80% of energy used in cellular metabolism comes from oxygen. When cells and tissues are deprived of blood and oxygen, metabolism comes to a halt and cells stop functioning. This lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, is a major component of disease and aging. The benefits of HBOT go far beyond restoring oxygen to depleted tissues and cells though. HBOT is the only non-hormonal DNA signaling drug that has been shown to upregulate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, growth, and repair gene expression. HBOT has also been shown to:

• Reduce inflammation and edema
• Significantly increase the number of circulating stem cells
• Enhance oxidative stress resistance
• Stimulate blood vessel growth
• Increase fibroblast and collagen production
• Increase production of Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts (bone regenerating cells)
• Directly kill anaerobes and enhance the ability of white blood cells to destroy and remove bacteria, viruses, and fungi
• Support and regulate immune function
• Preserve skin grafts, flaps, and other tissues where circulation is suddenly reduced
• Potentiate the effectiveness of certain antibiotics

HBOT can be an excellent complement to existing therapies in an overall medical treatment protocol. HBOT is safe, painless, and non-invasive. At Health Essentials Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy we use monoplace (one person) chambers. Individual chambers assure maximum comfort by allowing time for the patient to equalize air pressure—a major distinction from "group" dives done at hospitals and in large multi-chamber tanks. For each treatment the pressure in the chamber is increased slowly, held constant for a prescribed amount of time, and then gradually decreased to ambient atmospheric pressure according to the needs of the patient.