AN INTRODUCTION TO OXYGEN

By Allen Glonek

Why is oxygen so important?
Oxygen is a fundamental primary nutrient. Without it, life could not exist. We know that we can live without food for weeks, and we can go on a fast without water for between three to seven days. But how long can we live without oxygen? Five minutes. That's how important it is. Oxygen is also one of the most significant anti-aging components. The more we saturate our cells with stabilized oxygen (called oxygenation), the lower the rate of wear and tear on our bodies. Did you know that 90% of our nutritional energy comes from oxygen, and only 10% is derived from ingested food?

Oxygen has a policing role in our bodies, it's natural ability to catabolize or oxidize bacteria, fungi and viruses plays a very significant role in preventing degenerative diseases and sustaining the natural immortality factor of the cell. Let's consider this policing function of oxygen for a moment. We know that if we were to take any fungus, virus or pathogenic bacteria (all of which are responsible for a host of diseases), put these invaders in a petri culture dish, then drop stabilized oxygen on them, they would all die on contact. The challenge, then, is clear: get enough oxygen directly into the cells where these anaerobic pathogens live.

Oxygen is also necessary to burn up toxins in the body, those that we generate internally and those that come from outside us in our food (especially junk food), water, and environment. The purpose of our immune system is to fight invaders and prevent degenerative disease. However, the fulfillment of this purpose really hinges on the amount of oxygen saturation in the body. The lower the oxygen content, the less energy to fight disease, to burn toxins and to heal.

Without sufficient oxygen, cells cannot function properly and disease can set in. In the 1940's Nobel Laureate Dr. Otto Warburg stated emphatically that all disease is ultimately related to oxygen starvation. More recently, Dr. Stephen Levine has been saying the same thing: "hypoxia, meaning low oxygen levels in the cells, results in disease." The average concentration of oxygen in the blood stream is between 60 and 70%. At this level, people generally feel okay, with average energy and intelligence. However, if the oxygen level drops below 60%, disease begins to take over the management of the cells as they become overwhelmed by pathogens. The minimum concentration of oxygen needed to sustain life is about 52%, but at this level, one is not very much alive. We can see that we want to keep our oxygen supply way above 60% (optimally around 80%) so that we can maximize our energy and feel terrific. If we can get our oxygen level up to about 80%, then we can really detoxify the body, wipe out infections and boost our health, vitality and natural intelligence enormously.

Why aren't we naturally getting enough oxygen?

With millions of square miles of oxygen regenerating rainforest already destroyed (and disease growing in our remained forests), and huge amounts of precious oxygen producing sea algae compromised with pollution, our great sources of oxygen are being severely damaged. Scientific studies reveal that while 200 years ago the concentration of oxygen in the air was somewhere between 36 and 38%, recent measurements show a mere 19%. That's a 50% reduction in what was available to our most recent ancestors. In some heavily industrialized areas with high pollution levels, the oxygen content can be as low as 9%. Now, imagine being in a typical urban setting during rush hour, behind a bus or in a traffic jam. It's no wonder that we come home with oxygen deficient aching muscles, headaches, and feelings of irritation and depression, not to mention foggy thinking. Remember that pollutants deplete oxygen in the air because oxygen is used to burn these toxins in the air, just as it does in our bodies.

Just look at the epidemics of both infectious and chronic degenerative diseases. Both of these types of illness are indicative of a lack of the fundamental nutrient energy needed to create a rapid, dependable healing process. The greatest energy source in our bodies for killing pathogens and repairing tissue is oxygen. Basically, your body starves without oxygen. Oxygen is one of the most basic needs. Each one of the body's estimated 100 trillion cells requires oxygen for all of its metabolic processes. You need oxygen in order to combust foods, to provide energy for the heart, brain and cells. Without oxygen, the cells will starve for energy. They become impaired and dysfunctional, they become vulnerable to invasion from pathogenic organisms and junk food, pollution and other debris, or they themselves mutate and begin to attack their healthy counterparts. With a reduced supply of oxygen, our immune system suffers because it requires oxygen to kill off foreign invaders like viruses, fungi and pathogenic bacteria. We also need oxygen to burn waste products in the body, including waste from our metabolic functions. And oxygen combusts pollutants that are carried in the air, in food and in water.