Nitric Oxide, Your Stamina, and the Nobel Peace Prize By Lidio Rainaldi, DDS Hello friends, and Happy New Year! “For breath is life, Over the past months, I have written several articles and if you breathe to raise awareness on how, well you will live over time, our bodies have changed, our faces have long on earth.” narrowed, our diets have - Sanskrit Proverb worsened, and as a result the oxygen needed by our bodies has been reduced. For the most part, people This has become a medical are unaware of their breathing concern that could be the and take it for granted that root of many health issues. they do it correctly. It has been Sleep apnea, which is estimated that approximately basically the body not one third of people don’t getting enough oxygen, breathe well enough to sustain is now known to occur normal health. These people do not only in adults but also not get enough oxygenation of in children and infants. their cells, tissues, and organs. Narrow faces, crowded teeth, mouth breathing, snoring, thrashing at night, morning fatigue, and headaches are the prime indicators that the individual, child or adult, has some blockage of their airway. The symptoms of low oxygen are almost identical to the symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and it is now estimated that close to 50% of children labeled as such are mis-diagnosed. Both parents and teachers need to be aware that if a child is restless or not doing well in life, that child may very well not be getting enough oxygen at night. This is the time to call your doctor, pediatrician, or dentist and tell them what's going on and get a good exam. My last article was about the importance of breathing through your nose! When we breathe through our nose, a gas, nitric oxide, is released. Nitric oxide helps to increase oxygen to our body. Until recently nitric oxide was considered to be a toxic substance and an environmental pollutant. In 1867, a Swedish chemist and inventor, Alfred Nobel, worked with nitroglycerine and silicates in forming volatile explosives for industrial use. Nobel chose the word dynamite from the Greek word dynamis, which means power. His work was fully intended to be used for peaceful purposes, such as blasting out big rocks in the construction of dams or railroads. Alfred Nobel made a fortune from his hard work. He understood these explosives could be used in dangerous ways, but never thought it would happen. At one point he said, "As soon as men find that in one instant whole armies can be utterly destroyed, they surely will abide by golden peace." Yet the opposite occurred. His explosives became synonymous with war and destruction, and he was sadly aware that he was regarded by many 24
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people as villainous. About the same time, doctors discovered that nitroglycerine was helpful in reducing high blood pressure and for treating the heart condition angina pectoris. (The critical clue, which was not known until recently, is that in the body nitroglycerine converts to the gas nitric oxide.) Nobel suffered from angina pectoris, and in his later years, his doctors tried to prescribe nitroglycerine to relieve his condition. He declined it, telling a friend: "Isn't it the irony of fate that I have been prescribed nitroglycerine, to be taken internally!" He could not envision how a chemical so destructive outside the body could actually help it internally. In 1896, Alfred Nobel suffered a stroke and died. In his will, perhaps as a final act to relieve his conscience of the negative effects from his invention of dynamite and to promote world peace, Nobel bequeathed 94 percent of his enormous wealth to provide "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.” He ensured that a prestigious ceremony would take place to recognize the prize winners. Nearly one hundred years after Nobel's death, three American scientists were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1998 for their discovery of a unique gas produced by the blood vessels, which they later identified as nitric oxide. In this same year, nitric oxide was proclaimed Molecule of the Year by the journal Science. There are now over 100,000 research papers devoted to nitric oxide gas and its highly important benefits to our bodies. Nitric oxide is indeed a wonder molecule. It increases oxygen to the body and opens up our blood vessels which helps lower blood pressure. It is also known to be antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial. Without nitric oxide insulin cannot work properly. Most importantly for us, a good supply of nitric oxide ensures our organs are receiving optimum oxygen and nutrients, especially for children who still are growing. If nitric oxide is so wonderful, how do we get more to our bodies? The most natural way is through nasal breathing. When you breathe
