IonCleanse detoxification—getting the issues out of tissues

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, June, 2004 by Morton Walker, Randall Walker

After oxygen, water is the second most important inorganic nutrient on which life depends. About 60% of the human body is composed of water, including 3/4s of cellular protoplasm (intracellular) and 4/5s of blood, lymph and other extracellular fluids. (4) Water is involved in metabolic processes as either a reactant or a product. Proper water volume is crucial to homeostasis. The hypothalamus carefully regulates water volume using retention, excretion and other mechanisms, including thirst. Water volume is intricately related to two fundamental aspects of metabolic activity: electrolyte concentration and acid-base pH.

Electrolytes are molecules which break apart when dissolved in water and dissociate into ions (charged particles). lons are atoms or molecules (polyatomic ions) which are not in electrical balance--their number does not equal the quantity of protons. As mentioned, it is possible to suffer serious health consequences from drinking too much water. This is because water promotes ionic activity and water itself is a primary source of ions.

Electrolysis, Hydrolysis, & Redox Reactions

Electrolysis, nearly as old as the study of electricity, is a chemical process that injects electricity into water and splits its molecules into ions. In 1807, Michael Faraday observed that electrolysis could break a chemical compound into its constituent elements. From this observation Faraday hypothesized that electricity was somehow involved with binding elements together. His correct assumption is the basis for our understanding of modern chemistry and nuclear physics.

In electrolysis, the negative pole of the electrical source is the cathode and the positive pole is the anode. Sending an electrical current through water causes some of the water molecules to divide and form hydrogen ions (H ) plus hydroxyl ions (OH-). These two ions are fundamental to organic chemistry and drive reactions toward oxidation and reduction (redox) reactions.

Freeing electrons and attaching them to other molecules is part of the ordinary activity inside every cell. For example, the complex pathway which produces the cellular energy component Adenosine 5'-TriphosPhate (ATP) within the mitochondrial inner membranes includes the Electron Transport System (ETS) segment of the Krebs cycle. During this part of the Krebs cycle, the coenzyme Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) that's derived from the B vitamin nicotinic acid is converted to its reduced form of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH) with the addition of a hydrogen atom and two electrons. NADH then delivers the electrons to a series of protein carriers which transports them along the membrane.

Redox reactions are one way that ions are created. Some elements readily become ions when they come into contact with an electron donor or acceptor, such as water. The toxic metals aluminum (Al), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) become ions in an aqueous solution. The chemical process of dissolving solutes in water is called hydrolysis, which translates from the Greek word lysis meaning "breaking up with water."