Stuff You Should Know How do Tibetans avoid altitude sickness?
Oct 23, 2008
The podcast discusses how Tibetans have adapted to living at high altitudes, avoiding altitude sickness. It explores their unique abilities to thrive in hypoxic environments and compares their adaptations with those of Andeans. The hosts also touch on the upcoming 2024 Olympics, home value tips, and health insights.
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Hosts Describe Tibet As The Rooftop Of The World
- Hosts joke about traveling to Tibet and describe it as the 'rooftop of the world' with villages up to 16,000 feet above sea level.
- They contrast Denver's ~5,000 feet with Tibetan villages to illustrate how extreme those elevations are.
Tibetans Use Nitric Oxide To Cope With Hypoxia
- Tibetans live at extreme altitudes yet do not show typical altitude sickness symptoms despite being hypoxic.
- Research found they retain higher levels of exhaled nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels and improves oxygen delivery with less cardiac work.
Measure Breath Chemistry To Reveal Altitude Adaptations
- Researchers test breath constituents to understand adaptation, so study methods matter when investigating physiology.
- Case Western asked Tibetans to mouth-breathe into instruments that measured exhaled particles, revealing elevated nitric oxide.