Chapter 4:
Organic Germanium - Oxygen Enricher And Antioxidant
Oxygen - The Vital Link
Oxygen - breath of life, prana, universal life energy
and fuel. Without oxygen we die. Pollution of the atmosphere with toxic
chemicals, degradation of the ozone layer by fluorocarbons, destruction
of the tropical rain forests with its plethora of life forms, all ultimately
affect that which we breathe in which fuels life. In addition to food,
raw materials, splendour and spiritual enrichment derived from the many
forms of plant life, our lives depend on our green co-inhabitors of
this planet for oxygen which is evolved from photosynthesis.
A person can live for perhaps months without food,
perhaps several days to a week without water, but within about five
minutes of stopping breathing, irreversible damage occurs to brain cells.
Many health-enhancing practices are centred around increasing our supply
of oxygen. Aerobic exercise is known to benefit the immune system as
well as the heart; hence today's emphasis on fitness, in activities
ranging from walking and swimming to dancing and running. The breath
is used in meditation practices as a means of focusing one's concentration,
in rebirthing to help people re-live and more positively integrate experiences
which they may have blocked from consciousness. Breathing deeply is
an effective way of easing pain and fear, and in certain clinical practices,
hyperbaric oxygenation is used therapeutically to increase the body's
oxygen supply. Life saving emergency procedures of rescusitation stress
the importance of starting and maintaining a person's breathing, and
hence their oxygen connection. From the most ancient to the most modern
practices, the breath and oxygen perform vital roles.
Oxygen is a vital as well as a precious substance;
oxygen supports our life; it is the substance which is required to drive
our cellular metabolism. Cells deprived of oxygen simply cannot sustain
normal metabolic functions. A condition known as hypoxia (low oxygen)
invites cellular vulnerability which may lead to cellular degeneration,
ageing and cancer. Our primary mode of metabolism is oxygen-driven.
The nutrients we ingest are digested via biochemical pathways, in which
complex molecules are broken down into simpler substances, and energy
is generated and stored as molecules of Adenosine Tri-phosphate (ATP).
Oxygen is required to provide to fuel this process. If there is not
an adequate supply of oxygen, non-oxygen (anaerobic) biochemical pathways
go into operation. An anaerobic environment in our bodies encourages
the proliferation of pathogenic microflora, such as candida; it also
supports cancer cells, which are thought to revert to an anaerobic form
of metabolism.
Oxygen is literally a life-sustaining substance
to our bodies.
A few of the oxygen-requiring processes that are
constantly going on are: digestion and absorption of nutrients we ingest;
detoxification of poisonous substances we inhale from the air we breathe,
ingest in the food we eat, and absorb from toxic heavy metals such as
mercury which are placed in our mouths as dental fillings. When we stress
our bodies through consumption of caffeine, excess sugar, meat, alcohol,
drugs, lack of sleep, mental and emotional pressure, oxygen is needed
to repair the damage done to our cells, tissues and organs. The immune
system requires oxygen to protect the body from foreign attack; the
phagocytic white cells which engulf and destroy foreign invaders, actually
"zap" their targets with a dose of toxic superoxide (63,64).
Reactive Oxygen Toxic Species
(ROTS)
For all of oxygen's vital, life-giving properties,
there is also a negative side: this is in the form of certain toxic
oxygen species generated during metabolic process, which are extremely
reactive and are now thought to be the primary cause of cellular degeneration,
ageing and many diseases including cancer. These reactive oxygen toxic
species (ROTS) include superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical
and singlet oxygen. These oxygen species are toxic because they have
acquired an extra electron which makes them extremely unstable. They
are "free radicals", are incomplete by themselves, and are extremely
reactive and damaging to cells. (Hydrogen peroxide is not, strictly
speaking a free radical, but is an incompletely reduced form of molecular
oxygen). A more comprehensive discussion of ROTS and their role in many
diseases is outlined in an elegant and articulate book entitled "Oxidology",
by Bradford, Allen and Culbert, published by The Robert W. Bradford
Foundation, 1985 (10).
The body has managed to put some of these ROTS to
practical uses in bodily processes, for example, the use of superoxide
by phagocytes to kill their target cells as mentioned above. The body
also has developed natural ways of neutralising or destroying these
ROTS; substances which can detoxify ROTS are called anti-oxidants, free
radical scavengers or oxidative scavengers. For example, a natural anti-oxidant
of superoxide issuper-oxide dismutase (SOD); catalase and glutathione
(GSH) are anti-oxidants of hydrogen peroxide. Certain nutrients, including
vitamins C and E, are dietary anti-oxidants of hydroxyl radical and
singlet oxygen respectively, while the trace mineral selenium, is an
anti-oxidant of hydrogen peroxide, through its intimate association
with the glutathione enzyme system.
Organic Germanium - Oxygen Enricher
And Antioxidant
Organic Germanium enriches the body's oxygen supply
and is also a potent antioxidant, properties which contribute to this
trace element's widespread beneficial effects upon many inter-related
metabolic process in the body (63,64). Although organic Germanium's
properties of oxygen modulation are not yet precisely elucidated, there
is sufficient clinical research evidence to lay the groundwork for more
detailed cellular investigation.
Organic Germanium Enriches Oxygen
Supply
1. Organic Germanium lowers the requirement for
oxygen consumption by organs in culture and increases the life span
of animals under oxygen stress.
Experiments conducted with mice in a biochemical
laboratory of Tohoku University, investigating the effects of organic
Germanium upon oxygen consumption in the liver and diaphram, indicated
a decline in oxygen consumption. Dr. Asai has postulated that organic
Germanium plays the same role as oxygen in the body, thereby increasing
the body's oxygen supply. There is a relationship between oxygen supply,
blood viscosity and blood flow. When more oxygen is available, blood
viscosity decreases, thereby increasing blood flow to all organs.
2. Organic Germanium protects against carbon monoxide
asphyxiation, stroke and Raynaud's disease, conditions linked with oxygen
starvation.
Upon taking therapeutic doses of organic Germanium,
there is often a warm, glowing, even a tingling feeling, that has been
attributed by Dr. Asai to its oxygenation effect. Individuals suffering
from diseases of the circulatory system, such as Raynaud's disease,
which may lead to gangrene and limb amputation, have shown significant
improvement to their condition taking organic Germanium.
3. Organic Germanium is beneficial in treating eye
diseases and wounds, especially burns.
Organic Germanium has been successfully used to
treat various eye diseases, including glaucoma, black cataracts, detached
retinas, retinal inflammation, and burns. It is not yet known which
therapeutic properties of organic Germanium effected these improvements;
however, it is a reasonable supposition that the oxygenation effects
of organic Germanium contributed to the healing of these conditions.
4. Organic Germanium, in conjunction with hyperbaric
oxygen treatment (66), can bring about significant improvement in cases
of multiple sclerosis and other degenerative conditions.
The naturopath Jan de Vries writes about the beneficial
effects of increased oxygenation in treating cases of multiple sclerosis
in his book "By Appointment Only" (18). Dr. de Vries actually met Dr.
Asai in 1975 (17), and has been using organic Germanium in his practice.
He is currently compiling many of his case histories of Germanium treatment
in cancer and leukemia, to include in a book. He writes ...."hyperbaric
oxygen treatment, in combination with Germanium, can improve the condition
of a patient beyond belief... Eyesight often improves when a Multiple
Sclerosis patient has hyperbaric oxygen treatment, because good eyesight
depends on a good supply of oxygen in the blood".
5. The structure of organic Germanium, a crystalline
lattice network extensively bonded with negative oxygen ions, is said
to actually substitute for oxygen, and to enable the attraction and
elimination of acidifying hydrogen ions, which detoxifies the blood.
In the electron transport scheme during oxidative
metabolism, electrons are transferred along a set of electron acceptors,
ending up, ultimately with the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to
form water. However, when there is an oxygen deficiency, the loss of
electrons can result in the accumulation of positive hydrogen ions,
which lead to blood acidification. Ge-132 has negatively charged oxygen
ions, which can clear away these hydrogen ions, and thus detoxify the
blood.
6. Organic Germanium's ability to fascilely transfer
electrons permits it to act as an electron sink during oxidative metabolism,
thus enhancing the body's generation of energy without the intake of
extra oxygen.
The electron transport system can be likened to
a fire bucket brigade. If there is a shortage of electron acceptors,
the entire process can grind to a halt, just as if one person is not
in position, the bucket of water cannot get passed to put out the fire.
Organic Germanium has been shown to be an excellent electron conductor,
and thus can significantly contribute to the efficiency of the entire
process of oxidative metabolism, which, ultimately generates energy
for the body.
Organic Germanium Is An Antioxidant
1. Organic Germanium (Ge-132) protects against the
accumulation of amyloid, a free-radical oxidative endproduct, in mice
(98).
A disease called amyloidosis results from an imbalance
in the process of protein breakdown, resulting in the accumulation of
amyloid. Amyloidosis may be associated with chronic inflammatory diseases,
immune amyloidosis with plasma cell disorders, localized amyloid deposition
in neuroendocrine organs, or congenital deficiency of enzymes which
break down amyloid precursors. Reports in the clinical literature report
that amyloidosis can be induced by immunosuppressive agents. In a laboratory
study in Japan, organic Germanium significantly inhibited (50% of the
untreated group) the induction of amyloidosis in mice. The mechanisms
of this suppression remain to be elucidated.
2. Organic Germanium (Ge-132) protects cystein,
a sulfhydryl amino acid, from becoming oxidized in solution (105).
Cystein is a sulfur-containing amino acid. Solutions
of cysteine have been found to have favourable effects upon eye conditions,
notably corneal ulcers, corneal burns and sicca syndrome. However, water
solutions of cysteine are rather rapidly oxidized to form an insoluble
product, necessitating the constant preparation of new solutions. Germanium
was found to stabilize solutions of cysteine and inhibit its oxidation;
preparations remained water soluble for up to one week. This demonstrates
one therapeutic application of Germanium's anti-oxidant properties.
3. Organic Germanium (Sanumgerman) has significant
activating effects upon superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-related
enzyme systems in rats (38). The dose-related dynamics of activation
are different for the two enzyme systems.
Several doctoral dissertations from the Institute
of Physiological Chemistry in Hanover (23) deal with the effects of
organic Germanium compounds (Sanumgerman and variants of the formulation)
upon glutathione-related enzyme systems as well as superoxide dismutase
in rats. These results are herein consolidated:
i. Cytoplasmic and microsomal glutathione-S-transferase
were activated.
ii. Glutathione peroxidases (GSH-Px) were activated,
the concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) increased, whereas total
glutathione (TG) levels were affected according to the particular organic
ligand of Germanium used.
iii. Activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity
was biphasic, dose-dependent, as well as affected by the particular
type of Germanium organic ligand used.
iv. Catalase activity of liver mitochondria and
peroxisomes is modulated according to dose and Germanium substance used.
The ability of organic Germanium to modulate the
activities of known anti-oxidants Glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase
(SOD) and possibly catalase, provides solid evidence of organic Germanium's
anti-oxidant properties.
Can Structure Be The Key?
Central to organic Germanium's oxidizing and anti-oxidant
properties lie in its structure, which is noted in Chapter 2, is a crystalline
lattice network, extensively oxygen bonded. Germanium has 4 electrons,
three of which, in Ge-132, are bonded to oxygen, the other being a free
radical, able to interact in diverse reactions, which has implications
for properties in addition to oxygen modulating, including protection
from radiation and analgesia. Sanumgerman (Germanium citrate lactate),
has a different structure, but similar oxygen-enriching properties and
rigorously documented anti-oxidant effects. Therefore, it may be this
electronic fascileness which enables organic Germanium to give and take
so freely, electronically speaking, which is central to its oxygenation
and antioxidant properties.
