Does Drinking Ozonated Water Damage the Gut Biome?

by | Last updated: Jun 3, 2021 | 29 comments

I’ve drunk oceans of ozonated water in my life, and just like many I’ve been wondering what this could have done to my gut biome. The gut flora plays an important role for our overall health, it appears. Ozone on the other hand is one of the most potent antibacterial agents that we know. Could drinking ozonated water kill some of our precious gut bacteria?

As it turns out, this is highly unlikely. Although no studies exist on the subject of ozonated water and gut bacteria, we know that the small intestine is largely devoid of bacteria in a healthy human being. But that’s where ozonated water goes when ingested. It does not reach the big intestine where the beneficial bacteria reside.

Surprised?

Allow me to walk you through the research:

Where Does Good Bacteria Reside?

The human intestine is made of two parts: the small and the large intestine.

Contrary to what one would presume from the names, the small intestine is actually the longer one, it measures between 22 to 25 feet (670 to 760 cm), and the large intestine is the shorter part, it is only 5 to 6 feet (around 150 cm) long. [2]

When we ingest foods or liquids they first land in the stomach and then in the small intestine. A few hours later they make it to the large intestine.

The digestion in the small intestine is mostly based on enzymes which are produced in the stomach, the pancreas, the liver, and the lining of the small intestine itself. [2]

The small intestine contains as good as no bacteria in a healthy human being. It is mostly sterile. [3] [4]

The presence of bacteria in the small intestine is a medical condition called SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and is conventionally treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria which shouldn’t be there in the first place. [5]

The reverse situation is true for the large intestine. There, digestion happens mostly thanks to fermentation. This requires a lot of bacteria. [6]

It’s estimated that we have between 1,200 and 5,000 different bacterial strains in our large intestine, and 99% of them are anaerobic. [6] [7] [8]

Why are there no good bacteria in the small intestine?

There are two main mechanisms which guarantee that the small intestine remains as poor in gut bacteria as possible in a healthy human being: hydrochloric acid which is produced in the stomach and the ileoceal valve. 

The secretions of our stomach have one of the lowest pH levels of any mammals, comparable only to other carnivores like cats and dogs. It ranges between a pH of 1.5 and 3.5. [9]

Not many bacteria can survive that.

Which is the whole point. It’s a type of protective barrier from dangerous pathogens.

The other mechanism is the ileocecal valve. It marks the entrance from the small intestine to the large intestine and makes sure that the bacteria of the large intestine stay where they are instead of traveling back into the small intestine.

A malfunctioning ileocecal valve can lead to – you guessed it: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO. [10] [11]

So the bottom line is: lots of bacteria in the large intestine means you have a healthy digestion.

Lots of bacteria in the small intestine, on the other hand, means trouble.

 

The pink part, that's the small intestine. Although it's called small it's actually longer than the large intestine. The small intestine is where the ozonated water lands that we drink. This part of our digestion is nearly devoid of beneficial gut bacteria. The arrow points towards where the ileocecal valve is located.  

But that's exactly where ozonated water goes after you drink it: into the small intestine. 

Where, as we just learned, there are not supposed to be many bacteria.

So even if the ozone in the water ends up killing some stuff – the better! Because those buggers are not meant to be there to begin with.

Could drinking ozonated water kill good bacteria in the large intestine?

You may ask yourself though: could the water reach the good bacteria in the large intestine and do some damage there?

Unlikely, here is why:

The small intestine is 22 to 25 feet long, and holds around a gallon (3.8 L) of liquid which is made of food particles mixed with gastric juices and secretions. [3.4 L, when calculated with a radius of 1.25 cm and a length of 700cm]. [1]

The gastric juices are made by the stomach, the small intestine, the pancreas and the liver. Every day around 2 quarts (1.2 to 1.5 L) of fluids are produced. [2]

The ozonated water you drink would have to traverse all that before reaching the large intestine.

Keep in mind that ozone is highly reactive. So after traveling through 22 feet intestinal tissue filled with gastric juices, it's unlikely that the water would contain any ozone anymore.

 

Making ozonated water in a water bubbler.

Are there studies about the effect of drinking ozonated water on the gut biome?

There are some studies which deal with drinking ozonated water and human gut health. None of them have looked at the gut biome though, only at one bacteria: helicobacter pylori. 

On top of that they suffer from what most studies in medicine suffer: a bad study design, a massive conflict of interest, or a misleading representations of their results. 

Here is what we got:

1. 132 patients who were all diagnosed with a helicobacer pylori infection were divided in four different groups, depending on whether they were suffering from gastritis or ulcers. [12]

All groups were treated with antibiotics. The two ulcer groups were also given ozonated water to drink.

After the intervention, it was found that the groups which drank the O3 water in combination with the antibiotics had a lower bacterial count than the groups which only took antibiotics.

Unfortunately, since there was no “ozone water only” group, we don’t know what effect the drinking of ozonated water alone would have had on the outcomes.

When reading the paper, it becomes clear that the study contains a profoundly nonsensical study design, typos, strangely omits the use of antibiotics in the study title (although all study participants received them), that it does not have a valid control group, and that it draws misleading conclusions.

2. A short abstract on pubmed cites a Russian study where patients with helicobacter pylori and gastroduodenal pathology were given either ozonated saline IVs, or ozonated water to drink, or both. [13]

The study came to the conclusion that all forms of ozone administration were effective in decreasing symptoms, but that the combination of the two treatments proved to be the most effective.

Unfortunately, the whole study text is not accessible, so it’s difficult to verify those claims.

3. Another study from Italy claims to show that drinking ozonated water and doing rectal insufflations actually improved the gut biome. [15]

After reading the study text, it becomes clear that the study could not have possibly come to that conclusion, since the study designers never tested the gut biome of the study participants. Neither before nor after the study.

What it did show is that many digestive symptoms like bloating, gas, abdominal pain, even bad breath, and diarrhea or constipation improved.

Those may have been because of an increase in the blood circulation of the intestines, improved peristalsis, or an increased enzyme production, and not so much because of an impact on the gut biome.

And the effect may have been mostly from the rectal insufflations, not so much from the ozonated water.

We don’t know, because of another unfortunate study design.

In addition, the study suffers from a massive conflict of interest with both study designers being practicing ozone doctors who likely picked the study participants from their patient pool.

4. A rat study confirms that ozonated water reduces helicobacter pylori bacteria in the stomach of mice. [14]

So, none of the studies looked at the impact of drinking ozonated water on the good gut bacteria.

But it may be that ingesting ozone water could help eradicate helicobacter pylori. Which may help reestablish a healthy digestion. 

In that sense: cheers!

What experience have you made with drinking ozonated water? Let me know in the comments below.

Sources

[1] Small intestine

[2] Human digestive system

[3]Intestinal Microflora 

[4] Microflora of the human small intestine.

[5] Everything You Should Know About Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) 

[6] Large intestine 

[7] Human gastrointestinal microbiota 

[8] No ordinary gut check: Study finds plethora of microbes

[9] Gastric acid 

[10] Controversies in Short Bowel Syndrome, Controversy 5: Should Small Bowel Bacterial Overgrowth Prophylaxis Be Given?

The ileocecal sphincter provides a mechanical barrier to bacterial migration into the small intestine but also assists in regulating the exit of fluid and nutrients into the colon. Furthermore, loss of this functional barrier predisposes the host to bacterial sepsis, even though it probably does not influence the ultimate goal of achieving full enteral feeding.55 As mentioned, loss of the ileocecal sphincter can lead to small bowel bacterial overgrowth, a condition associated with diarrhea and fat and vitamin (B12malabsorption, both resulting from bile salt deconjugation, along with fluid loss, abdominal cramps, and liver injury.56https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/ileocecal-valve

[11] Ileocecal valve dysfunction in small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: A pilot study

[12] Drinking Ozonated Tri-Distilled Water Increases Helicobacter Pylori Eradication and Promotes Healing of Duodenal Ulcer Lesions

[13] Ozone therapy in gastroduodenal pathology associated with Helicobacter pylori 

[14] The Influences of Pepsin Concentrations and pH Levels on the Disinfective Activity of Ozone Nanobubble Water against Helicobacter pylori

[15] The use of ozonated water and rectal insufflation in patients with intestinal dysbiosis 

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PaolaI’m Paola the Crazy Old Ozone Lady behind The Power of Ozone. I’m a licensed naturopathic practitioner, natural health consultant, ozone therapy enthusiast, researcher, and ozone therapy analyst. I hold certificates in ozone therapy, hyperbaric ozone applications, Oxyvenierung, and the Andrew Cutler chelation. I own several ozone generators including a German hyperbaric 10 Pass machine. I have been using ozone for over 13 years, I’ve chelated with the ACC program for close to 5 years and I’ve been carnivore for nearly 1.5 years. This website serves as a resource for those who are interested in ozone therapy and other approaches to successfully manage chronic conditions.

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29 Comments

  1. Eugenio

    That would be fantastic if it would get to the small intestine. I have Candida, Leaky Gut and SIBO which makes my life a living hell. So I am thinking of trying to buy ozonated olive oil and see if it can help the SIBO. Otherwise I will go to Thailand to do Ozone therapy as it is forbidden in Germany 🙁
    And I cannot do blood infusion myself.

    Reply
  2. Nicole

    Thanks for these tips! I was actually told to use room temp water and then make it cold, they said it absorbs better in room temp but holds better in cold. Is that inaccurate? I also heard in a podcast that ozone water doesn't make it to the small intestine, it's transformed by the time it gets there as basically inert. This is why companies enteric coat/encapsulate with ozonated oil. Do you still believe there is truth to it reaching the S.I.? I hope so as I can't afford the supplements… Thanks! I/ just wanted to see if you had any updates on those topics!

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Nicole,

      this does not make much sense to me – to ozonate it in room temp but then make it cold. So, no I would say this is inaccurate.

      It does something there … so, yes, I tend to believe that it does reach the upper parts of the small intestine …

      Best,

  3. Peter Mann

    Dear Paola,
    Thanks for your generosity in sharing hard-won knowledge with us. As someone who loves learning about how everything works, it is a treat to find someone who knows their subject, especially in obfuscated topics like alternatives to bigPharma.
    From 2 days of reading your website, i am ready to start setting up the equipment to do this properly, for a do-it-yourself price.

    You speculation that a malfunctioning ileocecal valve can lead to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth neatly explains 30 years of severe hyperPeristalsis. You would be horrified at what doctors presume about patients with a 30 year history of codeine prescriptions, such is the interference of politicians in the practice and ethics of medicine.

    When i reported severe pain, 6 GPs in a row attacked me for trying to get cheap dope, while refusing to refer me to a pain specialist. This is despite knowing that a significant percentage of the population lack the enzymes to convert codeine to an analgesic morphology.

    The theft of our most effective herbal medicines from the public domain is a crime against humanity, because we who have pain which is of an origin outside of their materialist ideology … are tortured by our own bodies so that liars can have huge profit margins.

    Only a liar would have us believe that opium is evil, imposing a religious blindSpot upon a medicinal herb. I am of the opinion that this particular poppy has been genetically engineered, as is unmistakably the case with bananas and maize. Opium gum is superior in 3 important ways : accidental overdose is eliminated for all except the very young. 2. Smoke it for pain, and it gives a fast effect without the significant risks of injecting. 3. Swallow it for diahorrea ; where the codeine is quickly absorbed (25 minutes onset), while the pain quieting morphine is poorly absorbed, so giving no unwanted side-effect. None of the white powders freshly invented to excuse the harvesting of unconscionable profits … cam match the safety noR the versatility of something that belongs in every free man's kitchen garden. UnTreated Pain is TorTure, a crime against humanity invented by the rulers of the USA (after envying the profits the East India investors were getting from growing in Pakistan and selling in China, where a fool of an Emperor had prohibited opium because he thought it undignified. This was international posturing, a gesture of moralSuperiority from the heart of Evil, those who feed on human misery, formerly known as ghouls, but now better documented as mud-shadows (See “the Active Side of Infinity” by much-denied field anthropologist Carlos Castaneda.)
    I have specialised in investigating these because the harm they inflict … i could not bear to be so cowardly as to turn away from my responsibility to defeat these degrading thieves of awareness. Since 2009, when reading the book above, all the evidence i had assembled while working in aetheric surgery … suddenly tumbled together into a coherent picture.
    Nagual Juan is exactly right, except no mention of the fact they are easily killed, being physically soft compared to us. They are easily grabbed and ripped, a reliably fatal injury, while they are draped over us like a heavy jelly in our dullest moments … as i first discovered when 4 of them confronted me. Once i had them figured out, they had nothing to gain by hiding, and fear motivated because they know full well that no human would knowingly consent to what the mudShadows have done to all but a few like our lovely Paola, who openly defies the secrecy and exploitativeness that renders us all alienated by a corporatised medical hierarchy who think themselves superior to me. I like that you fight back against the rudenesses of mistaken beliefs about you Paola. Defending our self-respect is an essential hygeine of the spirit. You sure aint crazy, and nor do you look old my dear. Yours Truthfully, Peter Mann, Thinker.

    Reply
  4. Peter Mann

    Quote :
    “4. A rat study confirms that ozonated water reduces helicobacter pylori bacteria in the stomach of mice. [14]

    Now that is quite a feat. We crazies wonder how it was done.
    What did the rats do to the mice ?

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      LOL, I use “rats” and “mice” interchangeably to mean the same thing.

  5. Violet

    Sorry if this is the wrong place for this comment.
    But just wanting to know what happens if you breathe in ozone?
    I have just used an industrial ozone generator for 30mins in a room, and the smell is still around.
    I know this blog is focusing on medical ozone machines for health reasons – which I also want to research and try. However for the moment I'm using an industrial one to kill off any mould in my home.
    And am working up to purchasing a medical unit.

    So my question is how harmful is ozone to breathe?
    Does it speed up oxidative damage?

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Violet,

      if you haven't experienced coughing, breathing difficulties, throat pain or soreness, or any other symptoms which could point towards damage in the respiratory tract, then chances are high that nothing happened and that you don't need to be concerned.

      But you should take care and make sure to protect yourself from possible accidents in the future: https://odysee.com/@thepowerofozone:f/how-to-protect-yourself-from-breathing:3

      Best,

  6. Justyn

    Hello,
    I'm curious about your thoughts about take a capsule of ozone oil. Would the oil also not still be ozonated by the time it reaches the large intestine, like you mentioned about the water?
    Thanks so much for all this fantastic info on ozone!!

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Justyn,

      I was making the argument that by the time ozonated water reaches the large intestine, it's unlikely to be ozonated anymore.

      I suspect something similar will happen with ozonated oil. First, the amount of oil that is ingested is tiny, and secondly I would expect it all to be absorbed by the small intestine before it reaches the large.

      Best,

    • Agata

      Hello Pola
      I have a question after drinking ozon water do I need to take probiotics?
      Vitamins any kind .

      Thank you .

    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Agata,

      no, you don't need to take anything. But you can …

      I recommend either eating some black beans (they are high in soluble fiber, low in vitamin A), or taking psyllium husks, activated charcoal, zeolite, clays, or apple pectin. They bind bile and allow for its safe elimination, thus interrupting the enterohepatic circulation of bile. This helps your liver to detox. Since my latest theory is that ozone works, among other mechanisms, by stimulating bile flow, those things may offer a great support.

      Avoid Vitamin A supplementations and foods high in vitamin A.

      Best,

  7. Ann

    Seems to me you copied the above from the okayozone website. So much for ‘waking you through the research’.

    Reply
  8. Persia

    Paola,

    Can you explain more about how to make your own ozone sauna? Can you provide the link to the sauna that you purchased on Amazon?

    Reply
    • Peter Mann

      I have a wood-fired sweat lodge, so all i need is a big plastic bag and some adhesive tape.

  9. Lilly

    I agree Paola, I was quoted 7 thousand dollars for 5 treatments. I was wondering how they could ask me for that kind of money with a straight face.

    I am interested in the ozone sauna as it's hard to find anyone to do 10 pass near me. I tried holcott twice in one week. I had a rash on my hands for two years. Nothing took it away. Holcott did with two treatments. I called the company and they said for 38 thousand, it could be yours. I was floored. It's an insane amount of money.

    You like ozone sauna don't you?

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Lilly,

      yes, I like the ozone saunas and I think they are greatly undervalued.

      I don't think you need the HOCATT to get the benefit though.

      I simple $100 model from amazon, hooked up to your ozone generator should do the trick. It does for me.

      Best,

  10. Lilly

    You are right, 2 liters is too much. I cut back to 1 liter and I now have formed 2 BM per day.

    Could I ask one more question? What do you think of RHP ozone treatment? It is Peter Jovanovic's machine.

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Lilly,

      great to hear things have normalized.

      I think RHP is overhyped and in most cases in the West overpriced.

      You can get RHP treatments in Asia for $100 to $150 per treatment – which sounds reasonable.

      Some places in the US charge $1,200 for one RHP session, which I find not justified.

      But if money is not an issue for you, then you can go for it.

      Although if I was you, I would probably rather do the 10 pass.

      Best,

  11. Lilly

    Hi Paola, could you comment about the diarrhea? I too have been drinking ozonated water and now have 3 bm per day. I sometimes drink up to 2 liters of ozonated water per day. They are runny and I am afraid I might be overdoing it.

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Lilly,

      2 liters are a lot.

      What are you treating?

      Cut back to 2 to 3 glasses per day.

      Are the 3 BM loose and liquidy or formed?

      Best,

  12. Barry Harris

    Have you ever tried contacting the FBI about the use of your Ozone medical practices to heal Coronavirus, and thus to relieve America and the world of it’s present demise ?

    The FBI has a tips online web page that is easy to use, and also anyone may go to any FBI headquarters building and request to speak in person to an FBI agent.

    I wish you success with making your Ozone coronavirus healing methods known.

    You may also file a local police report that claims that your healing methods are ignored, when they should not be ignored.

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Barry,

      I have no idea what you're on about but I have the impression you would have made a stellar career during Nazi Germany.

      But as things are going now, very soon you may have the same opportunity as you would have had 80 years ago.

      Always remember “the well-being of the community goes above the well-being of the single individual”.

      So whenever you snitch on someone to the authorities, just convince yourself that you're doing it for the well-being of others. Then you'll feel morally superior and never have to worry about having a bad conscience.

      Cheers,

    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Barry,

      sorry if I misunderstood you.

      I hope though that any type of government agency just steps out of the way and allows doctors to do what they think is best instead of issuing more rules and regulations.

      Best,

  13. Bernie Huang

    I have experimented with drinking ozonated water. After a couple of months, diarrhea set in, and then I stopped this. Never go back. However, when my molar started to decay, I started to mouth wash with ozonated water and after a couple of months, the sensitivity of the decay disappeared. Mouth wash is really easy after toothbrush or floss.

    Reply
    • Paola Dziwetzki

      Hi Bernie,

      did the diarrhea stop after you stopped drinking the ozonated water?

      Best,

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