As with any non-mainstream healthcare therapy or device these days, an internet search for information about ‘Airnergy’ (being the most well known brand of Activated Oxygen Therapy, though not the only one at all), results in a mixture of positive and less-than-positive reports and comments. In this article we are looking to address some of the comments found online that may prevent individuals further investigating how Singlet Oxygen Energy / Activated Oxygen Therapy could benefit them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, yet when opinion is stated as fact, or inaccurate conclusions are drawn from data presented, a more balanced viewpoint is necessary!
One ‘science’ blog article in particular (written in 2007) is particularly dismissive of Airnergy’s benefits and culminates in stating that the therapy process may actually be harmful. This conclusion and other comments within the article are based on inaccurate interpretations and ignore accepted (mainstream) scientific principles. Since this particular blog article often seems to be cited in forums and online chats exploring Airnergy pros and cons, we have decided to address certain points made there specifically, aiming to redress the balance of accurate information.
“At this point, it’s beyond me to resist the temptation to point out that humans are not plants and do not require photosynthesis to survive. So why does Klemm think that a process adapted from photosynthesis would have any beneficial effect on humans?”
Of course we are not plants. However, many would say that we do require photosynthesis to survive – if all the plants carrying out photosynthesis were removed from the Earth, aside from significant oxygen release being affected (there is some controversy around how long the human race would survive in this regard), our entire food chain would also be removed – since humans have no means of creating the metabolic fuel we need without plants (and specifically their energy-producing process of photosynthesis), the human race would most certainly die out without photosynthesis.
Although the above is not directly related to Airnergy-information-balancing, it is a good example of how an apparently ‘scientific comment’, stated as fact, is in actuality an inaccurate opinion – demonstrating a pattern in some individual’s writing which aims to mislead the reader.
In specific response to the author’s comment above, given that photosynthesis is necessary for optimal human function / life, a more ‘synthetic’ version of it has obvious potential relevance and benefits to humans.
“So what? I thought. If you’re healthy, you “utilize” all the oxygen that you need; this is bullshit, pure and simple… At sea level, it’s generally not a problem… So, as is common for woo, we have a “solution” for a nonexistent problem.”
It’s true that for truly healthy people, oxygenation is not really an issue, but the proportion of ‘truly healthy’ people in today’s world is actually minuscule (for many reasons – and simply look at public health epidemiological data regarding the incidence and prevalence of chronic disease to confirm this). There is increasing (scientific, peer-reviewed) evidence that oxygenation ‘issues’ are relevant in numerous diseases in the world today as well as the ‘natural’ progression of ageing (see our article on Oxygen and M.E. / CFS for just a few examples). So not really a ‘nonexistent problem’
“Odd. I don’t see any claims that this device can make oxygen “copied” from nature as a means of promoting health and healing anywhere in the patent application. I wonder why. So I looked at more of the patent application to see its claims. Nope, not a single health claim.”
I’m no patent expert, but as far as I’m aware, patents are very much about the physical putting-together of equipment, components etc – and their specific function, rather than claims about effects (otherwise the whole patent process just wouldn’t be sustainable, would it?), so the comment about ’no health claims there’ again is an irrelevance (presumably intended to add propaganda weight to a negative argument?)
The biggest and most disappointing aspect of the article of course is the misleading paragraph at the end:
“So, yes, the AIRNERGY+ device does produce “energized” oxygen, but it’s not the kind of “energization” you want applied to the oxygen you breathe in–unless you want the singlet oxygen reacting with your proteins and lipids in an unfavorable way, not unlike the process by which oxygen free radicals cause damage. I’m guessing from this that at least one claim is probably true: That it “promotes the creation of antioxidative enzymes.” Too bad it’s by introducing reactive oxygen species into its users lungs that need antioxidizing.”
In one aspect, it is accurate – singlet oxygen is a free radical, which you definitely don’t want to be breathing in – we want to be minimising intake of free radicals as much as possible – especially if already unwell, since these are indeed the particles that cause so much cell damage and use up cellular resources. However, as has been shown, NO singlet oxygen leaves the Airnergy equipment. What the author of the disparaging blog has failed to acknowledge is that Singlet Oxygen Energy has been proven to precipitate the ‘oxidative response’ within the body (quite aside from Airnergy) – This is part of the body’s self-repair mechanism through induction of various enzymes and coding for certain protein production etc. This is the ‘positive’ effect of free radicals within the body (the ’negative’ effects being cell damage and disruption of course). It is the utilisation of the Singlet Oxygen Energy – WITHOUT inhaling the actual damaging singlet oxygen, that is the main mode of action of Airnergy and other Activated Oxygen Therapy devices.
Having personally used and also witnessed the beneficial use of Airnergy and other activated oxygen therapy devices over the past several years, we are really keen to get as many people as possible to benefit from this therapy. Yes, of course we have to pay our bills and cannot give devices away for free (well, not very often anyway…), so we are limited in how cheaply we can supply machines, though we aim to make them as affordable as we can manage. Integrity and transparency are high priorities for us and hopefully the above explanations will go some way to addressing the negative and uninformed comments of others that may prevent you from taking an opportunity to improve your health or the health of a loved one.