5 myths about breathing (prevalence: over 90%)

Myth #1. My breathing is OK and I know how to breathe.

Less than 10% have normal breathing parameters these days. It is a fact that the medical norm established about a century ago is not a norm anymore. Modern people breathe about 2 times more air than we used to breathe 100 years ago. Hyperventilation results in tissue hypoxia and many other biochemical abnormalities (read Myth #3 below).

Myth #2. More breathing (deeper and bigger) means better body oxygenation.

There is zero scientific evidence about this deep breathing myth, but hundreds of published studies have clearly shown that hyperventilation (or breathing more than the tiny medical norm) reduces oxygen supply to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and all other vital organs. Hence, it is only on screens of TVs and in real life, uneducated people say, “Take a deep breath, get more oxygen”, or “Breathe deeper for better oxygenation”, etc. Why breathing less is advantageous for tissue oxygenation is connected with the next myth.

Myth #3. CO2 is a poisonous or toxic gas and a waste product to get rid off.

When a healthy person tries to hyperventilate or is forced to breathe deeply and fast, he experiences “hypocapnia” (CO2 deficiency) in the blood and other cells. The immediate effects are: constriction of blood vessels (CO2 is a powerful vasodilator) and reduced blood supply and oxygen supply to the brain, heart and all other vital organs. This is the reason why it is to easy to faint or pass out after 2-3 minutes of forceful hyperventilation. Horses and dogs died in 15-20 minutes, when hyperventilation was forced by a suction and exhaust pump. Another CO2 effect is the suppressed Bohr law or diminished release of oxygen by the blood in the tissues due to the same hypocapnia. Apart from these phenomena, there are tens other vital functions of CO2 in the human body, but just reduced tissue oxygenation is sufficient to promote cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other chronic conditions in case of overbreathing.

Myth #4. When breathing is healthy, people feel how they breathe.

If people with normal breathing are asked what they feel about their breathing, they will testify that they feel nothing at all (as if they do not breathe). “The perfect man breathes as if he is not breathing” Lao-Tzu, circa 4th century BC. Indeed, if you have any healthy people around you and observe their breathing for 20-30 seconds, you will see and hear nothing. This is a medical fact.

Myth #5. Sick people notice if their breathing gets abnormal.

100% prevalence of hyperventilation at rest (in between more acute stages) is confirmed by over 20 published western studies on heart disease, asthma, COPD, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, panic attacks, chronic fatigue, and many other conditions. (If you like tables and numbers with all medical references and abstracts, click here to view Table 1) All these patients breathe about 2-3 times more than the norm, and usually do not complain or even notice that they breathing is heavy or too deep. Why? Because air is weightless and the main breathing muscles (diaphragm and chest) are very powerful: we can pump 25 times more air during maximum exercise (or about 150 litres of air in minute), than we require for normal breathing at rest (only about 6 l/min). People may notice that their breathing is heavy during heart attacks, stroke, asthma attacks, or morning hyperventilation (between 4 and 7 am), when chronically sick people are most likely to die from acute episodes triggered by hyperventilation. Breathing normalization naturally eliminates numerous chronic diseases (since they are based on tissue hypoxia) and need for medication.