Respiration
244 sourcesRespiration in Ray Peat's framework refers not just to breathing but to the entire process of cellular oxygen utilization — the mitochondrial electron transport chain that converts food energy into ATP. He followed the lineage of Albert Szent-Györgyi and Otto Warburg in viewing respiratory efficiency as the fundamental measure of biological health. When cells respire efficiently, they produce CO2 and water; when respiration fails, they shift to glycolysis, producing lactic acid.
Peat emphasized that breathing patterns matter — hyperventilation reduces CO2 levels, paradoxically reducing oxygen delivery to tissues (Bohr effect). He recommended calm, relaxed breathing and addressing the metabolic factors that drive hyperventilation (low CO2, anxiety, metabolic acidosis).
Key Positions
- Cellular respiration (mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation) is the foundation of health
- Efficient respiration produces CO2 and water; impaired respiration produces lactic acid
- Hyperventilation reduces CO2, paradoxically reducing tissue oxygenation
- Thyroid hormone is the primary driver of respiratory enzyme activity
- PUFAs damage the respiratory chain by incorporating into cardiolipin
- The respiratory quotient (CO2 produced / O2 consumed) indicates fuel source and efficiency
- Breathing exercises should focus on retaining CO2, not just deep breathing
Sources
244 items-
Sugar issues
-
Suitable Fats, Unsuitable Fats: Issues in Nutrition
-
TSH, temperature, pulse rate, and other indicators in hypothyroidism
-
The Cancer Matrix
-
The Great Fish Oil Experiment
-
The Ray Peat Dietary Survival Guide - Joey Lott
-
The dark side of stress (learned helplesness)
-
The transparency of life: Cataracts as a model of age-related disease.
-
Thyroid
-
Thyroid, insomnia, and the insanities: Commonalities in disease
-
Thyroid: Therapies, Confusion, and Fraud.
-
Unsaturated Vegetable Oils: Toxic.
-
Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic?
-
Using Sunlight to Sustain Life
-
Vashinvetala (formerly Pranarupa)
-
Vegetables, etc. - Who Defines Food?
-
Vitamin E: Estrogen antagonist, energy promoter, and anti-inflammatory
-
Water: swelling, tension, pain, fatigue, aging
-
When energy fails: Edema, heart failure, hypertension, sarcopenia, etc.