From Gut-Brain Secrets (chapter about parasites and autism).
Chlorine dioxide has been used for over 100 years disinfecting water outside the body. So why not in you?
Chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) has been approved by public health agencies around the world as a commercial disinfectant in water treatment facilities, food processing, and mold treatment. And it has much lower toxicity and side effect profile than chlorine compounds such as chlorine bleach (NaClO) and chloramines. Chlorine dioxide has also been sold in camping stores for many decades to kill pathogens in water from wild streams to make it drinkable.
In other words, chlorine dioxide is proven in a century of use to have no serious side effects, besides a die-off reaction if you ramp up treatment too fast. In fact, chlorine dioxide is inherently safe for humans at recommended doses because it produces no harmful byproducts as it oxidizes pathogens and their waste products. On the other hand, chlorine and chloramine disinfectants are widely known to hurt human health because they create highly toxic byproducts as they disinfect through chlorination. Of course, we drink and swim in water disinfected with chlorine and chloramines.
“Chlorine dioxide is a universal antidote… able to destroy mold and fungus, as well as bacteria and viruses, with minimal harm to humans, animals or plants.” —NASA, 1988.
How chlorine dioxide works its magic
On a molecular level, chlorine dioxide steals an electron from a pathogen, turning the chlorine dioxide molecule into sodium chlorite. Other chlorine dioxide molecules steal more electrons from that pathogen or its neighbors, until four electrons are added to the sodium chlorite molecule to form sodium chloride (table salt) and two oxygen atoms. Through this oxidation process, each chlorine dioxide molecule is able to oxidize five molecules in a pathogen’s cell wall. That’s the short explanation of chlorine dioxide’s “oxidation capacity.”
The missing electrons in the pathogen’s membrane make it fall apart because electrons hold molecules together. This particular process leaves no unwanted electrons (free radicals), microbes, or molecules behind to hurt you. It’s a “clean kill.” Even better, it’s impossible for pathogens to develop a resistance to this extermination technique because it happens at a molecular level, instead of a cell/nucleus/DNA level, which antibiotics use. Conversely, chlorine bleach and chloramines do leave toxic substances behind when they disinfect through chlorination. Chlorinating agents exchange electrons in substances being oxidized, producing new substances – many of which are carcinogenic.
In short, the long-term safety and efficacy record of chlorine dioxide is beyond question. So if it is excellent at killing pathogens in water treated outside the body, and does not harm you, then why wouldn’t it be good at doing the same inside the body, when taken medicinally? This is indeed the case: Whether disinfection happens outside the body or in it, chlorine dioxide is outstanding at killing pathogens and not harming you, or your gut microbes. That right there is the litmus test of a great medicine/therapy: deadly to pathogens, gentle on you and your tummy.
And how about real-world results? Jim Humble (pioneer in the use of chlorine dioxide) and the thousands he has trained have quickly and completely cured tens of thousands of people of malaria using only his chlorine dioxide protocol. It usually takes about four hours to improve a person’s situation from being on death’s door to being back on their feet, feeling great, joking around, and ready to go back to work the next day. Chlorine dioxide works that well and that quickly.
Chlorine dioxide’s superpower is it only harms pathogens
Chlorine dioxide’s special skill in detoxification is that it breaks down the cell walls of anaerobic microorganisms (non-oxygen breathing). Many pathogens are anaerobes that metabolize sugar for fuel, using no oxygen. A key feature of anaerobes is that they like acidic environments (low OH–).
The pH scale, which stands for “potential hydrogen,” measures acidity-alkalinity via concentration of hydrogen molecules (H+) in solution. Acids (0–7 pH) are higher in H+, and bases (7–14 pH) are lower in potential hydrogens. The opposite way of measuring pH is by oxygen-hydrogen (OH–) groups, or pOH–. So, on either scale, as H+ goes up, OH– goes down, and vice-versa.
Conversely, chlorine dioxide does not hurt aerobic microorganisms, because oxygen-breathers are higher life forms that like slightly alkaline environments (oxygen alkalizes). For aerobic cells, being built for an oxygen-rich environment means they have greater ability to resist being stripped of electrons through oxidation than pathogens do. Indeed, chlorine dioxide has just a little more oxidative pull on electrons than does oxygen (see chart below). Consequently, the oxidation potential of chlorine dioxide is strong enough to steal electrons from pathogens, but not from probiotic microbes, or your own (healthy) cells. This makes it an ideal agent to kill parasites and other pathogens in your body, while leaving your own (healthy) cells undamaged.
In addition, chlorine dioxide oxidizes heavy metals that chelating agents can’t reach. Since chlorine dioxide is negatively-charged, it’s attracted to positively-charged heavy metals held deep within tissues. It bypasses your own negatively-charged cells, leaving them unaffected. In contrast, chelation agents can only grab hold of heavy metals they can reach on the periphery of cells and then let the body redistribute repeatedly.
Another reason that chlorine dioxide is both potent and low in side effects is that it’s only active for a few hours. A single dose attacks pathogens for about four hours. It then breaks down into a few grains of salt. Another key factor in chlorine dioxide’s effectiveness is that it hits all the pathogens at once so they don’t have time to hide, recover and repopulate the gut.
In summary, chlorine dioxide is uniquely qualified to affect a narrower range of cells than more potent oxidizers such as hydrogen peroxide. Thus, chlorine dioxide attacks only pathogens. But those affected are impacted more: It nabs about 2½ times as many electrons as ozone. And, being good at neutralizing toxins, chlorine dioxide is good at cleaning up the waste products that spill out when pathogens die (causing Herxheimer).
“Chlorine dioxide: the most powerful pathogen killer known to man.” —The American Society of Analytical Chemists, 1999.
There’s a reason dozens of industries consider chlorine dioxide to be indispensable: It has an extremely rare combination of potency, safety and versatility. See for yourself how many industries have used chlorine dioxide for decades at this link.