Summary
Dave Asprey interviews Dr. Robert Rowen on Bulletproof Radio episode 168, recorded while Rowen was in quarantine after returning from Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Rowen, who has been using ozone therapy since 1986, explains why he believed ozone would be effective against Ebola based on its biochemistry: the virus requires a reduced cysteine amino acid on its surface to infect cells, and ozone oxidizes this cysteine, effectively "chopping off the fingers" that allow the virus to enter cells. Rowen provides a detailed explanation of oxidative medicine, tracing its history back over 100 years to Nikola Tesla's first American ozone generator patent. He explains that white blood cells naturally produce oxidants including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone to fight pathogens, and that ozone therapy simply enhances this natural defense mechanism. He uses the analogy of an on-off switch: research on cytomegalovirus showed that oxidizing the virus eliminated infectivity, and chemically re-reducing it restored two-thirds of its ability to infect. The discussion covers the broader family of oxidative therapies including hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet blood irradiation, and intravenous vitamin C. Rowen emphasizes that oxygen delivery is the most fundamental factor in healing, and that ozone therapy improves the body's ability to utilize oxygen for energy production. Dave shares his own experience with nearly a decade of ozone use and credits it as a key factor in reversing his toxic mold poisoning.
Key Points
- Dr. Rowen has used ozone therapy in clinical practice since 1986, giving him nearly 30 years of experience at the time of recording
- Ebola requires reduced cysteine amino acids on its surface to infect cells; ozone oxidizes these, blocking viral entry
- Research on cytomegalovirus showed oxidation eliminated infectivity, and chemical reduction restored two-thirds of it, demonstrating a redox on-off switch
- White blood cells naturally produce oxidants including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone to fight pathogens
- Nikola Tesla patented the first American ozone generator, though ozone therapy existed in Europe beforehand
- Oxidative medicine includes ozone, hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet blood irradiation, and intravenous vitamin C
- Oxygen delivery to cells is the most fundamental factor in healing; ozone enhances the body's oxygen utilization
- Rowen and Dr. Howard Robbins traveled to Sierra Leone at their own expense and raised $50,000 in donated equipment
Key Moments
Rowen invited by Sierra Leone's president to train doctors
Dr. Robert Rowen describes traveling to Sierra Leone on an invitation from the president to teach doctors about ozone therapy for Ebola, meeting with the president twice and training medical staff.
"I went there to teach. I went there to teach the doctors in Sierra Leone about ozone with my colleague, friend and colleague, Dr. Howard Robbins. He pioneered a unique method of ozone delivery that is perfect for Ebola, absolutely perfect."
Skeptical medical leaders converted by ozone demonstrations
The president of the Sierra Leone Medical Dental Association arrived skeptical but was so impressed by ozone demonstrations that she requested treatment herself and performed a treatment on Dr. Rowen.
"the president of the Sierra Leone Medical Dental Association walked in the door very skeptical. When she left, she's on my YouTube channel, incidentally. And she just melted. She melted, came in skeptical and melted. And to the point where she came in to receive her own ozone treatments."
Ebola czar asks why ozone isn't already being used
After finally reaching the Ebola czar Paulo Conte through days of bureaucratic obstacles, he listened to the ozone presentation and asked a single question that seemed to signal approval.
"How come this isn't being used already in the center?"
