Deuterium, deuterium-reduced water, ketogenic diet and fasting — what do they have in common?
What is deuterium?
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen. Unlike ordinary hydrogen (also called protium), deuterium has an extra neutron which makes it twice as heavy as ordinary hydrogen. For that reason, another name for deuterium is "heavy hydrogen". As a hydrogen isotope (a variant of hydrogen), deuterium can take the place of ordinary hydrogen in any chemical or physical reaction in which a hydrogen atom is used. That means it's in your body, in the food you eat, and in the water you drink. When deuterium replaces protium (ordinary hydrogen) in a water molecule (H2O), the result is called "heavy water". Heavy water has different physical properties than normal water. On Earth's surface, there is about one deuterium atom in seawater for every 6420 hydrogen atoms on average. In other words, the deuterium concentration for most of the planet's water is approx. 150-160 parts per million (ppm) or 0.000156%.
Health benefits of drinking deuterium-reduced water (DDW):
- Strengthens the immune system and detoxification
- Improves blood sugar turnover (metabolism) and regulation
- Counteracts insulin resistance
- Improves energy production (metabolism)
- Has a protective effect on several organ systems, i.a. heart and liver
- Improves mood and memory
What is deuterium reduction?
Deuterium reduction includes any method of lowering deuterium levels in the body. Humans, animals, plants and other living things naturally excrete deuterium when they are young and healthy. Healthy cells, mitochondria (the cell's "power stations") and the intestinal flora have the ability to excrete deuterium by themselves. Studies of cells and plants show that deuterium reduction can slow cell growth, while increased levels of deuterium can increase the speed of fast-growing cells (such as cancer cells). Deuterium can be useful for development and normal cell growth, while too much deuterium can promote cancer cell growth and cause cell damage. Growing plants tend to store excess deuterium in fruits, sugars or leaves. The deuterium content in modern, processed foods containing grain, sugar or corn is relatively high. Elevated deuterium levels can cause higher rates of obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease. There is much evidence that low-level deuterium diets such as the paleo diet (Stone Age diet) and the ketogenic diet have anti-inflammatory properties and can help people with cancer, epilepsy and type 2 diabetes.
Excess deuterium is used during the synthesis of hormones, fats, enzymes and cells. And the unusual properties of heavy water and deuterium can cause problems when your body uses deuterium instead of regular hydrogen. Water with deuterium emits and receives electrons more slowly than normal water and has a "brake effect" that we do not want in a number of reactions where hydrogen is involved.
Health benefits of deuterium reduction
Faster and healthier metabolism (metabolism)
Deuterium depletion can increase energy production and help repair your mitochondria. It can be an excellent way to lose unwanted body fat and maintain a healthy weight. Remember that high deuterium levels damage your mitochondria.
Better blood sugar and insulin balance
According to a 2017 animal study, deuterium-reduced water (DDW) can increase glucose transporter expression and promote glucose uptake, which may also prevent or reverse diabetes. People who have trouble losing weight, struggle with sugar addiction, or have metabolic problems such as type 2 diabetes can benefit from reducing deuterium levels in the body.
Better mood and brain function
Of all your organs, your brain uses the most energy in relation to its mass. As a result, it is incredibly dense with energy-producing mitochondria. Scientists believe mitochondrial dysfunction may be responsible for many problems related to the brain such as psychiatric symptoms, migraines, headaches, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and even Alzheimer's disease. Even if you don't have any brain health problems, the colony of mitochondria in your brain still affects your mental function, thinking ability and memory.
The authors of a 2014 scientific paper state the following: "The brain appears most vulnerable to failures in the mitochondria, suggesting that neurons are particularly sensitive to bioenergetic fluctuations and, consequently, that mitochondria regulate fundamental aspects of brain function." Therefore, it is no surprise that the depletion of deuterium to improve the function of the mitochondria in the brain cells [m1] [HL2] can boost mood, prevent diseases of the brain and increase mental acuity.
An animal study from 2014 also found that deuterium-reduced water improved the animals' long-term memory. Not only that, deuterium reduction can improve the production of neurotransmitters in the brain. According to the authors of a 2015 study, the deuterium-reduced water they gave mice appeared to mimic the effects of antidepressants.
Effects that counteract cancer
Deuterium reduction is a promising experimental cancer treatment. In addition to all other benefits of deuterium reduction, there are good studies showing effects against cancer. Currently, deuterium reduction and deuterium-reduced water are used as additional treatment. Researchers and specialists in deuterium reduction have documented a clear increase in lifespan across several studies in the following types of cancer:
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Brain tumor
Here's how the benefits likely work:
Deuterium reduction can counteract DNA damage associated with cancer mutations. The reduction can induce oxidative stress in cancer cells. Warburg metabolism (anaerobic glycolysis) in many cancer cells is associated with the accumulation of deuterium. Deuterium reduction can reverse this effect by promoting healthier metabolism and "recycling" of cancer cells. Essentially, deuterium reduction could be a non-invasive way to counteract cancer, slow its growth or even reverse it.
Improved cardiovascular health
Deuterium reduction can improve cardiovascular health and heart function by helping mitochondria to function better. Deuterium reduction may also benefit heart health by maintaining an ordered composition of phospholipids.
The best methods to reduce deuterium in the body
Our diet is an important factor in regulating the body's deuterium levels. A complete low-carb diet with a high content of natural healthy fats, green vegetables and animal products can lower deuterium levels. On the other hand, a diet high in sugar, starch, or processed foods can increase the deuterium levels in your body. As you may have noticed, foods with low deuterium levels as mentioned above have plenty of overlap with diets like the keto diet, the paleo diet, and the carnivore diet. (It is probably no coincidence that these low-deuterium diets can help prevent or treat conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and heart disease).
Examples of deuterium content in foodstuffs
Here is an overview of the deuterium content of some foods (taken from Preventa):
Wheat flour: 150 ppm
Cereals: 145 ppm
Potatoes: 143 ppm
Oats: 141 ppm
Pork: 138 ppm
Cattle: 138 ppm
Spinach: 136 ppm
Peanut butter: 131 ppm
Olive oil: 130 ppm
Butter: 124 ppm
Fat from cattle: 121 ppm
Fat from pork: 116 ppm (also confirmed by Basov et al. (2014))
For the most part, carbohydrates, sugars and starches have a higher natural deuterium content. Grass-fed animal products, fats and green vegetables contain the opposite. Treatment and preparation also affect the deuterium content. First, refined flour, sugar or other plant products have more deuterium because the manufacturing process removes the low-deuterium plant. You should avoid all processed or so-called ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed foods are purely industrial products that do not resemble the raw materials they come from. They largely consist of extracts of raw materials (vegetable oils, sugar and starch), as well as ingredients produced in laboratories (aromatic substances, flavor enhancers, coloring agents and consistency agents). If you eat foods that have less than 140 ppm, it will contribute to deuterium reduction in your body.
Deuterium-reduced water (DDW)
Deuterium-reduced water is exactly what it sounds like: water with a reduced deuterium content. Water with a much lower than naturally occurring deuterium content is commercially available. Using a special distillation process that exploits the boiling point differences between light water and heavy water, manufacturers create water with a deuterium content from 5 to 125 ppm. Drinking ultrapure deuterium-reduced water with added hydrogen gas (H2) has a number of positive health effects and is one of the smartest investments you can make for your health.
Intake of deuterium-reduced water has been shown to be even more effective and to provide a faster reduction in body weight than a change in diet. Food and water are the main sources of deuterium in the body, but commercial deuterium-reduced water has much lower deuterium levels than natural deuterium-reduced foods, making it the fastest method. In contrast to most other methods, deuterium-reduced water does not depend on the body's natural reduction mechanisms. Therefore, it is a good choice for people with cancer or who have trouble achieving healthy deuterium levels by other means.
How can deuterium-reduced water be used?
It is common to use deuterium-reduced water with 25-105 ppm as drinking water for a cure period of 4-16 weeks, depending on your health condition and goals of the cure. A combination with a ketogenic, animal diet consisting of meat from animals that have eaten grass, herbs, berries, leaves, etc., will give the fastest results.
For maintenance, well-being and to possibly slow down aging, more and more people are drinking deuterium-reduced water with 125-136 ppm long-term and not just as a cure. In our online store (shop.unovita.com) we have two good options:
Fixed and dry fixed
Regular fasting can help reduce deuterium concentration by changing the body's metabolism to fat burning. When you burn fat (either stored or recently eaten), the mitochondria make 1.1 kilograms of water for every 1000 grams of fat the body burns. This "metabolic water" is deuterium-reduced and usually approx. 115 ppm. Like a ketogenic diet, fasting can help fight obesity, cancer and diabetes. These benefits may be due to the reduction of deuterium in cells and tissues. Dry fasting is similar to fasting, but where you neither eat nor drink during the fast. A 2013 study found that a five-day dry fast was safe for healthy adults. The small study does not document that it is safe for everyone, and must be assessed. The metabolic water production that occurs during dry fasting may help explain why dry fasting appears to be safe and effective for some people.
Infrared light and sunlight
Infrared light (IR) increases the body's energy production by charging the mitochondria. You can get infrared light from light therapy devices or from sunlight, which is approx. 49.4% infrared light. As a result of the increased energy production, your mitochondria also make extra metabolic water, which is naturally deuterium-reduced. So-called metabolic water or EZ-water will automatically try to "exclude" (excrete) deuterium in both animals and plants. Last but not least, infrared light, sunlight and sauna heat contribute to making you sweat. Sweat is one of the body's natural mechanisms for deuterium reduction.
Exposure to cold (hypothermia)
When the body is exposed to cold, metabolic activity increases, generating heat by dispersing protons. Proton diffusion during heat production is favorable for deuterium reduction. Some people's bodies can adapt to cold better than others, so this is not a one-size-fits-all therapy. If your ancestors lived far from the equator, you will tolerate exposure to cold better than the other way around. 
Training and physical activity
Exercise helps reduce deuterium levels by increasing the body's deuterium-reducing metabolic water production and causing it to sweat. Aerobic exercise (below 65% VO2 max – maximum oxygen volume) is the best form of exercise to increase the body's metabolic water production because it burns the most fat.
To breathe clean air
Breathing clean air is not enough to reduce deuterium levels, but air pollution can make it more difficult to reduce deuterium levels in the body. The air pollution found in buildings and around roads can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and mitochondrial damage, as well as make it difficult to reduce weight if desired. Low oxygen levels in the blood caused by pollution can increase dependence on sugar, cause insulin resistance and lead to loss of mitochondria. Remember that when the body relies on carbohydrates and cannot burn fat efficiently, the result is higher deuterium levels. Essentially, you need clean air to have good mitochondrial function and to maintain healthy deuterium levels. In addition to getting enough fresh air, you can also improve mitochondrial function (and thus deuterium depletion) by breathing slowly to get plenty of oxygen into your body. Slow breathing (at six breaths per minute) increases oxygen saturation in the blood, which can help reduce deuterium levels. Combined with inhalation of hydrogen/oxygen (2/3 H2 and 1/3 oxygen) (hydrogen therapy), this adds a series of positive health effects.
Conclusion
Most deuterium-reducing methods are very good for health. In addition, most people will benefit from a healthy diet, regular fasting, sunlight, exercise and breathing clean air, and not least drinking deuterium-reduced water. Using deuterium-reduced water is the fastest way to get rid of deuterium, but also the most expensive. Most people do not use deuterium-reduced water long-term, but if you have a health problem or the finances to finance a long-term anti-aging regimen, deuterium-reduced water is definitely recommended for long-term use as well.
Don't forget that food and drinking water are the main sources of deuterium in your body. This means that if you are in ketosis but still drinking water that has the usual 150-155 ppm deuterium content, the results of your attempts to reduce deuterium levels will not be as good. Deuterium reduction is a ground-breaking method for lowering deuterium levels in the body. It can result in higher energy levels, faster metabolism, anti-cancer effects and much more. Deuterium-reduced water can actually stop the growth of cancer cells and can slow down the further development of tumors. If you drink deuterium-reduced water, the deuterium level in the body will decrease over time, which can promote mitochondrial function, metabolism and have a preventive effect in the long term.
Get deuterium-reduced water today, and combine it with a natural lifestyle that promotes a long and healthy life!
Research links about deuterium reduction:
https://deuteriumdepletedwaterresearch.com/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3613976/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723318/
https://scholar.google.no/scholar?as_ylo=2020&q=deuterium+depleted+water+and+human+health+&hl=no&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=deuterium+depletion+and+health
