– It is believed that a person should be given as much oxygen as possible, especially if he is in a weakened state. And according to stories, Michael Jackson even slept in an oxygen chamber to prolong his life. You say that life is the opposite, that is, breathing a gas mixture containing little oxygen. Why do you think that?
– Hypoxia (oxygen starvation) is a condition in which the human body has developed protective mechanisms that work exactly like clockwork during millions of years of evolution. There have always been hypoxic situations in the evolution of our species, and they are now.
For example, a human embryo in the mother’s body is in a state of hypoxia. In addition, there are many situations in our daily life that are accompanied by hypoxia and the response to it. For example, this is exactly what happens in the hippocampus when we think about it. The oxygen content in our tissues, even in skin cells or in the alveoli of the lungs, is much lower than in the surrounding air. And in the air, its content is now more than most of our planet’s life. From this we can conclude that a person is trained to live in an environment where there is less oxygen.
– If so, then a person can develop large lungs in his evolutionary path, which allows him to be without oxygen for a long time. For example, as in seals. And we only have enough air for 3-5 minutes. From where?
– This is a very important question. The fact is that oxygen is a poisonous gas for our cells, molecules, membranes. And if we can store it in a large volume, then it destroys all our molecules from the inside. The average human body has approximately 2.5 liters of available oxygen stores, including residual volumes in the lungs (900 ml), blood (1200 ml), interstitial space (250 ml), and myoglobin (350 ml). If we could store this gas in a large volume, then we would look different because we would spend more energy on metabolic adaptation, protection from mutagenesis. As a result, they would suffer from oncological diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and atherosclerosis more often and earlier. It would be a different person. Even a different look.
Therefore, for people in a state where there is no pronounced oxygen starvation, excess oxygen is especially dangerous. No wonder there are very, very few indications of oxygen use.
– So why hasn’t the human body learned to protect itself against excess oxygen for millions of years? Or is there such a mechanism?
– To eat. This is antioxidant defense – a complex, multi-layered system whose reliability declines as we age. We often notice that older people have a particular smell. The reason for its formation is the substance 2-nonenal. It is due to the fact that the reliability of antioxidant protection decreases with age and the effect of free radicals on cells begins to increase.
– The principle is clear. That is, a person is made to breathe fully the gas mixture that currently makes up the air on planet Earth. These are nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen and some impurities. But you suggest breathing air containing 8-16% oxygen. Why?
— My paradigm for influencing the aging process is based on the fact that aging and tissue hypoxia are twin sisters. To date, we do not know exactly what the aging mechanisms involve. However, although this is a very complex situation, the mechanisms of hypoxia are largely understood.
In the elderly, hypoxia is seen at the level of all tissues, organs and cells. For example, the elderly cannot move at the same speed as the young. From where? They do not have enough fuel, power, ATP (a molecule that plays an important role in energy exchange in the cells of living organisms). Therefore, all levels of oxygen homeostasis worsen. There are common age-related changes called atherosclerosis, especially in the vessel walls. This leads to the same hypoxia.
– But it turns out that you previously offered to become an “old man”, because thanks to hypoxic training people already receive less oxygen at a young age?
– The fact is that the body can be helped to rebuild – to train it to work well in a hypoxia state. Precisely because, evolutionarily, this mechanism has already been incorporated into us. Therefore, a specific mechanism has been proposed to train every cell of the body. As a result, genes may start to work a little differently.
Prolonged hypoxic education causes a person to change epigenetically (changes in gene activity under the influence of the environment). These changes are not inherited, but still, at the end of life, two identical twins will look different, one of which is under the influence of hypoxia.
– Is this the story of centuries-old Caucasians living in the mountains, where for some reason the amount of oxygen in the air decreases?
– Of course, there were no long-lived Caucasian centers. This is a funny incident in the history of the Soviet Union – but there is something to study there. No wonder they say only mountains can be better than mountains. Training in moderate mountains to increase speed and endurance and strength endurance is the best option for serious athletes.
– Is it a proven fact that genes can rearrange themselves under a small amount of oxygen?
– For this, the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine was awarded already in 2019. The award went to William Kaelin, Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza. They investigated how cells sense the availability of oxygen and adapt to it. In response to hypoxia, complex mechanisms start to work, hypoxia-induced factor is activated. This results in drastic epigenetic changes, about 500 genes changing their job.
It is known that many physiological mechanisms come into play during hypoxia training: there is an increase in the volumetric velocity of the regional blood flow, its circulation changes, and the most important enzymes that inactivate reactive oxygen species are activated: superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase. In addition, glucose utilization is stimulated, glycolysis activity (glucose breakdown) increases, the number of mitochondria increases, the NO – nitrous oxide level normalizes, and the antiaggregation activity of the vascular wall improves.
– It would seem that the body itself begins to fight diabetes and atherosclerosis?
– Definitely. While we do not know exactly how the great biological aging timer works, where these diseases are buried, we can define this process as, among other things, a decrease in the response of all cells to the controlling action of any factor – glucose. insulin, hormones, etc. Hypoxia increases this susceptibility to all effects.
– And how much oxygen must be in the gas mixture for the body to start healing itself?
– The oxygen level is selected individually by a specialist. To understand this, you need to conduct Shtange and Genchi tests (breath holding on inspiration – Shtanga and exhalation – Genchi tests to detect latent coronary insufficiency, as well as determine the body’s resistance to hypoxia). You also need to understand that hypoxic training often involves intermittent exposure, so it is better tolerated. We breathe for 5 minutes and rest for 5 minutes. You can also rest for 10 minutes. Or breathe. It all depends on the preparation. 10% oxygen in the mixture – conditionally corresponds to a mountain height of about 6200 m. In addition, you should not fall below a certain level of saturation (a quantitative indicator of how much oxygen-saturated hemoglobin is in the blood).
– And what level is this? When there is a COVID-19 outbreak the doctors said that everyone should get a pulse oximeter and if the saturation is below 93% you should call an ambulance…
I wouldn’t recommend going below 80%. But when we worked with military personnel, mountaineers and top class athletes, we reduced them to 65% – 60%. But it should be understood that this is a very, very serious burden – this is how we train a special kind of “physiological special forces”. Although there are times when people sleep in hypoxia, there are special tents for this. This is a very interesting anti-aging aspect.
What are these tents?
– Tents receiving a gas mixture with a reduced oxygen content. In this case, of course, 10% is not done – this is 16-18% oxygen. And when there is an opportunity to properly turn on the “heating”, then 10%, and sometimes even 9-8% is done. It depends on the capabilities of the equipment, such devices are called hypoxicators and they are all different.
— Are these devices manufactured in Russia?
Yes, they are produced. Hypoxicators can be sold both as a medical device and as sports equipment (home appliances). In Russia, such devices are produced and sold by about seven companies. At the center of their work is a molecular sieve, which allows you to provide a precisely dosed mixture for respiration. Oxygen level can be controlled.
And I would note that the entire Internet is full of advertisements for pseudohypoxicators, the so-called rebreathing bags. They are inexpensive and attract the attention of users. But in this case, a person inhales only what he exhales – that is, an increased amount of carbon dioxide.
The same technique is used in American movies when they are asked to exhale into a bag when they are excited. In this case, hypercapnia occurs – an increased content of carbon dioxide in arterial blood and human tissues, which leads to the expansion of cerebral vessels. It helps the person to calm down. But this has nothing to do with hypoxic training.
— Where can I try to exercise in hypoxia or just breathe mountain air?
There are enough devices in the country. This method has been registered by the Ministry of Health as a physiotherapeutic medical procedure and has been used since the late 1990s. Hypoxicators are found in clinics, rehabilitation centers, sanatoriums. I recommend taking a course with Professor Chizhov (professor of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, developer of the “Mountain Air” method Alexey Chizhov) and 10-15 procedures every other day 2 times a year.
— Is hypoxic exposure really the only geroprotector with proven efficacy today?
– From my point of view, this is almost the only understandable method of geroprophylaxis. Unlike any dietary supplement and drug that only works at the level of model organisms such as flies, worms and rodents.
Since the hypoxic training method has no side effects and is scientifically proven, it is now used by all biohackers in the world, especially American businessmen. I am sure that in the near future the method will enter the rehabilitation of military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder. But if you decide to start training, this should only be done in the presence of a trained doctor or sports physiologist.