Where does it come from?

[IronLung]

Ok, I know there are some people out here with tons of knowledge on the subject so if what I say here sounds any bit dumb, well, realize I only know so much about the subject.

I've been thinking about how the body uses oxygen and such. I know oxygen exchange happens in the alveoli with oxygen passing into the blood stream while carbon dioxide is passed out of the bloodstream into the lungs and exhaled.

I know oxygen (O2) is used by the body and carbon dioxide (CO2) is the waste product; where does the carbon molecule come from? If we could somehow cut the carbon molecule out of the equasion, what would happen to urge to breathe? (I know urge to breath is not low oxygen but high carbon dioxide that stimulated thye breathing process.)

 

[..Sam..]

Not 100% sure what your asking here, but CO2 is a bi product of energy being made.
In cellular respiration O2, carbohydrates and a bit of water make energy, CO2 and some more water. So the less energy you use the less CO2 you will have.

Cheers,
Sam.

 

[jome]

There's zillions of resources but here's one to get you started

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration]Cellular respiration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

In short - wouldn't that be cool (cutting out carbon). Faster than light travel would also be really cool

And the same without sarcasm - I don't think it's possible. What you can slightly affect is the amount of CO2 produced per oxygen consumed via your diet.

Look up respiratory quotient:
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_quotient]Respiratory quotient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Ie. being in pure fat metabolism (for example when you wake up and before you have breakfast), significantly lowers the RQ, thus delaying the urge to breath. HOWEVER - it is not optimal for freediving performances (in my opinnion), but it may make it more comfortable (and explain why so many people make pb's in morning statics)

 

[alexrom1207]

No carbon molecule = no urge to breathe EVER = blackout. Hyperventilation is a method of lowering the carbon amount, which delays the urge to breathe, but that leads to uncontrollable blackouts. Too bad. However, I did read somewhere that if you could completely eliminate the carbon byproduct then if you breathed pure oxygen and super-oxygenate your blood and lungs the human body could hold enough oxygen (with a low hr) to stay submerged for just over an hour. Obviously this is just a discussion of a physiological hypothetical, but it is cool to know what the human body is capable of.

 

[IronLung]

Yes, I thought about that alexrom. It would elminate the URGE to breathe, not the NEED; thus blackout. That is a pretty neat fact you have there though, I think thats about the answer I was looking for. Thank you. And Jome, great links, thank you as well. I could spend hours on the articles and related articles you linked.