The value of a breath
Why do we breathe?
The short answer to this question is to bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide from the body.
Whether we are in the mountains or at sea this summer, it would be useful to remember the reasons for breathing. With the presence of oxygen, our cells maximize the production of energy from food and thus meet their needs.
The production of energy from food without the presence of oxygen is very poor in efficiency and quickly leads to the death of the cell.
We take an average of 25 thousand breaths a day, the energy system is working non-stop, while we swim, hike or nap.
Red blood cells transport oxygen and carbon dioxide in our blood. Cells designed without the basic structures of a cell, purposely stripped of any energy-consuming function, so that they do not consume the oxygen they transport.
So how do red blood cells manage to move without consuming energy?
The miraculous circulatory system, the heart with its great propulsive force and the vessels with their elasticity propel the red blood cells through the thousands of kilometers of capillaries of the human body.
Imagine a supertanker carrying thousands of tons of oil, not consuming a single liter of oil throughout the journey, this is the miracle of the red blood cell.
Each red blood cell has 250 million hemoglobin molecules on which oxygen molecules are attached.
Every second, the bone marrow produces 2 million red blood cells. We support this function with appropriate healthy dietary behavior, while respecting each of these tiny red wonders, the red blood cells, which live only 120 days.
So why do we breathe?
To give energy to our cells, life to our body.
Whether sea or mountain, the air with its oxygen enlivens us, let us remember this, in the next breath.
