Pollution: Cause and Effect of Hyperventilation

Pollution of air and smoke As we discovered on the Homepage, medical studies suggest that hyperventilation is a norm for over 90% of modern people. Overbreathing causes brain hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and hypocapnia (lack of CO2, which is a sedative and calmative of nerve cells). As a result, modern people are not capable of handling tough challenges related to pollution in air, water, food, and soil due to toxic chemicals. Furthermore, since hyperventilation is a central part of the fight-and-flight response, modern people are overexcited about material possessions and selfish interests (see CO2: Stabilizer of Nerve Cells). Hence, hyperventilation or overbreathing promotes irrational human behavior and further industrial pollution. What about health effects of pollution?

Effects of pollution on automatic breathing

Many industrial chemicals are harmful to the body. For example, pesticides, herbicides, petroleum products, asbestos, preservatives, colors, heavy metals, and many others can accumulate in organs and body parts, and stress the immune system and organs of elimination. The same is true for toxic chemicals that are present in air, water and soil. The resultant biochemical stress causes hyperventilation and arterial hypocapnia.

Toxic chemicals, once in the human organism, generate waste products and free radicals, interfere with hormonal balance and influence the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular and other systems. These negative changes sooner or later cause overbreathing. The mere appearance of bacteria or large amounts of waste products from bacteria in the blood would be sufficient to cause heavy overbreathing. Hence, an ordinary bacterial or viral infection, including a cold or flu, will also lead to hyperventilation.

Therefore, environmental, professional, dietary and any other exposure to heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals are also causes of chronic hyperventilation. Thus, pollution leads to hyperventilation and low body oxygen levels.

Most medical drugs cause pollution in the human body

"Antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin etc.) intensify breathing. After 2-3 weeks of such treatment, the state [of health] unavoidably gets worse. What is the mechanism? Antibiotics fight microbes, suppressing the breathing of micro organisms. All of the living world has one common foundation: metabolism. Therefore, antibiotics suppress the breathing of microbe cells and our cells. This causes excitement of the breathing centre, its disruption, in the direction of intensification. Moreover, antibiotics create conditions for new allergies. Senseless, widespread use of antibiotics causes tremendous damage. Camfora, codeine, cordiamin, adrenalin, theo ca sal-ephedrine-pb-KI, ephedrine – also intensify breathing. People use them senselessly, trying to cure themselves, and cause tremendous harm to themselves" (Buteyko, 1977).

Alcohol, soon after ingestion, suppresses the breathing centre and can increase the breath holding time about 2 times. Similarly, marijuana and cocaine can increase the body oxygen level (CP test) about 3-4 times. This change in breathing, according to considered physiological laws, profoundly influences perception and feelings of the intoxicated person leading to increased confidence, logic, feeling of energy, coordination, sharper sensations in relations to smells, colors, etc. Later, the abnormal substances are to be removed by the immune system and the liver and kidneys causing heavy breathing and hangover (hyperventilation and hypocapnia). The breath holding time plunges below the initial values. Low body oxygen and poor blood circulation generate many negative effects described on other web pages (see links with hundreds of medical studies below).

Asbestos Help: Information and advice about asbestos related illness and compensation.

Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6 myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the Sick. Table 1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV (chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
Body oxygen test How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5. CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2 content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence, antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth "CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?

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