By AIM Staff
Ozone is a gas that is made up of Oxygen molecules. Typically when we think of oxygen, it is 02, or 2 molecules of oxygen bound together. This is the most stable form of oxygen.
However, when an electric force is applied, those molecules break apart and when they recombine, can form O3, or Ozone.
Fun fact: 90% of earth’s Ozone layer is made by the sun’s ultraviolet light, however 10% is generated by the Catatumbo Light Storms in Venezuela which is a phenomenon that produces over 1 million light strikes a year (look up some YouTube videos of it)!
The exciting part is not really what Ozone is, but more about what ozone can do.
As we age or when we have chronic disease, we have decreased oxygen utilization.
When we have decreased oxygen utilization, our NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and NADH (reduced NAD) ratio is thrown out of balance. NAD is used by our body to help break down fats and glucose so that our mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) can produce energy. NAD gets converted into NADH during this process.
The good news is that our body recycles the NADH back into NAD so that we can continue turning fats and glucose into energy. Our mitochondria use oxygen to recycle NADH back to NAD. So if you have decreased oxygen utilization, you won’t recycle as much NADH back to NAD throwing off your NAD:NADH ratio.
When that ratio is off that means you won’t break down fats and glucose as efficiently to feed our mitochondria and now you are stuck in a nasty loop where your mitochondria can’t recycle NAD using oxygen. Your body now starts to use other processes to produce energy which increases free radicals and lactic acid leading to further mitochondrial decay which leads to further decreased oxygen utilization and ends in aging and degenerative disease.
So where does ozone come into this process?
When ozone enters our blood, it attracts electrons to become a more stable molecule and immediately becomes stable O2 gas, or oxygen which is what helps recycle our NADH back into NAD and helps us break down fats and glucose into energy which supplies our mitochondria which then increases our oxygen utilization, which helps recycle NAD which decreases free radicals, which decreases aging and degenerative disease.
So now that you know what ozone is and how it helps the body, what are the ways we use ozone here at Alpine, and how can that benefit you and your health and wellness?
First, we offer hyperbaric intravenous ozone therapy. This has a systemic effect and supports the mitochondria function and therefore oxygen utilization of our body which can have an anti-aging effect and help with degenerative diseases. Intravenous ozone also is antimicrobial and used in mainstream healthcare in Germany for bacterial infections such as MRSA. At Alpine, we have used it’s antimicrobial quality to help with patients with Lyme and chronic Epstein-Barr Virus. As an aside, patients have reported better general health and immune function during cold and flu season.
The next form of ozone treatment we use at AIM is an injection therapy called Prolozone. “Prol” is derived from the latin word “proli” which means to proliferate, regenerate, and rebuild. Prolozone uses vitamins and nutrients injected with ozone gas to help proliferate, regenerate, and rebuild joints, ligaments, and cartilage to help decrease pain. When we inject the ozone, it increases circulation to the area which helps bring in new nutrient-rich blood and helps stimulate the fibroblasts and chondroblasts which synthesize collagen and cartilage. The effect is immediate pain relief and increased healing of the joint. This treatment has been shown to be effective in treating all kinds of joint pains. It is truly amazing.
Finally, there are some treatments that are newer to us at AIM that we are excited to be offering after attending some advanced training on Ozone Therapy this year. Ozonated oils carry the antimicrobial properties of the ozone gas and have been shown to highly effective in treating athlete’s foot and toe nail fungus. We carry bottles of the ozonated oil that you can take home and apply nightly to those hard to treat fungal infections.
A brand new treatment that we are bringing back from the seminar is bubbling ozone through oil to release terpenes. Terpenes are the same constituents that a lot of essential oils have that give them an antimicrobial effect. The terpenes from the oil are then inhaled through a nasal cannula and have been shown to be beneficial in treating upper respiratory infections and chronic sinus problems. The final new treatment we are bringing back with us from the seminar is called ear insufflations. This method humidifies ozone gas and pushes it through an ear piece which is similar to what you see on a stethoscope. This is great for treating ear infections and ear pain.
Before you look for intense surgical or pharmaceutical fixes for any of the conditions mentioned in this article, please consider trying Ozone therapy as a healthier alternative in consultation with your AIM doctor. You might be amazed by the results.