Proface

H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) is one of the simplest molecules on earth. It is also one of the most abundant. It is found in snow, rainwater, clouds, evaporative moisture and healthy living cells of living creatures.

It is among the most significant and potent nutrients of life itself on our water planet. Oxygen and hydrogen, that is just one oxygen atom away from water. H2O2 is the great cleanser which stimulates enzyme response and keeps the world and her inhabitants healthy, clean and vibrant. Without hydrogen peroxide our oceans would be putrid, our soils and lands would be infertile and our forests would be missing the life giving fungi, mosses, multitudes of invertebrates, and soil microorganisms that maintain the healthy biosphere we know as 'Earth'.

In simple terms, without hydrogen peroxide in the life cycle, there would be no life cycle. Stimulating immune response, nourishing cells, battling infection and converting nutrients into energy, hydrogen peroxide has so many functions in the life cycles of living creatures that medical science and research have generated tens of thousands of scientific papers and studies on its functions.

Of course, the concentrations of H2O2 in our environment and in living systems is tiny compared to the man made strengths and grades we are used to in our modern culture.

This might indicate why so many of us are so unaware, confused and easily misled when it comes to hydrogen peroxide. We see 3% solutions foaming away in our sink, or on a scrape on our skin and we immediately infer that anything as powerful as this must be dangerous, and should probably be avoided... The thought of a food grade H2O2 that is ten times stronger than the 3% solution definitely frightens us. But it doesn't have to.

Hydrogen peroxide in the natural environment does not follow the modern paradigm of "more is better". Those stronger solutions are exclusively intended for other goals, such as cleaning an environment polluted by flood water, or purifying waste water in a treatment facility. And of course, to fuel that great modern adventure, space travel.

In nature, H2O2 collects in the atmosphere in tiny amounts, and rains down on the earth in quantities just big enough to provide oxygen without delivering such a strong dose that oxidation occurs instead. Remarkable, really, how nature can be so accurate and clever that way.

New modern uses of hydrogen peroxide are undergoing a renaissance of sorts. It is proving efficacious as an ally in everything from the treatment of cancer to use as a safe sterilizing agent in food processing. It has been used and approved in the treatment of diseases of fish in aquaculture systems, and as a remedy to banana blight and coconut palm scab.

Hydrogen peroxide atomizers are now used in operating rooms to reduce the risk of air borne infection during surgery. Another application of H2O2 is in plasma sterilization systems. It is also used in parks and recreation areas to eliminate contamination such as via parvo virus.

In theseuses, hydrogen peroxide is dispensed in very specific amounts in a water vapor or other delivery system which guarantees bio-decontamination without requiring toxic chemicals or high heat (either of which can be problematic to maintaining healthy environments).

Hydrogen peroxide has come a long way from a long and fascinating history that has remained hidden from most of us. It has been documented in such prestigious journals as the English medical journal the Lancet as early as 1922 as a cure in the most deadly influenza outbreak of modern history. It was used by Robert Stroud, aka 'the bird man of Alcatraz' to heal bird flu in birds. Farmers in the Eastern United States used it successfully to protect poultry against bird flu during the outbreak of the 1980's.

It also works wonders in the garden. Mix a 3% food grade solution with 8 parts filtered water and spray crops, houseplants and gardens with the solution for higher yield and healthier plants. Place a small amount of the same solution into the planting hole before transplanting vegetables for similar improvements in yield and plant growth.

Best of all, no matter how you use it, or in what concentrations, simply by adding water, you can dilute it back to plain water. What could be more perfect?

For more detailed information on how you can use hydrogen peroxide in your home to replace hazardous cleaning products we advise you purchase the book 101 Home Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide: The Clean Green Home Revolution.