Health Nugget #1: Air

(I was requested by our church to do short health presentations for the local community. The next 5 posts are what I shared. Here’s the first lecture:)

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One of the most important things we need to live is free. What is it? Air, or more specifically O2. We cannot last that long without breathing.

The longest instance of someone holding their breath without inhaling pure oxygen beforehand is 11 minutes and 34 seconds. However, most people can only safely hold their breath for 1 to 2 minutes.

Our Earth atmosphere is 21% oxygen. 78% of our atmospheric gas is nitrogen. If you need a more concentrated O2, which can come in a tank, then you have to pay for that.

What if the atmosphere we have has more than 21% O2, will that be better? Actually no, it will cause oxygen toxicity in our body, which can be fatal. So God designed it perfectly.

Genesis 2:7 – And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I can argue that the first organ in our body that started working after we are created is our respiratory system. It says that in the Bible.

We breathe near to 3000 gallons of air every day. That’s 2 gallons every minute, and more than 79 million gallons over a lifetime. Are you not glad you’re not paying for that amount of air?

Here is the anatomy of the respiratory system. The air goes to our nostril or if you breathing hard or panting, then through your mouth. But it is better to breathe through your nose, because you can filter the air better. The nose hairs, is not just there to annoy us that you have to trim or pluck, it has a purpose – it filters the big particles out of the air. The nasal chambers and sinuses are like the humidifiers and warms the air as it goes down to our lungs. In the trachea and bronchial tree, are tiny hair called cilia that beats and help clear out the dirt and mucus. One thing also that clears the airway, our sneeze and cough reflex. We are given that ability to propel out any unwanted intruder into our airway system.

At the end of the airway tree is the alveoli, this is where the magic happen. O2 gets absorb into small blood vessels called capillaries, and CO2 which is a waste byproduct of our metabolism, exits the blood and we exhale it out.

Trees and plants are considered the lungs of the earth. They are exact opposite of us humans, they take in CO2, our waste, and in return they produce O2 as the byproduct of their metabolism. Isn’t that a very neat design?

That is why it is better for us to go outside and spend some time outside where there are trees and plants, and breathe in fresh air and not stale air, like when you are coop up indoors all the time.

Here’s another neat thing: look at the anatomy of our lungs and the anatomy of the tree. There is a similarity right? Proving that there is one designer and Creator.

Here are some simple tips to keep your lungs healthy:

1. Don’t smoke. I believe everybody knows now that smoking is not good for.

2. Exercise. The more you exercise, the easier it is for your lungs to keep your heart and muscles supplied with oxygen. When you exercise you are breathing deeper. Exercise is not just for your lungs but for your whole body.

3. Avoid pollution. Whether it is indoor or outdoor pollution. Get some fresh air outside. Go out to the mountain or forest. Go out and do deep breathing, just not very close to the cattle or pig farm though.

4. Practice proper posture. Slouching has been shown to reduce your lung capacity, which can make it more difficult for oxygen to reach your organs.

5. Know your cough. If you have a cough for more than a month or get winded easily, see your doctor. A chronic cough could be a warning sign of an underlying condition that needs to be addressed.

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There was an elderly man in his 90’s who was admitted to the hospital in Italy due to COVID-19, during the height of the pandemic. He required high flow oxygen and was in the hospital for several weeks. But he got better. When he was discharged and learned about his hospital bill that includes his use of hospital oxygen, he started crying. The hospital staff tried to comfort the old man and told him that they can make some arrangements for him to pay his hospital bill. To this the man said, I can pay my bill, that is not the issue. The issue is that I have been breathing God’s air all my life, and I have not even thank Him for it.

Psalms 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

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(*photos from the web)