Oxygen Therapies and Healthy Aging

By Nathaniel Altman –

Author of The New Oxygen Prescription

Oxygen is essential for life. It makes up 65% of the elements of our body, including blood, organs, tissues and skin. Oxygen therapies involve administering small amounts of diluted ozone or hydrogen peroxide into the body for the prevention and treatment of disease. They have been part Europe’s medical mainstream since the 1960’s- and have been safely used by over ten million patients- but are still considered “experimental” in the United States and Canada.

The philosophy behind oxygen therapies is simple. Hydrogen peroxide and ozone in medicine is based on the belief that the accumulation of toxins in the body is normally burnt up by the process of oxidation, a process wherein a substance is changed chemically because of the effect of oxygen on it. Oxidation breaks toxins down into carbon dioxide and water, and eliminates them from the body. But if the oxygen system of the body is weak or deficient (due to lack of exercise, environmental pollution, poor diet, smoking, or improper breathing), our bodies cannot eliminate them adequately and a toxic reaction can occur. In minor cases, a toxic buildup can lead to fatigue, while a wide range of diseases can result when poor oxygenation is chronic.

Oxygen therapies provide the body with active forms of oxygen. Once in the body, the hydrogen peroxide or ozone breaks down into various oxygen subspecies which contact anaerobic viruses and microbes [i.e. viruses and microbes which have the ability to live without air], as well as diseased or deficient tissue cells. It oxidizes these cells while leaving the healthy cells alone. When the body becomes saturated with these special forms of oxygen, it reaches a state of purity wherein disease microorganisms are killed, while the underlying toxicity is oxidized and eliminated.

How are These Therapies Administered?

When properly administered by a trained practitioner, oxygen therapies are safe and effective. The most common type of hydrogen peroxide therapy calls for small amounts of 30% reagent grade hydrogen peroxide added to purified water and administered as an intravenous drip. However, some individuals like to add a cup of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide to a bathtub of warm water; the hydrogen peroxide reacts with the skin and the oxygen and hydrogen peroxide-reactive products are absorbed into the body while the person soaks in the tub.

Ozone is administered in the following ways:

• Autohemotherapy involves removing about one half pint of blood from the patient, adding ozone and oxygen to the blood, and infusing the blood back to the patient.
• Rectal insufflations: ozone and oxygen are administered as a rectal enema. The mixture is then absorbed through the large intestine.
• The steam cabinet method involves placing the patient in a steam cabinet and pumping an oxygen and ozone mixture into the cabinet. The mixture will react with the surface of the skin and the oxygen and ozone-reactive products will be absorbed into the bloodstream.

What can they do for us?

Much research has been done on how oxygen therapies can help the body heal itself of a wide variety of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and infections. Some of these studies have led researchers to believe that these therapies also have value for healthy people who want to maintain their health and stay young despite their age.

Most of mainstream medicine focuses on curing disease rather than maintaining good health. While many physicians use oxygen therapies primarily for crisis care, some, like Frank Shallenberger, M.D.- who specializes in anti-aging medicine- believe that oxygen therapies can help strengthen the body’s natural immunity. As a result, the body is better able to fight off diseases related to viruses, bacteria, and fungi and resist degenerative diseases like arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. Over time, this can help us enjoy longer and healthier lives.

How can oxygen therapies assist in healthy aging? Dr. Shadia Bakarat at the Faculty of Medicine of Ain Shams University in Cairo developed an experimental protocol on animals using a small dose of ozone administered via autohemotherapy twice weekly for twelve weeks. She concluded that ozone therapy at the late post-menopausal stage can improve altered mitochondrial density (which allows the body to more efficiently  convert energy into ATP, meaning more energy is available to working muscles), collagen density (to promote joint health and repair) and smooth muscle thickness in the arteries and veins. She also found that ozone can increase the body’s level of antioxidant defense, thus promoting health and slow down the aging process.

Although Dr. Barakat’s preliminary research is promising, the role of oxygen therapies in human gerontology requires more investigation with humans. Given the generation of “baby boomers” who are reaching retirement age, therapeutic ozone and hydrogen peroxide can hold much promise toward achieving a level of healthy aging that everyone wants and deserves.

Nathaniel Altman is a medical writer and researcher who has written more than 15 books on nature and alternative healing, including The Honey Prescription, Healing Springs and A Russian Herbal.