Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat recently said cows are the only animal which can inhale and exhale oxygen, adding that massaging the animal can cure breathing problems.

A video went viral on Thursday where Rawat could be seen admiring the medicinal properties of cow milk and urine. In the video, he also asserted that cows are the only animals which can inhale and exhale oxygen.

Rawat had more to add. He said living in close proximity with cows can also cure tuberculosis.

The Uttarakhand chief minister's cow eulogy comes after Pradesh BJP president and Nainital MP Ajay Bhatt recently said pregnant women can avoid cesarian deliveries if they drink water of Garud Ganga, a river in Bageshwar district.

While not many were convinced by Rawat's comments, an official at the CMO defended the chief minister's remarks, adding that he was only stating something which is a common belief in the hills of Uttarakhand.

"While the medicinal values of cow milk and urine are well known, people in the hills also believe that the cow gives them oxygen," he said requesting anonymity.

In reality, not just the cow but all living creatures exhale a certain amount of oxygen, mixed with other gases, while breathing. According to experts, only plants exhale oxygen during photosynthesis as a waste product.

A Zoology professor had earlier told India Today Fact Check team that only four-five per cent of the total oxygen inhaled by living beings is utilised and the rest is released.

Soma M. Ghorai, Assistant Professor at the Department of Zoology, Hindu College, said, "We exhale carbon dioxide and other gases along with the residual oxygen. This process stands same for all living beings, including cow."