Does An Oxygen Boost Equal Peak Performance?
Imported direct from USA, Boost Oxygen is now available to South African fitness enthusiasts. Is this a crazy gimmick or can this tin can of ‘air’ really improve performance, shorten recovery time and, hmm, heal a ‘Babbalas’…?
Produced and manufactured in Connecticut, USA, these mobile canisters containing 95% purified Oxygen and 5% ambient air have become a global phenomenon among professional athletes, fitness fanatics and high altitude tourists.
Players can be seen gulping deep breaths from these trendy little cans after a particularly strenuous play and Hollywood celebs have even taken a puff live on air at ‘American Idol‘. What is this latest trending craze really about?
The premise is that since oxygen is a vital component for healthy metabolic functions and healing, supplementation of the gas will allow the body to function that much better and recover that much quicker.
“In all serious disease states we find a concomitant low oxygen state…low oxygen in the body tissues is a sure indicator for disease… Hypoxia, or lack of oxygen in the tissues, is the fundamental cause for all degenerative disease.”
.– Dr. Stephen Levine, Molecular Biologist author, Oxygen Deficiency: A Concomitant to All Degenerative Illness
Sports Performance Coaches have found that after a particularly intense round of training where overuse of muscles results in a relative state of Hypoxia (reduced levels of available oxygen in the blood), three to five deep inhalations of purified oxygen allows the athlete to quickly and effectively increase circulating levels of oxygen, thereby making him/ her feel better almost immediately.
“Humans have evolved to live in an atmosphere with 21 percent oxygen,” says Jason Turowski, MD, pulmonologist with the Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute in Ohio. So although the high performance athlete will benefit from a burst of additional oxygen to aid his recovery, the average human does not need it. Taking deeper breaths, inhaling to the fullest lung capacity and exhaling carbon monoxide properly should regulate oxygen levels in the blood.
The exception is in highly polluted cities. The notion of ‘Oxygen Bars’ where customers could pop in and take a few deep breaths of purified air originated in Japan in the 1990’s and these popular ‘healthy air’ banks arose in other heavily polluted regions such as South America and Europe. Customers could pay approximately $1 for a puff of clean air.
Peak Sports Performance and Recovery
The recent resurgence for Oxygen Therapy has emerged in the U.S. with an easy to use, hand-held product favored by athletes. Boost Oxygen brand was recently popularized by it’s use by Falcon team players in the 51 Superbowl televised to over 115 million viewers.
In South Africa, the product has only recently arrived on our shores. Available in a variety of flavors, the ‘lighter than air’ canisters are emerging in carefully selected health outlets and local gyms.
Sampling a ‘Grapefruit’ flavored blend, we asked a number of individuals to describe their experience with the product.
Responses ranged from “I feel no different” after moderate exercise to a definite feeling of “Quick Recovery” after a particularly strenuous bout of cardio exercise. All agreed the ‘flavor’ of the oxygen helped them ‘know’ they were inhaling ‘something’.
High Altitude Breathing
Whether the summit of Kilimanjaro is on your Bucket List or a family skiing holiday in the Swiss Alps is your deal, Boost Oxygen is proving a ‘must-have’ item in your back-pack.
The symptoms of Altitude Sickness (headache, fatigue and lack of energy) are brought on by lower levels of available oxygen in the air at altitudes above 5,000 feet. (Mount Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet). Regular climbers swear by the effectiveness of taking a few deep breaths of oxygen to counter the effect of the higher altitudes they scale.
A local wife was thrilled to be able to send her ‘expat’ husband back to work in Kazakhstan with a pack of Boost Oxygen to help him acclimatize more quickly to his harsh work environment.
South Africa’s Favorite ‘Babbalas’ Remedy
As any scuba diver knows, nothing remedies the feeling of ‘hangover’ like the first few deep breaths from a tank of cool air as one descends beneath the ocean surface…
It takes three oxygen molecules to break down one alcohol molecule, so the theory goes that if one had more oxygen molecules available, the toxic effects of alcohol excess should reduce more quickly?
Whether a few deep breaths of 95% proof oxygen will effectively beat the effects of 80% proof Single Malt is still open to scientific debate, but for many South Africans a few deep gulps from a Boost Oxygen can offers the miraculous ‘cure’ they desperately seek while the head pounds and the tongue roots itself to the roof of the mouth.
No matter your application, Boost Oxygen is something to try…just as Simon Cowell, Ellen, Rob Lowe and so many more are doing….
Find Out More Boost Oxygen in South Africa
