Understanding the importance of CO2
to human physiology was one of the things thatmade me realize that being a good carb burner is necessary to achieve optimal health. CO2 is health supporting.
And the proper oxidation of carbohydrates produces 50% more carbon dioxide than fatoxidation (in other words, you produce 50% more CO2 when you properly burn carbs).
Many understand how important oxygen is — we have to breathe, right? Oxygen is vitalfor energy metabolism. It is the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain.
And when O2 isn’t available in the cell, our cells then use the ineffi cient glycolyticpathway (fermentation) for energy production more than necessary.
What is not commonly understood is HOW oxygen gets to our cells, and that processrelies on CO2! CO2 is often labeled a “byproduct” of energy metabolism, but it is notgiven the credit it deserves. More CO2 means more oxygen is delivered to our cells,improving our energy production. It is a feedforward cycle since we are able to producemore energy and thus more CO2.
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This is because the delivery of O2 requires an exchange of gases (CO2 and O2) at the cellular level. Hemoglobin, a protein in our blood responsible for carrying CO2 and oxygen, releases the oxygen bound to it in the presence of higher CO2 concentrations. And releases CO2 in the presence of higher O2 concentrations. The relationship between O2 and CO2 in the body is explained by the Bohr and Haldane effect:1
Bohr —High concentration of CO2 in the cells causes a low pH (acidic environment), causing hemoglobin to unload more O2 in the cells and take up CO2.
Haldane —High concentration of O2
in the lungs means hemoglobin will unload CO2 and take up oxygen
The higher the concentration of CO2, the more effectively oxygen can be utilized and the better we will make energy. But improving oxygen delivery is just one benefit of CO2.
Here are eight more.
Eight Benefits of CO2
1.CO2 increases the metabolic rate —
Since CO2promotes delivery of O2 to cells, we can produce more energy per molecule of glucose (~36 ATP relative to 2 ATP) using full oxidative phosphorylation (proper carb burning).
“The presence of carbon dioxide is an indicator of proper mitochondrialrespiratory functioning.”
~ Ray Peat, Ph.D.
2. CO2 improves function of Vitamin K since CO2 concentrations determine the rate of Vit K dependent carboxylation reactions2 —CO2
activates the Vit K dependentproteins & thus assists fat soluble vitamins in fulfi lling their physiological functions.
“The greater the supply of carbon dioxide, the better vitamin K can do its job.”
~ Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.
“[V]itamin K uses [CO2] to activate proteins that protect our heart valvesand blood vessels from calcifi cation.”
~ Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D.
CO2 is thus important for the following Vit K functions: blood clotting, preventingsoft tissue calcifi cation, mineralizing bones and teeth, utilizing energy, and hormonal health.
3.CO2 improves vasodilation by relaxing smooth muscles around blood vessels3,4—A vasodilator is a substance that causes smooth muscle to relax thus dilating thetubular passages it lines.
4.CO2 improves gut health —You want HIGH CO2
levels in your gut, and many people, unfortunately, have LOW CO2 levels and HIGH O2
levels (not what we want!)
The colonic microflora is extremely complex. And while it is near impossible todefi ne what the ideal microbiome should look like (resident microbes are highlydiverse, vary between individuals, and change with diet), recent evidence supportsthat colonic bacteria should be dominated by obligate anaerobic bacteria (meaningthey cannot survive in high oxygen environments) that are able to benefit us bybreaking down non-usable fibers.
Balanced gut microbiomes are characterized by the dominance of obligateorganisms, while an expansion of facultative organisms (bacteria that can survive inhigh O2 environments) is a common marker of gut dysbiosis.
Thus, the inside of the colon should be a low oxygen and high CO2 environment toensure we have dominance of obligate anaerobes that can breakdown complexcarbs and provide our cells with short chain fatty acids, and lower levels of facultative organisms since these facultative anaerobic bacteria do not specialize inconsuming fiber and might even interfere with host nutrition.
Image from Current Opinion in Microbiology October 2017; 39: 1-6