A specific breathing protocol involving cyclic hyperventilation followed by breath holds can increase plasma levels of IL-10 and decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines.

“In the intervention group, the breathing group, plasma levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, so this is a cytokine that is, lowers inflammation, increased after endotoxin administration, and that was triggered by an increase in epinephrine and adrenaline. So, in other words, doing a particular pattern of breathing allowed an anti-inflammatory cytokine to be turned on. And they discovered that levels of pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8, which you should all be familiar with now as pro-inflammatory cytokines, were lower in the intervention group. Finally, flu-like symptoms were lower in the intervention group.”