Power Up Your Cells for Peak Vitality: Discover the Red, Blue, & O2 Protocol
We are excited to bring a new protocol we’ve been learning about and experimenting on ourselves with for over a year that can help you totally enhance your health and longevity.
This protocol was created by two fascinating physicians, Dr. Jason Sonners and Dr. John Lieurance, Their book Methylene Blue: Magic Bullet: The Ultimate Mitochondrial Support was the inspiration for this article.
We’ll begin by taking a deep dive into some tiny but mighty organelles called the mitochondria, which play a pivotal role in our energy production, cellular health, and overall vitality.
Quick View:
- The Powerhouse of Our Cells
- The Root Cause of All Chronic Disease
- Optimizing Your Mitochondria
- Light + Blue = A Better You
- Oxygen’s Role Within the Mitochondria
- Red, Blue, & O2 Protocol
Buckle up for this one!
1. The Powerhouse of Our Cells
Mitochondria are often called the “powerhouses” of our cells because they power all cellular functions in almost every living organism. It is quite literally, impossible to live without them.
Healthy mitochondria are essential for overall health. When they function well, we have more energy, better endurance, and can recover from stress or illness more effectively. On the flip side, when mitochondria don’t work properly, it can lead to fatigue, weakened immune response, and contribute to the development of chronic diseases.
In short, mitochondria are crucial for energy production and play a key role in keeping our bodies functioning at their best!
2. The Root Cause of All Chronic Disease
Every chronic disease has its own respective symptoms and complexities associated with it. But once you really dig deeper into each disease, we find that almost always there is some form of mitochondrial dysfunction. Symptoms of chronic disease are the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction, not the cause.
Mitochondrial dysfunction happens when the mitochondria don’t work as efficiently as they should. Since mitochondria are responsible for creating the energy our cells need, when they’re not functioning well, our cells can’t get the energy they need to stay healthy.
This dysfunction can lead to a cascade of problems. It causes oxidative stress (a buildup of harmful molecules), inflammation, and poor cellular repair. Whether it’s heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, or even cancer, dysfunctional mitochondria play a central role. Without proper energy, our bodies can’t maintain healthy tissues or recover from stress, leading to long-term damage and disease.
In essence, mitochondrial dysfunction is at the root of all chronic diseases because it compromises the body’s ability to function, repair, and protect itself over time.
Want a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to YOUR individual needs?
Call us today to schedule a new patient consultation with one of our functional medicine practitioners, Dr. Sarah Washatka or Nurse Practitioner Jacy Godsey. 918.8985.7850
3. Optimizing Your Mitochondria
One of the best ways to improve mitochondrial health is to increase the amount of energy they can produce. More energy = more healing, repair, and overall better function. To increase the energy production (ATP), the mitochondria needs more electrons.
Methylene blue is a powerful mitochondria optimizer that serves as both donor and acceptor of electrons throughout the Electron Transport Chain (ETC), which increases ATP production to provide more cellular energy. (This video explains the ETC simply if you’re interested.) All that to say, MB actually gives your mitochondria the raw material it needs to create new energy.
Methylene Blue can be taken orally (some of us take it 3–5 day s a week), but the absolute best way for maximum absorption is intravenously. At IV Effect, we are proud to be one of the only (if not the only) IV clinics in Tulsa that offer MB in IV form, and it is my favorite one we have by far.
And if needles aren’t your thing we have partnered with a local pharmacy to compound the highest quality oral MB capsules we could find.
Want to book an IV appointment?
You can now request an IV appoint online. Visit this link here to get started or give us a call at 918.895.7850.
4. Light + Blue = A Better You
Another fascinating component about Methylene Blue is that it is photodynamic, meaning it responds to certain spectrums of light, particularly near-infrared (NIR).
When exposed to red light and the NIR spectrum using Red Light Therapy, the potential benefits for mitochondrial support are amplified to further enhance cellular energy production. The mitochondria absorb the red light photons as it penetrates the skin which is converted into energy, this known as photobiomodulation.
This stimulates something called cytochrome c oxidase, which actually helps shuttle those electrons provided by MB into the last phase of the Electron Transport Chain just before new cellular energy is created.
5. Oxygen’s Role Within the Mitochondria
Once the ETC has the necessary electrons (provided by MB), then shuttled to the last portion of the ETC (via Red Light), oxygen is the last thing needed to accept those electrons to finally be converted into ATP.
So using MB + Red Light to drive electrons into the mitochondria and down this chain, then pushing extra oxygen into the system using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) just makes sense.
Once the MB is absorbed into the body, doing Red Light Therapy before Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is ideal to prepare the body for enhanced circulation to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the body’s tissues.
This can signal stem cell activation and something called mitochondrial biogenesis (the process by which cells increase the number and size of mitochondria, or the growth and division of existing mitochondria).
With the increased oxygen in HBOT, the mitochondria can adapt and utilize all of the extra oxygen. Bigger , better mitochondria = more energy production = more healing and vitality. This just scratches the surface on the array of benefits this can provide.
P.S. Did you know you can rent most of the equipment we offer?
Get access to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in your own home or office with our At-Home Rental Program. The absolute best value for your money!
Or you can book an appointment with us here.
6. The Red, Blue, & O2 Protocol
- Methylene Blue provides the necessary electrons within the mitochondria.
- Red Light is absorbed by the mitochondria and helps get electrons to the final complex of the ETC.
- Oxygen (using HBOT) then accepts those electrons as the last step in the process and allows for the creation of new ATP.
With this protocol you are effectively enhancing just about every component of how cellular energy is created. And like we covered earlier, more energy = more healing, repair, and overall better function.
Conclusion
I’d to emphasize that none of these are meant to replace any treatment for any diseases. These therapies are tools that can be complimentary for one’s health journey, not as standalone treatment.
Additionally, these do not HAVE to be done together as part of this protocol to be beneficial. Each one of these modalities have tons of incredible health benefits even when done by themselves. But when combined, I like to tell people that 1+1 = 3 in these circumstances when there is a synergistic relationship to how these affect the body.
If used properly, they can help alleviate a lot of issues, and in generally healthy it can help improve so many components of your health!
If you’ve stuck around this long, thank you. We are so excited to introduce this to you all as we have been loving the results we’ve been getting on ourselves.
If you’d like a sample protocol check out this article here.
Until next time!
Empowering you to live well, naturally.
— Cameron and the Longevity Effect Team
Want to learn more about this cutting-edge health tools?
Below you’ll find our most recommended books on these subjects:
- Red Light Therapy: Miracle Medicine (The Future of Medicine: The 3 Greatest Therapies Targeting Mitochondrial Dysfunction)
- Oxygen Under Pressure: Using Hyperbaric Oxygen to Restore Health, Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Aging and Revolutionize Health Care
- Methylene Blue: Magic Bullet: The Ultimate Mitochondrial Support. Explore An Approach to Healing and Health That Goes to The Core of All Diseases.
- The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue: Remarkable Hope for Depression, COVID, AIDS & other Viruses, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Cancer, Heart Disease, Cognitive … Targeting Mitochondrial Dysfunction
We’d love to get to know you better! Shoot us email at contact@longevityeffect.com and let us know if there is ANYTHING we can to support you, or if you’d like more information on anything!
You can also learn more about all 4 of our businesses at these links here: Longevity Effect , Chiropractic, Functional Medicine, and IV Effect. Or you can call/text us at 918.895.7850!