What if a big part of the benefit of aerobic exercise is that it strengthens one’s diaphragm? (Abundant oxygenation may be important.) If so, then an exercise that directly focused on strengthening one’s diaphragm might be quite beneficial. The device shown above provides resistance for breathing—the moral equivalent of weights for one’s diaphragm. Evidence shows that inspiratory strength training is, indeed, quite beneficial. See this post:

• Improving Your Blood Vessel Health by Strengthening Your Breathing Muscles

I was ready to take this research seriously because of other things I had read about the quality of one’s breathing as a key factor for health. See these posts:

• James Nestor on How Bad Mouth Breathing Is

• Carbon Dioxide as a Stimulant for Respiratory Function

• A Modern World of Endemic Jaw Dysfunction

• Human Skulls, Ancient and Modern

When I asked my doctor about inspiratory strength training, he said “Just go to a medical supply store.” It turns out Amazon is a great medical supply store. There are many options that might be equally good or even somewhat better, but the device I actually bought for breath resistance training was the “Breather” shown above. (There are some videos online they direct you to for instructions on the exercises.) I haven’t been using it for long at all, but I already feel that I am breathing easier from the little bit of breath strength training I have done. I am betting that, per minute spent, this is a very effective exercise for improving health.

I plan to keep doing these breathing exercises. If one of you tries this out, let me know your take on them.

P.S. I should say that the very first “Breather” I got had a dial that was stuck and wouldn’t turn. I just bought another one, which doesn’t have that problem. I was in a forgiving mood because the benefits of the breathing exercises themselves are so good.

For annotated links to other posts on diet and health, see:

• Miles Kimball on Diet and Health: A Reader's Guide