Dancing in the semi-arid climate of Keystone (9,166 feet above sea level) is extraordinarily pleasant, thanks to the lack of humidity (ahhh…no “sticky” sweaty feeling) but will be enjoyed more if you take a few precautions.

The #1 rule is you need to drink pleanty of water!

Please understand that statements about the air being “thinner” here can be misleading. The oxygen content (ratio to all other gasses in the air) is no different here, but the barometric pressure that “weights” the air and pushes it through your lungs into your blood is “lighter” (again, we enjoy the comfort of not bearing that “heavy humidity”), so we have to draw the oxygen into our blood with greater pull or attraction.

The following are suggestions to improve your physiology to enjoy our pleasant climate without distress.

This is a semi-arid climate. There is less water (hence, less “heavy humidity”) in the air. Dehydration is our first concern. Water will evaporate from your body (skin and breath) more quickly.  Your blood is a water-based fluid solution.  You need to drink LOTS of water.  A rule of thumb is to take your body weight in pounds (lets say 160 pounds) and divide that number by 2  (= 80) and drink THAT MANY OUNCES of water per day. Now 80 ounces is 10 glasses at 8 ounces each. It’s almost 3 quarts (you have about 5 quarts of blood in your body).  Your blood becomes like “sludge” if there is insufficient water.  You need to renew that water frequently.   A good suggestion for a longer, healthier life is to begin each day by giving your internal organs a “shower” by drinking ½ to 1 quart of water when you first get up from bed. Do this a good half-hour before you eat anything. Thoroughly re-hydrate your bloodstream.  Get a good jump on your daily requirement.  Next suggestion is to   have a water bottle and use it to measure your water intake throughout the day (fill and empty it as many times as necessary to get your daily requirement). Realize also, that if you spend much time outdoors in our brilliant sunshine, or partake of significant exercise (i.e. SQUARE DANCING) that daily requirement goes UP.  Also realize if you indulge in dehydrating substances (caffeine, alcohol, sugary carbonated beverages, etc) your daily requirement goes UP (example: for every one cup of coffee or tea or soda or beer, drink two cups of water). Lastly, it is suggested that you obtain reasonably pure water. Filtered…bottled…it is healthier and tastes so much better you will enjoy drinking it rather than considering it “medicine”. 

Repeat after me: I WILL DRINK MY WATER.

Next step is to build the stuff in the blood that attracts (pulls in) the oxygen.  Your red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a complex molecule with iron at its core (iron attracts oxygen…you’ve heard of a thing called “rust”). Chlorophyll, the stuff that makes plants green, is a very complex molecule that happens to be identical to hemoglobin, except chlorophyll has magnesium at its core (instead of iron).   So first, we want to consume chlorophyll (your mom was right: EAT YOUR GREENS).  A very common and inexpensive source of concentrated chlorophyll is alfalfa.  You can get alfalfa chlorophyll in liquid, capsule, or tablet form at your health food store.  If you can’t find it, contact me, and it can be sent to you.  There are other sources beside alfalfa: barley, chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, others…if it’s green, it’s got chlorophyll.

For iron, there are some great food sources.  One of the best is molasses. It has a few calories, but it doesn’t take much, and square dancers burn calories like racecars burn fuel anyway. You can make some nice gingerbread cookies with molasses, but here’s a favorite of mine: dip a spoon in molasses and put the spoon into a nice hot cup of Postum.  What’s Postum? Well, it’s a roasted grain beverage that is dark and full-bodied like that roasted bean beverage (coffee)…I love the taste of coffee, too, and I won’t lie…they don’t taste the same.  But the beverages are ALIKE, and both are pleasantly satisfying.  Postum has no caffeine, or other harmful chemicals.  It’s guilt-free, so you can afford a few calories with some added molasses (small amount already in Postum).  Find Postum and molasses in supermarkets.  Of course, liver is another food source of iron.

Holding water in your bloodstream: accomplished by certain electrolytes (minerals) and often-overlooked PROTEIN.  Don’t overlook protein while on vacation. Easy supplement: spirulina.

Protect your skin: if you are enjoying our wonderful outdoors, remember that our lighter air (without all that heavy humidity) also allows for increased Ultraviolet penetration.  Use sunscreen, and whether you go outside or not, use CHAPSTICK (your lips WILL dry and crack if you don’t) and get the chap stick with sun block if you go outside.  If dry skin is a problem, use a moisturizing lotion while here in semi-arid-land.

A little extra vitamin E and vitamin C will help with oxygen and your bloodstream.

If you’ve done all of the above and still suffer any lightheadedness or headaches, try putting a little liquid aloe vera (1-2 ounces) into some water or juice and drink two or more times per day.  It’s that water thing again, and if it affects the fluid that bathes your brain and spinal cord (cerebro-spinal fluid), the aloe is remarkably similar to that fluid in electrolyte and protein balance and will frequently abate those symptoms.

Of course, exercise helps a person attract and utilize oxygen.  If you’re dancing frequency is the “weekend warrior”-type, daily walking or other exercise routine will aid enormously.

I would minimize the use of air-conditioning, especially at night. Around here, it predictably gets naturally cool at night.  Turn off the A/C, and open the window.  You won’t be so “dried out” in the morning.

Many of these suggestions are healthy lifestyle changes you should consider now, till death do you part from them.  You should be conscientious about this for 10-14 days before you come to this wonderful climate, so your body adapts easily.

When you do-si-do, remember H-2-O!

Written by Dr. Tony Pranaitis, DC, 303-233-3939, TonyChiro@juno.com and Bear Miller, Caller.