CO₂ and Nitric Oxide: Their Role in Blood Flow and Sexual Dysfunction \ stacker news ~HealthAndFitness

I’m passionate about breathwork, particularly how increased CO2 tolerance enhances not only our breathing capabilities but also our overall health.

The work of Russian doctor Konstantin Buteyko opened my eyes to this. Buteyko (re)discovered the benefits of CO2 and used this knowledge to treat patients for various illnesses, particularly asthma. He understood that CO2 acts as a vasodilator, improving airflow and relieving asthma symptoms. (Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtb65UQ3E1c)

This article is fascinating; it describes in sufficient detail the physiological mechanisms behind how this works. It also explains how these mechanisms apply to other conditions, such as erectile dysfunction. CO2 is nature’s Viagra, boosting nitric oxide (NO) production, which leads to the relaxation of smooth muscles in the walls of hollow organs (e.g., blood vessels, intestines, penis, trachea, bronchi etc). This relaxation enables vasodilation, increasing blood flow, which is essential for developing and maintaining an erection.

By practicing breathwork to increase your CO2 tolerance, you’ll experience a state of deep relaxation that can last for hours, where breathing feels almost effortless, and enhanced blood flow makes your body feel vibrantly alive.

This article provides the scientific knowledge to understand how this works.When you think about it, this also partly explains why physical exercise benefits our mental health—by increasing CO2 in the body and triggering that relaxation response.

Another intriguing corollary, citing the first paper in the references:

This study suggests that cerebral endothelial cells and astrocytes release NO under normocapnic conditions, with NO production increasing during hypercapnia (high CO2 levels) and decreasing during hypocapnia (low CO2 levels), independent of pH.

Now, consider this: sexual arousal triggers NO release, leading to an erection, which is maintained until climax, often accompanied by hyperventilation, resulting in hypocapnia and reduced NO. By holding our breath to prevent hyperventilation during sexual activity, we might prolong the experience, right? Let me know in the comments, lol!

It’s also easy to see how CO2 can improve overall health, given that smooth muscles are present in most vital organs.

Fascinating, no?

(Disclosure: I've used Grok to improved clarity, and enhanced flow while preserving my original words and intent as much as possible)

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @TadiRetata 18 Apr

Great insights! The connection you make between CO2 tolerance, breathwork, and overall health is well-supported by research on the Buteyko breathing technique. Dr. Konstantin Buteyko’s method has been shown to help regulate breathing, improve asthma symptoms, and reduce anxiety by promoting slower, nasal breathing and maintaining optimal CO2 levels in the body

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja OP 19 Apr

I've just found a paper that confirms that asthma medication works by targeting the smooth muscles in the airways. Indeed, reduced breathing, as taught by Buteyko, is far more effective than traditional asthma medication. Surely we can assume/expect that it's also at least as effective as many other medications that target the smooth muscles in the different other organs?

Smooth muscle also plays an important role in the disease process throughout the body. The use of bronchodilators to relax airway smooth muscle is an important and life-saving treatment in asthmatics. Likewise, medications like metoclopramide can stimulate and promote gastric emptying by increasing smooth muscle signaling. Perhaps one of the most well-known uses of medical therapy and smooth muscle is the use of nitrates in the treatment of ischemic heart disease where nitrates, in combination with ACEI, can improve patient mortality. The singularly large impact that smooth muscle has throughout the body makes it an important topic for medical professionals to understand. As many treatments at their core rely on modifying the signaling pathways that affect smooth muscle.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532857/