The Sherpas are a Nepalese people who have lived for years at the foot of Everest. This daily life at an altitude of 5,300 meters enabled them to develop exceptional physical capacities.
Sherpas can live on very little oxygen
To live for so long at such an altitude, the Sherpa people have extraordinary physical capacities. According to a study by the Academy of Sciences published on May 22 in the scientific journal Proceeding National Academy of Sciences, Sherpas can live on very little oxygen.
The study, co-led by Andrew Murray, member of the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), consisted of comparing the blood of Sherpas with that of European scientists living in England.. Blood samples were therefore taken from Sherpas residing at an altitude of 5,300 meters at the foot of Everest, Sherpas living in the city of Kathmandu (Nepal) and the British. The results are extraordinary: wherever they live, the Sherpas’ metabolism has evolved over the millennia to adapt to the icy and poor oxygen environment of the Everest region.
Sherpas’ blood is made up differently
The blood of Sherpas is composed differently from that of an average mountaineer. Regardless of the environment Sherpas live in, their mitochondria (part of the cells that create energy) are more efficient than normal. What’s more, the blood of these people produces fewer red blood cells and more nitric oxide. However, nitric oxide is a molecule that opens the blood vessels, in order to promote the circulation of blood to the organs.
According to Andrew Murray, these exceptional results are not so surprising. At an altitude of 8,848 meters, the air on Everest contains three times less oxygen than at sea level. The Sherpas’ metabolism would therefore have adapted to this hostile environment over the millennia. Thus, while a lambda climber must give his body time to produce more red blood cells and provide himself with oxygen cylinders before starting the perilous ascent of Everest, the Sherpas are able to walk on it. very long distances carrying heavy loads. This study on the blood of the Sherpa people is a source of hope for the scientific community. This discovery could indeed allow a real advance in research to treat respiratory diseases.
Marie-Hélène Hérouart