From: Alternative Medicine Magazine

Issue 26, November 1998; Pages 26-28

YOU DON'T normally think of oxygen as a treatment for diabetes, but according to Frank Shallenberger, M.D., H.M.D., director of the Nevada Center of Alternative and Anti-Aging Medicine in Carson City, Nevada, ozone (a less stable, more reactive form of oxygen) can produce remarkable improvements in both the major and secondary symptoms of adult- onset diabetes. The connection between the ozone and diabetes is the blood circulation, Dr. Shallenberger says, as demonstrated in the following cases.

Virginia, 51, had been diabetic for five years and was taking Glucotrol, an oral medication for controlling blood sugar levels. However, Virginia came to Dr. Shallenberger seeking treatment for recurrent breast cancer, a tumor that periodically grew then diminished.

Dr. Shallenberger decided to ozonate her blood as ozone is often used as a healing substance in alternative cancer treatments. He drew 150 cc of Virginia's blood then injected it with ozone gas. Ozonating the sample of Virginia's blood took about 40 minutes, after which it was re infused into her body. He did this daily to address the cancer.

What surprised Dr. Shallenberger in this case was that not only the breast cancer responded to ozonation (it started to dissolve) but so did Virginia's diabetes. Her blood sugar levels began dropping too low (a condition called hypoglycemia) indicating that the ozone and Glucotrol were controlling her blood sugar too well. Dr. Shallenberger reduced her Glucotrol dosage to once daily, then soon after, as the low blood sugar trend continued, eliminated the drug altogether. "Practically speaking, Virginia didn't have diabetes any longer," notes Dr. Shallenberger.

How did ozone bring her diabetes under control? Diabetics always run the risk of complications, such as loss of vision, heart disease, nerve dysfunction, and gangrenous limbs. Diabetics usually have considerable circulation problems such that the actual blood flow to their tissues is diminished, explains Dr. Shallenberger. Patients often have difficulty digesting fats (such as cholesterol and triglycerides) and their arteries tend to thicken and harden.

"This is compounded by the fact that what little blood reaches their tissues is less effective than it should be and is unable to deliver oxygen to those tissues," says Dr. Shallenberger. "The tissues become oxygen depleted, which explains why diabetics have problems with gangrene and why they're unable to resist infections."

A prime reason the red blood cells in the diabetic's blood are unable to release their oxygen is that a key molecule called 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, or 2,3-dpg for short, is in reduced supply. Under normal conditions, 2,3-dpg stimulates red blood cells which carry oxygen to deliver it to the tissues; but if there isn't enough of this molecule in the system, the red blood cells can't deliver the oxygen.

When you introduce ozone--that is, more oxygen-into the blood, more 2,3-dpg is produced and the oxygen-delivery system and the efficiency of blood circulation start to improve. The ozone also appears to enhance the activity of cellular metabolism, the continual conversion of food into energy. Dr. Shallenberger likens the metabolism-heightening effect of ozone to a similar benefit to diabetics obtained through vigorous exercise. It oxygenates the tissues and gets all the body processes running better, he says.

Levels of ATP, an important molecule which stores energy in the cells, are also enhanced through ozonation. Among other functions, ATP helps each cell maintain the integrity of its membrane, thereby enabling it to regulate the passage of materials into and out of the cell, says Dr. Shallenberger. If the cell membrane collapses, the cell dies; if a lot of cells die you start getting tissue death, and gangrene becomes a possibility.
Gangrene in a toe was a serious diabetic complication besetting Quentin, 50. His diabetes was poorly controlled, mainly because he was reluctant to comply with dietary restrictions, says Dr. Shallenberger.

Specifically, he didn't want to give up drinking beer. Even with a daily dosage of four Micronase pills (another blood sugar-controlling drug), Quentin's blood sugar level was around 230; a safe, normal level ranges between 70 and 120.

Dr. Shallenberger already had worked with Quentin for two years, prescribing dietary changes, herbs, and supplements, but when Quentin developed gangrene on the third toe of his right foot and conventional doctors were scheduling him for amputation at the ankle, Dr. Shallenberger decided to try ozonation. "Quentin's toe was completely black and they were going to amputate his entire foot because the rest of the tissue was on the borderline of becoming gangrenous, too," he notes.

For Quentin's treatment, Dr. Shallenberger added another element to the ozonation procedure: chelation. The Chelation would help improve Quentin's blood circulation by removing heavy metals and arterial plaque. Dr. Shallenberger calls his combined treatment "chezone."

Chelation improves blood circulation to the tissues, he explains, which means they get more oxygen. This in turn improves their metabolic rate (energy processing efficiency) and enables them to make better use of glucose (blood sugar). When you have higher efficiency in using glucose, you are much closer to controlling the diabetes naturally, says Dr. Shallenberger. Using ozone, as stated above, helps the patient utilize the available oxygen better, due to improved circulation. Combining Chelation with ozone in effect doubles the circulation benefits.

In addition to chezone, Dr. Shallenberger put an ozone extremity bag around Quentin's right foot, filled it with ozone gas, and left it in place for 20 minutes. In this way, the ozone was absorbed through the skin, an approach that has proven successful in treating chronic sores and skin ulcers, says Dr. Shallenberger.

Each time he gave Quentin a chezone treatment (ten in all, one per day), he also ozonated his foot. After about two weeks, the foot was much improved; the area between the ankle and gangrenous toe had healed which meant only the toe would have to be amputated.

After the surgery, Quentin hurt his foot in such a way that the stitches broke open and a large ulcerating sore formed. His doctors talked about amputation again, but after another six weeks of chezone and foot ozonation treatments, Quentin's foot healed again. Following the first two weeks of intensive treatments, Dr. Shallenberger gave him a chezone once weekly and foot ozonation three times weekly. In ensuing months, Quentin received maintenance treatments.

About ten weeks after the first chezone treatment, "the lesion in Quentin's foot was entirely healed and he was down to only two Micronase pills a day," says Dr. Shallenberger. "If I had been able to treat his toe before it went black, I probably could have saved it." As it turned out, Dr. Shallenberger did save Quentin's right foot twice. "I'm not convinced you can get all diabetics off their medication. To me the point is how well you can control the blood sugar."

In the case of Leonard, 64, controlling his sugar intake was central to being able to get his diabetes and gangrene complications under control. Leonard, who developed diabetes six years earlier, was on insulin and Glucophage (another diabetes drug) to control his blood sugar levels.

However, Leonard developed a blister on the sole of his foot; when this became infected, his doctor cleaned out all the infected tissue, leaving a hole in his foot. Over a three-month period, this wound failed to heal even with antibiotics and Leonard's doctors were talking about amputating his foot.

Dr. Shallenberger started Leonard on the same combination chezone and foot ozonation program that had worked so well for Quentin. Then he added a piece of advice. "You must cut down on your sugar intake." Leonard ate a lot of white sugar in his diet and none of his conventional doctors apparently made the link between high dietary sugar intake and the inability of his infection to heal. "White blood cells, the immune cells that fight infection, cease to function in the presence of elevated glucose levels," says Dr. Shallenberger.

After two treatments, Leonard's foot was noticeably improved and his energy levels were heightened. The initial progress motivated Leonard to comply fully with the program. Dr. Shallenberger started Leonard on a series of nutrients and remedies including chromium and vanadium, to help his body utilize its natural pancreatic insulin.

People with adult-onset diabetes produce insulin but their system becomes unable to use it, a condition called insulin resistance. In fact, the pancreas of such a patient generally produces too much insulin; as the body fails to act on this insulin, the pancreas produces yet more. The minerals chromium and vanadium break this cycle and support the body in making use again of pancreatic insulin, says Dr. Shallenberger.

Among the other elements of Leonard's program were pancreatic enzymes (to support pancreas function and to improve digestion; 400-800 mg three times daily), the hormone melatonin (to bolster the immune system; 3 mg once daily), and the hormone DHEA, levels of which tend to be about 50% below normal in diabetics.

Low DHEA levels may help explain the characteristic weight gain in people with adult-onset diabetes, says Dr. Shallenberger. He notes that DHEA doses will vary with each patient. "Women should take enough (usually 10-25 mg daily) to raise the serum DHEA-sulfate to between 2,000 and 3,000 mg/ml, while men should take enough (usually 50-100 mg daily) to raise it to between 3,000 and 4,000 mg/ml."

He also gave Leonard a specialized product (made from the fungus Mucor racemosus) called Mucokehl, developed in Germany by the Sanum company, and now used selectively (as part of a line of several dozen similar substances) by North American physicians. The Mucokehl would help regulate microorganisms which affect the thickness and texture of the blood.

After a month of treatments, Leonard's foot was completely healed, says Dr. Shallenberger. As his blood sugar came under better control, Leonard was able to lower his daily insulin intake and resume his busy life