide is a useful indicator of exposure to pollution. It is possible to measure the gas in air and in blood where it binds with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin [COH.b]. All of us have COHb in our blood produced from body activity plus that formed from inhaled pollution. The smoke from one cigarette raises a smoker’s carboxyhaemoglobin by 1 per cent, a similar rise experienced by London policemen after three hours of point duty. Non-smoking companions of smokers also raise their carboxyhaemoglobin by about the same amount by passively ‘smoking’ the exhaled smoke of the cigarette. Persistently elevated carboxyhaemoglobin levels may be hazardous to health.

What can we do to help:
Thousands who might have lived have died for want of pure water and pure air. And thousands of invalids, who are a burden to themselves and others, think that their lives depend upon taking medicines from the doctors. They are continually guarding themselves against the air and avoiding the use of water. These are the blessings they need in order to become well. If they would become enlightened and let medicine alone, and accustom themselves to outdoor exercise and to air in the houses, summer and winter, and use soft water for drinking and bathing purposes, they would be comparatively well and happy instead of dragging out a miserable existence.

Rooms that are exposed to light and air become damp. Beds and bedding gather dampness, and the atmosphere in these rooms is poisonous, because it has not been purified by light and air . . .

Sleeping rooms especially should be well ventilated, and the atmosphere made healthy by light and air. Blinds should be left open several hours each day, and the curtain put aside, and the rooms thoroughly aired. Nothing should remain, even for a short time, which would destroy the purity of the atmosphere . . .

Sleeping apartments should be large and so arranged as to have circulation of air through them day and night. Those who have excluded the air from their sleeping rooms should begin to change their course immediately.

In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full, deep inspirations of pure air which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the blood.

They impart to it a bright colour, and send it, a life-giving current, to every part of the body. A good respiration soothes the nerves, it stimulates the appetite and renders digestion more perfect. It also induces sound refreshing sleep.

Trust Marandure is a Naturopath Practitioner based in Bulawayo. He can be contacted on Cell: 0772482382 or email: tgmarandure @yahoo. Com

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