02, Blood, and Muscles

When we breath in

• Oxygen enters the lungs
• Oxygen is supplied to the muscles via red blood cells.
• Red blood cells carry hemoglobin which oxygen bonds to
• hemoglobin rich blood cells pass through the blood vessels of the lungs.
• oxygen rich blood cells carry that oxygen to the cells that are demanding it
• The oxygen is dropped off for the cell to use and carbon-dioxide is picked up at the same site.
• The carbon-dioxide is now carried via the same red blood cells back to the lungs to be dropped off and exhaled.

Hemoglobin:

• a red protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood
• Its molecule comprises four subunits
• each contains an iron atom bound to a heme group.

Hemoglobin is composed of four elements:

• carbon
• hydrogen
• oxygen
• nitrogen



Hemoglobin Levels:

• 14 to 18 mg/dl for adult men
• 12 to 16 mg/dl for adult women

When the hemoglobin level decreases, it can cause fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches, pale skin, brittle nails, rapid heartbeat and poor appetite.

Hemoglobin vs Chlorophyll

Hemoglobin and Chlorophyll have similar structures. The main difference is that hemoglobin is built around iron (Fe), where as chlorophyll is built around magnesium, (Mg). 

Chlorophyll is composed of the same elements as Hemoglobin, but are organized around magnesium instead

Ways to increase RBC's and Hemoglobin

Chlorophyll helps do the job of hemoglobin when ingested:

• Promote the health of circulation
• cleanse the body
• increase the number of red blood cells and therefore increase oxygen throughout the body, Chlorophyll helps build hemoglobin. 

Altitude Training
The fundamental theory behind altitude training is simple: by exposing an athlete to an environment that is low in oxygen (a mountain top or simulated altitude room) the body will eventually adapt to this stress by getting more efficient at transporting and using oxygen (stronger respiratory muscles, more red blood cells and so on.

Oxygen reaches your muscles and other parts of the body by means of your bloodstream. Oxygen dissolves into the plasma, where most of it -- about 98.5 percent, according to information from Eastern Kentucky University -- becomes attached to hemoglobin molecules. While you're resting, only about 20 to 25 percent of the hemoglobin molecules give up their oxygen to your tissues. A lot of oxygen remains in the bloodstream in reserve.

As you begin to exercise, you use up these reserves, and oxygen-hemoglobin saturation in your bloodstream drops sharply. You need to take in more oxygen to make up for this loss and fulfill your body's increased need for oxygen.

Proper breathing is an underestimated, but critical building block of good health. Slow, deep breathing gets rid of carbon dioxide waste and takes plenty of clean, fresh oxygen to your brain and muscles. More blood cells get the new, oxygen-rich air instead of the same old stale stuff. Experts estimate that proper breathing helps your body eliminate toxins 15 times faster than poor, shallow breathing. You'll not only be healthier, but you'll be able to perform better (mentally and physically) and, of course, be less stressed and more relaxed.

Sources:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/389650-why-does-the-body-need-more-oxy...
http://patch.com/georgia/cascade/bp--hemoglobin-vs-chlorophyll
http://www.top10homeremedies.com/how-to/increase-hemoglobin-level.html
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/potm/2005_10/Page1.htm
http://cyclingtips.com/2013/03/explaining-the-science-of-altitude-training/
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=328