Breathe for Your Brain

Someone asked the other day how it was that the brain needed oxygen? An article in Scientific American by Nikhil Swaminathan explains that the brain uses oxygen to produce usable energy from glucose. Known as ATP, this usable energy is needed for electrical functions, neurotransmitter functions, and housekeeping-maintenance functions in the brain. Turns out that when glucose brain fuel is burned without adequate oxygen, only 5% as much ATP energy is produced as compared to the process when glucose is burned with aequate oxygen. So take deep breaths several times a day. Give your brain all the oxygen it needs to make effective use of glucose. You need the energy to think and to make decisions!