Watch Dr. Mark Stengler interview natural health expert, Dr. Frank Shallenberger, about oxidation and energy production.

What is Oxidation?

Our bodies require a lot of nutrients, but the most important is oxygen. We used to think that having a good heart that pumps oxygen throughout the body was the whole story. What we’ve learned is that there’s a bigger question: What is your body going to do with that oxygen? Oxygen only does one thing, unlike other nutrients that have several functions. There is a process in our cells that extracts energy from the oxygen. That’s all that oxygen can do. You can take in all of the oxygen you want, but if your body is not extracting energy properly, you are not getting proper oxidation. Lifestyle can contribute to a decline in the ability to obtain oxidation efficiently. Poor oxidation is the main reason we are more susceptible to disease as we get older.

Where Is Oxygen Processed?

Each of our cells has a little energy factory, the mitochondria, that’s entire purpose is to create energy to power the functions of the out of oxygen. There is nothing our cells can do that doesn’t require energy. If your mitochondria is extracting oxygen very efficiently, your body will function as well as genetics allow.  If you’re only extracting energy at 50% efficiency rate (which we see all the time) you’re only getting 50% of that energy.

What interferes with the oxidization process?

1. Genetics: It is important to know that genetics does play a large role. There are some people who are genetically predisposed to process oxygen better than others.
2. Stress: The way your body handles stress and the amount of stress you are under daily can impact your body's ability to efficiently process oxygen.
3. Hormones: As you get older, your body produces fewer hormones. When you are hormone deficient, your body struggles to process the oxygen.
4. Toxins: Heavy metals, like lead, inhibit the process of mitochondria creating energy.

Have your energy levels been low? It might be time to come see us at The Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine.