Methylene Blue to Extend Your Health Span

Author: Angela Foley, PharmD, RPh

Would you like to extend your health span?

Do you want to have more energy?

Do you want to improve your memory and focus?

Do you suffer from depression, anxiety, pain, or cognitive decline?

As you age, your cells need more oxygen and protection from free radicals to stay healthy and function optimally. Healthy food and clean air are beneficial for protecting our cellular function, but our Earthly environment is still a very toxic place. How do we combat this? Let us introduce you to a new tool that can help you: Methylene Blue. Methylene Blue helps give your cells the oxygen and energy they need to function optimally.

Actions of Methylene Blue

Methylene Blue essentially helps provide oxygen and create more energy in our mitochondria, the powerhouse of our cells. It accumulates in the mitochondria, which are highly concentrated in our nervous tissue. Our body relies upon optimal mitochondrial function to produce oxygen and cellular energy to be used by the body. As we age, with chronic stress, inflammation, poor diet, etc., mitochondrial function declines. Methylene Blue works in the mitochondria, selectively choosing to heal damaged mitochondria first, then moving on to improve other less damaged mitochondria.

“Without oxygen, nitric oxide and a cascade of stress hormones and pro-inflammatory signals are increased, and the body’s energy supply is essentially switched off.” – The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue by Mark Sloan

Health Span Benefits of Methylene Blue

Methylene Blue improves metabolism by:

• Improving mitochondrial function and respiration, oxygen consumption, ATP production, and glucose consumption
• Decreasing lactic acid production
• Acting as an antioxidant 

Methylene Blue and Pathogens

Methylene Blue may help protect us from disease because it interferes with the pathogen’s lifecycle and reduces the infectivity of viruses, parasites, bacteria, and fungi, such as:

• E. coli
• Candida
• Hepatitis, HIV, Ebola, Zika, West Nile

Methylene Blue in Alzheimer’s

​In late onset Alzheimer’s disease, cells exhibit impaired mitochondrial function, metabolic changes, and impaired glucose utilization…” (1)

Researchers from Nutrition & Metabolism Centre (Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, CA) report that Methylene Blue extends the lifespan of human cells, by enhancing mitochondrial function by 30%, and cellular oxygen consumption by 30-70%, and reverses premature [aging]. (2)

Methylene Blue in Memory and Cognition

• At a daily dose of 15 mg., Methylene Blue exhibits antidepressant effects
• Boosts serotonin with reduced anxiety and depression
• Improves memory retrieval speed, mood, concentration, focus in attention-related tasks

Red Light Therapy + Methylene Blue = Photodynamic Therapy

Did you know that you can add red light therapy to Methylene Blue for synergistically maximizing mitochondrial respiration and accelerating recovery of metabolically defective brain cells?

Methylene Blue in Depression

• Methylene Blue has the ability to lower nitric oxide, lower stress, lower neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity, and rebounding depression
• One study shows that severely depressed patients given one dose of Methylene Blue, 15 mg. daily for 3 weeks, showed significant improvement when compared to placebo (3)

Methylene Blue in Autism

The hallmark of autism is high oxidative stress. A 2010 landmark study at University of California, Davis (MIND Institute) found that children with autism are far more likely to be deficient in their ability to produce cellular energy than healthy children (4). “The various dysfunctions measured are probably more extreme in brain cells, which rely exclusively on mitochondria for energy.” (4)

Methylene Blue for Pain

Research demonstrated that a few hours following oral Methylene Blue administration, painful inflammation of nerves subsided, often entirely with further administration. (5)

Types of pain that can be reduced by Methylene Blue:

• post-op pain
• chronic shooting pain
• refractory oral mucositis from chemo
• arthritis
• migraine headaches
• chronic low back pain
• pain due to ischemia

The bottom line is that our body needs to be able to produce cellular energy in order to function optimally. Methylene Blue, at low doses, selectively promotes mitochondrial respiration, cellular energy production, and reduces nitric oxide load.

Call Us for More Information About Methylene Blue

Methylene Blue does require a prescription from your provider. At Physicians Preference Pharmacy, we compound methylene blue as oral capsules in many doses. The dosing of methylene blue is generally based on your weight and will be determined by your physician. Call us today with any questions about Methylene Blue and for your prescription needs at 281-828-9088. It will be our privilege to serve you!

Research:
1 Late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease is Associated with Inherent Changes in Bioenergetics Profiles 
2 Methylene Blue Delays Cellular Senescence and Enhances Key Mitochondrial Biochemical Pathways
3 A Controlled Trial of Methylene Blue in Severe Depressive Illness
4 Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism
5 Ueber SchmerzstillendeWirkung des Methylenblaus (pp.493-494)