What is Therapeutic Ozone?
Ozone is the combination of three oxygen atoms into one molecule. Ozone is natural in the environment, occurring for example during thunderstorms and lightning strikes. In medical settings ozone generators split oxygen molecules in half with an electrical charge. Single oxygen atoms then combine with dioxygen to form ozone. Ozone as a medical therapeutic, has a 100-year history. It is well researched, has a high safety profile and has almost limitless applications. For example, ozone is used topically in salves, oils, or as a gas for wounds, rashes, and infections. For more systemic effects ozone is used rectally, vaginally, and even intravenously. One of ozone therapies’ most important attributes is its ability to effectively increase oxygen utilization in chronic degenerative diseases like dementia, heart failure, pulmonary diseases, non-healing/poor healing wounds, and diabetes for example. It is one of ozone therapies’ most important features. Along with increasing oxygen usage, ozone’s therapeutic benefits include regenerating and maintaining the body’s innate antioxidant status, decreasing systemic inflammation, and activating the body’s immune defenses. Here I focus on describing how ozone improves oxygen usage to help recover from debilitating diseases.
Ozone Effectively Increases Oxygen Utilization
Ozone therapy helps the body efficiently increase how oxygen is converted into energy. It’s this attribute that I believe makes ozone such a powerful medicine. Oxygen utilization and energy are of course central to health and vitality. In fact, it’s critical as research links degenerative diseases of the brain, heart, and lungs to the underutilization of oxygen. Along with the inability to properly use oxygen, conditions characterized by unrelenting fatigue and degeneration also have mitochondrial dysfunction in common. No matter the amount of oxygen the mitochondria are exposed to, they have lost their ability to fully utilize the oxygen and thus generate far less Adenosine Trisphosphate (ATP) than required for health. That’s why receiving oxygen treatment may provide comfort but does not improve oxygen utilization or promote healing. However, the administration of ozone does. Here’s how ozone therapy increases oxygen utilization, also known as cellular respiration.
Ozone Therapy and Cellular Respiration
The end-product of cellular energy production is ATP. I call it our currency for energy. And while macronutrients from food are also required, oxygen is by far the most crucial component. Consider how far up a hill you could go while holding your breath. Most of us would not last more than ten paces or so before having to take a gasping breath. On the other hand, a person of typical fitness could easily go a few miles or more before needing to reach for a snack. We hunger for oxygen much faster than food and would expire quickly without it. That’s how critical oxygen is. It is the oxygen in the air we breathe that catalyzes the cellular processes we depend on for energy. In cellular physiology this process is known as cellular respiration. In short, with heathy oxygen utilization, the compound Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) is generated. NAD then, along with a few unique enzymes, molecules, and a riboflavin derivative drive mitochondrial activation and thus ATP production. It is the most elegant and efficient way we make ATP, our currency for energy.
Ozone Upregulates Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide
The magic of ozone therapy in energy production owes its ability to upregulate NAD from the oxidation of NADH to NAD. This of course is the same NAD that has been all the craze over the past few years. Ozone simply promotes the optimal ratio of the reduced and oxidized forms of NAD, allowing for the upregulation of oxygen usage and therefore increasing energy production. This NAD, derived from oxygen, drives cellular respiration and ATP synthesis. NAD generation and the proper ratio of the two mentioned forms of NAD are critical for a wide range of cellular reactions and are known to be optimized by ozone therapy.
Conclusion
Ozone therapy’s ability to upregulate oxygen utilization explains why it’s therapeutic for debilitating diseases characterized by fatigue including heart failure, respiratory diseases, dementia, non-healing/poor healing wounds and diabetes for example. Ozone therapy’s ability to upregulate oxygen utilization is central to its’ wide-ranging benefits. Along with increasing oxygen usage, ozone therapy’s therapeutic benefits include regenerating and maintaining the body’s innate antioxidant status, decreasing systemic inflammation, and activating the body’s immune defenses.
Dr. Ayo Bankole
Bankole is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor treating persons with heart disease, diabetes, inflammation and other environmental and lifestyle related conditions. He also possesses advanced training in environmental medicine and uses IV nutritional therapy, ozone therapy, detoxification and chelation therapy.
He is a member of the American Academy for the Advancement of Medicine www.acam.org, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians www.naturopathic.org, and the California Association of Naturopathic Doctors www.cand.org.
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