Why the Tibetans are Used to the High Altitude in Tibet Plateau

When taking a Tibet tour, getting altitude sickness is a common problem for people coming from a lower elevation, usually very close to sea level. Sea level is the basic pressure level for most people around the world, and with the exception of the higher altitude areas such as Tibet, Ethiopia, and the Andes, majority of the population of the world lives at an altitude below 2,000 meters.

However, while you may feel some minor symptoms of altitude sickness at elevations above 1,500 meters, the local Tibetan people do not share your susceptibility to high altitudes and reduced oxygen content. While the rest of humanity can suffer while at high altitudes, Tibetans actually thrive in this low-oxygen environment, and can do all the strenuous exertion at high altitude that a fit person can do at sea level.

So how can the people of Tibet live in this environment without getting AMS and HACE or HAPE? The answer lies in their uniqueness. The Tibetan people can survive happily in altitudes above 3,000 meters and the secret to their survival is in their genes.

Reasons Why Tibetans Do Not Get Altitude Sickness

One of the main reasons why the Tibetans do not suffer from AMS is their unique ability to absorb the more scarce oxygen into the blood without the need for a higher red blood cell count. This ability is a genetic difference to modern people that has been inherited from an ancient people known as the Denisovans.

Dating back to a time of around 40,000 years ago, the Denisovans – a distant cousin to the more well-known Neanderthals – joined in mating with the early Asian and eastern European settlers that moved east from the plains of Africa, the recognized cradle of human life. These settlers included the ancestors of the modern Tibetans, who inherited unique genes from the Denisovans that allowed them to adapt permanently to the high altitude of the Tibetan plateau.

The genetic uniqueness of Tibetans makes them able to adapt to get used to high alittude in Tibet.

This most notable of the unique genes has been named as the EPAS1 gene, and the genetic differences were discovered after an archaeological dig in Denisova Cave in northern Siberia’s Altai Mountains turned up a small finger bone of a child. From that bone, scientists were able to map the DNA of the people it came from, and discovered unique genes that did not match normal human DNA.

For the Tibetan people, who all possess these unique genes, it means that they were able to colonize a part of the planet that no other humans could, the high-altitude plateau of Tibet. Some of the unique genes also allow them to produce less hemoglobin than lowland people and other high-altitude people such as the Andean people, who actually produce more hemoglobin to compensate for the increased elevation and thinner atmosphere.

This unique ability spread throughout the rest of the Tibetan ancestors over an indeterminable period of time, until around than 5,000 years ago, when it is believed by scientists that the unique genes were already present in all of the Tibetan people of the time. Other archaeological dig sites, and some neat computer modeling programs, have found that the Denisovans – who were more closely related to the Neanderthals than to Homo Sapiens – ranged across Asia more than 50,000 years ago, and died out after the influx of the settlers from the west.

Another very valid reason for the Tibetan’s ability to survive the environment is through evolutionary adaptation. Just as the Denisovan gene spread through the ancestors of the people that now inhabit Tibet, allowing them to survive in an oxygen-low atmosphere, so the natural evolutionary adaptation of humans allowed them to survive in a hostile environment with very little in the way of natural food resources.

Tibetans can survive in a hostile environment with very little in the way of natural food resources.

The Tibetan adaptation to high altitude living is the fastest evolutionary instance in human history, taking place over the course of just 3,000 years. Natural selection, in combination with the ancient genes, have allowed the adaptation of the Tibetan people to a life on the high-altitude plateau, and allowed them to survive on fewer dietary needs than lowland people. Not only do the Tibetan people breathe more rapidly than lowland people, they have enlarged lungs for better oxygenation, low hemoglobin content, and an increase in cerebral blood flow.

The enlarged lungs allow for more air to be taken into the body, allowing more oxygen to be dispersed into the bloodstream. The enhanced lung size and faster breathing allows them to sleep properly at high altitudes, as well as work normally, as if at sea level, and it was in the Sherpas of the mountaineering expeditions that this was first noticed.

Originally thought to be a training that was undergone, it was soon realized that the Tibetan people were different from lowland people when it came to breathing at high altitudes through a course of natural selection. This same natural selection also enabled them to more fully digest food for optimum digestion to utilize the maximum of energy and nutrients from the food.

With very little in the way of crop growth on the plateau, Tibetans have adapted to eating a few vegetables with mostly meat and noodles, in a stew or soup form, which gives them most of the nutrients they need. The major crop t hat has been able to thrive on the plateau – highland barley – is also one of the staples of the Tibetan diet.

How to Avoid Altitude Sickness for Ordinary Tourists to Tibet

For those of us that do not have the natural selection and genetic make-up of the Tibetans, there are ways that we can help to counter the symptoms and effects of AMS when traveling to the high altitude of the plateau.

There are ways for ordinaray people to cope with high altitude when touring Tibet.

AMS or altitude sickness usually occurs above 2,400 meters, although some mild symptoms can be seen at altitudes above 1,500 meters. The main symptoms of AMS are: Loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, excessive flatulence, fatigue or weakness, headaches, dizziness or lightheadedness, insomnia, peripheral edema (swelling of hands, feet, and face), nose bleeding, shortness of breath upon exertion, persistent rapid pulse, pins and needles, and a general feeling of malaise.

In order to prevent AMS from hitting you when you go to higher altitudes such as the Tibetan plateau, there are a few things you can try, though not every method is guaranteed to work with everyone.

The best way to avoid altitude sickness in Tibet is to ascend slowly, avoiding any strenuous activity such as hiking for the first 24 hours at any altitude. This can help to reduce the symptoms of AMS, and allow better acclimatization. Acclimatization to altitudes allows the body to adjust to the ever-decreasing oxygen levels at progressively higher altitudes, and a “climb high, sleep low” approach has been known to work well for climbers in the high-altitude conditions of the Himalayas.

Acclimatization to high altitudes cannot be rushed, and it is a slow process, in order to allow the body to adjust to the altitude first before moving to a higher altitude again. However, this is often not possible for those traveling to Tibet by train or flight, since the Tibet trains and aircraft are pressurized to maintain a higher pressure and higher oxygen content. This means that, when you disembark at Lhasa, you are more susceptible to the symptoms of AMS.

Get plenty of rest after arrival in Lhasa to acclimatize to high altitude.

For those traveling by train or flight, it is essential that you rest for the first 24-48 hours of your stay in Lhasa, in order for the body to have chance to properly acclimatize to the reduced oxygen levels. Avoiding cigarettes and alcohol can help to reduce the risk of AMS, as smoking reduces the ability of the lungs to properly process the oxygen into the bloodstream, and alcohol can cause dehydration, which makes the symptoms of AMS even worse.

Plenty of rest, healthy food that includes vegetables and high-protein meats is recommended, but should be take in small meals at regular intervals. Avoiding strenuous exercise also helps to reduce the risk, and plenty of water helps to hydrate the body well, so that you can reduce the risk of the symptoms showing up.

Some medications can help in certain people to prevent and treat the symptoms of AMS, such as Diamox or Acetazolamide, though you should consult your own doctor before taking it. The drugs work by stimulating the kidneys to secrete more bicarbonate into the urine, making the blood more acidic and reducing the risk of AMS.

For those that have already developed some symptoms of AMS, rest and hydration can help, as well as paracetamol or ibuprofen to treat the headaches. Oxygen can be used in small doses to counter the effects and aid in acclimatization, but should not be relied upon. If the symptoms do persist, and you feel worse, it is advisable to descend to a lower altitude until the symptoms have abated.