This YouTube video (by Niraj Naik) discusses using brief intermittent hypoxia—via breath practices—as a medical intervention. The speaker claims hypoxia activates nitric oxide synthase (raising nitric oxide), increases VEGF (promoting collateral vessel formation), and raises erythropoietin (EPO). Clinical claims include improved erectile function, coronary dilation, urethral sphincter relaxation in prostate patients, reduced need for EPO injections in renal failure, and cartilage regeneration in knee osteoarthritis. Claims are presented as practitioner-observed/anecdotal.
Chapters
We now know this is medical knowledge that hypoxia stimulates nitric oxide synthase. This is an enzyme which will increase the production of nitric oxide. So hypoxia activates nitric oxide synthase enzyme and it increases your nitric oxide production. So there are a lot of beneficial effect. In prostate patients, it will relax the urethral sphincter in a better way. In patients of the coronary artery, it will dilate the coronary artery in a better way. Then about the erectile function, nitric oxide is of crucial importance. And we have seen that a small dose of brief intermittent hypoxia every day, it increases the erectile function in a miraculous way. Where the medicines fail, where the psychotherapy fails, intermittent hypoxia is effective. And you've seen these results? Yes. Firsthand with your patients? Yes, definitely. Definitely. Amazing. And what about. Okay, about the. About the heart. Yeah. Hypoxia also produces one more chemical which is known as the vascular endothelial growth factor.
And it leads to formation of collateral channels. Amazing. Okay. Bypassing those blocks. We call them natural bypasses. So you. You recommend this for people who have. I recommend this intermittent hypoxia for all healthy people as well as all sick people. Those who have coronary artery disease, those. Those who have renal failure, those who have osteoarthritis of the knees, they will regenerate their cartilages. Wow. And you've seen this with your patients? Yes, of course. Yes, of course. This is amazing. This is so fascinating. And you were also talking about epo.
Erythropo.
Intermittent hypoxia also increases EPO levels.
That is the reason why those patients who have chronic renal failure and who require to take periodically erythropoietin injections, if they do this pranayama, they will not require. It has been studied in medical research that the failing kidneys also have a capacity to secrete erythropoietin. It is only that their relationship, I mean, the level of hemoglobin and the level of erythropoietin, that relationship gets altered. And that is the reason why these chronic renal failure patients tend to have a slightly lower hemoglobin. If you expose them to hypoxia.
They will have more erythropoietin and they will increase their hemoglobin without the need to take injections.
