Know More about Oxygen with Dr. Magdy Badran

Eighth on the periodic table, oxygen is responsible for the breathing of cells and is essential for providing energy, Dr. Magdy Badran says.

We humans, along with many other creatures, need oxygen in the air we breathe to stay alive. Its reduction to water by the mitochondrial electron transport chain helps supply the metabolic demands of human life.

It is generated during photosynthesis by plants and many types of microbes. Plants both use oxygen (during respiration) and produce it (via photosynthesis).

Global Deoxygenation

There has been a clear decline in the volume of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere over the past 20 years.

Fossils encased in amber, many thousands of years old, contained bubbles which when analyzed, were found to contain 30% O2. Presently, our atmosphere contains 21% O2.

In cities that are badly polluted this percentage is reportedly around 15%. At 7% O2 mammalian life ceases. Its amount in the global oceans has decreased by around 2% over the past 50 years.

Human-caused global warming is the principal cause of marine oxygen loss. Warming affects the ocean and its dissolved oxygen content in several ways.

Among other things, it influences the solubility of oxygen in the water. The warmer the water, the less gas that can dissolve in it.

Warming alters patterns of global ocean circulation, which affects the mixing of oxygen-rich surface waters with deeper oxygen-poor water. It also changes how quickly organisms metabolize and respire.

This means that in absolute concentration a seawater sample will contain less oxygen than a freshwater sample at the same temperature although the partial pressure is the same.

The Relationship Between Oxygen and Health

Oxygen is essential for the health of cells. It removes toxins from the body and is the key element in the “combustion” of glucose molecules (the primary mammalian energy source) to produce energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's primary form of stored energy at the biochemical level.

When glucose is metabolized to ATP anaerobically, six ATP molecules are produced. When the same molecule of glucose is metabolized in the presence of O2, thirty-eight molecules of ATP are produced.

In a room full of people, we know how uncomfortable we get, and seek larger open spaces or moving air for relief from this discomfort. This discomfort is due to excessive amounts of CO2 in the air.

Many temporary maladies, such as headache, fatigue, decision making and strategic thinking, eye, nose, and throat discomfort are caused by high CO2 levels in airplane cabins. Levels decreased significantly as carbon dioxide levels increased.

These same symptoms promptly disappear upon departing the aircraft and breathing more oxygenated air.

It also helps to neutralize acids such as lactate acid which builds up from high-working muscles. It generally boosts all chemical pathways in our body and we can burn more fat.

[caption id="attachment_89895" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Air Bubbles in The Form of "O2" in The Water[/caption]

We feel better, our body is healthier and we think more clearly because of increased oxygenation.

Various factors such as aging, psychological stress, obstructive sleep apnea, exposure to cigarette smoke, living at high altitude, high-intensity exercise, or a sedentary lifestyle can all lead to a hypoxic state.

Hypoxia may be involved in the pathogenesis of several disorders including impaired immunity, hormonal imbalances, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, depression, and anxiety.

Cancer and Oxygen

The key condition for the formation of cancer is the lack of oxygen at the cellular level. Cancerous, mutated cells thrive in anaerobic, or oxygen-lacking environments.

Almost every virus, fungus, parasite, and many bacteria such as Lactobacilli, Campylobacter, and Clostridium are facultative or strictly anaerobic—-they do not thrive in oxygenated environments.

When growing, cancer cells show a change where they have lower levels of oxygen. This may stem from dysfunctions in the cell's mitochondria. If these issues go unchecked, it leads to further complications and malfunctions in apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Furthermore, malignant, rapidly growing tumor cells typically have glycolytic rates up to 200 times higher than those of their normal tissues of origin.

This means cancer has a much higher need for sugar than normal cells; this has been proven by the abnormally high level of insulin receptors found on all cancer cells.

Because cancer cells favor the lack of oxygen, they shift to glycolytic pathways; put simply they use glucose as their source of energy. Cancer cells average about 16 times more insulin receptor sites than normal cells.

A high-sugar diet may contribute to excess weight gain, and obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing several types of cancer.

Benefits

Its general benefits to our body includes: it helps in creating energy, food digestion, eliminating toxins from the body, fueling the body muscles, metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, transport of gases across cell membranes, manufacturing hormones and proteins, keeping the heart pumping and healthy, inciting the lungs to breathe, allowing the nerve system, and all other body tissues to function normally.

With increased levels, the red blood cells can become fully saturated to provide their maximum potential of it to our cells. Waste gases and toxins are removed more efficiently and cells can perform optimally.

Many viruses and bacteria are anaerobic and cannot survive in oxygenated conditions.

For those people who use supplemental oxygen: it prolongs life by reducing heart strain, decreases shortness of breath, makes exercise more tolerable, results in fewer days of hospitalization, improves sleeping, improves quality of life.

Recent research has also discovered other benefits: it removes free radicals, reduces tissue swelling, increases energy metabolism in the brain and can create sustained cognitive improvement.

Too much oxygen, however, harms our health which is why supplemental oxygen needs to be prescribed and regulated by a doctor to ensure that no oxidative stress occurs on the body which could lead to heart and respiration problems and necrosis.

Oxygen and Immunity

Oxygen can help build persistence to infections as it not only boosts the immune system but prevents anaerobic organisms from thriving. Oxygen acts as an anti-inflammatory.

Infected tissue has a low concentration of oxygen. The body's standard immune mechanisms, which rely on oxygen, can then only function to a limited extent.

Macrophages are a type of phagocyte and belong to the congenital immune system, where they have a key role to play in defending against infection by intracellular pathogens.

Fewer metabolites are produced in the citric acid cycle under hypoxic conditions, especially citrate. This, in turn, prevents bacteria reproduction, as citrate is an essential growth factor for certain bacteria. This leads to a reduced rate of reproduction among bacteria in macrophages.

Tips to Increase your Blood Oxygen Naturally

Increasing your oxygenation levels and being fit and healthy has shown to be important for your health.

Try to increase the amount of oxygen your body absorbs by opening your windows, when the weather allows.

Access to fresh air is essential for breathing more easily. Fresh air will bring additional oxygen into your home and your body. Grow green things. Plants are the opposite of us as they take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen.

Thereby increasing the foliage and plants in your home will decrease the carbon dioxide and increase the oxygen levels in your home. Ferns are a great option for extra oxygen production in the home.

They are relatively easy to keep alive and don’t require a lot of sunshine.

Breathing exercises and general exercise help increase oxygenation in our blood. As your breathing rate and depth increase, your lungs absorb more oxygen.

The brain, comprising 2% of human body mass, requires 20% of the body's oxygen needs. Exercise increases circulation and therefore the delivery of oxygen to cells.

Your diet can influence your blood’s ability to absorb oxygen. Certain foods can help improve its levels in your blood.

Eat green raw foods. Oxygen-rich foods can naturally increase your blood oxygen levels. Focus on fresh, iron-rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish, legumes and green leafy vegetables.

These dietary choices can correct an iron deficiency, which could increase your body’s ability to process oxygen and make you feel more energetic. Stock up on green vegetables like broccoli and celery.

Increase your water intake. Water is made up of oxygen so by increasing your water consumption you can increase the amount of oxygen in your body.

Cut out salt. A diet low in sodium can lead to increased oxygenation via the kidney and the blood.