Why I'm Using Methylene Blue for My Metabolism

This video explores methylene blue, a blue dye that has gained recent attention for its potential metabolic and anti-inflammatory benefits. Dr. Boz explains the science behind how it works in your mitochondria, its historical medical uses, safety concerns regarding serotonin syndrome, and her personal experience taking it for joint pain relief.

---

1. Introduction: What Sparked the Curiosity About Methylene Blue? 💧

Dr. Boz opens the show sharing her numbers — glucose at 71, ketones at 2.7, with a Dr. Boz ratio of 25 after about 60 hours of fasting. She then dives into the topic that's been on her mind for weeks: methylene blue.

The curiosity started when she noticed a trend of people, including RFK, dripping this blue dye into their water. She wondered why anyone would intentionally consume something that turns your tongue and pee blue.

"Why would he be doing that? And so, as I look into possibilities, I think it might have to do with his mitochondria."

Her goal for the episode is to explore what methylene blue actually does inside the body, the mechanisms behind how it works, and whether the risks make it worth trying — or something to avoid entirely.

She admits her previous knowledge was limited to using it as an IV treatment during her residency in Salt Lake City. A friend and military veteran, Colonel Al, encouraged her to dig deeper and even recommended a book by Mark Sloan on the topic, which she credits throughout the presentation.

---

2. What Are the Benefits and Claims? 🧪

Dr. Boz outlines the major categories of what methylene blue claims to do:

• Antidote for chemical poisoning or overdose (like cyanide or carbon monoxide)
• Antimalarial drug with a rich history
• Virus warrior — used against tuberculosis and other infections
• Pain relief — particularly for chronic inflammation
• Anti-aging properties
• Brain health benefits

She notes that in animal studies and autopsies of soldiers who took methylene blue for malaria treatment, their brains and hearts were literally blue. This is because those organs have the highest concentration of mitochondria, and methylene blue has an affinity for the inner mitochondrial membrane.

"If you looked at that thumbnail, it's not an accident that I did that."

---

3. How Methylene Blue Fights Free Radicals: The Science of Methemoglobinemia 🔬

This section gets into the deep science, and Dr. Boz warns viewers upfront:

"If you don't like science, you should click off right now because I used this as permission to talk about the things that I love to talk about. And one of those is your mitochondria."

Understanding Hemoglobin and Iron

Your red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which has iron molecules that bind and carry oxygen throughout your body. Under normal conditions, this iron has a 2+ charge (ferrous iron), which allows oxygen to attach properly.

The problem arises when free radicals cause that iron to become oxidized, shifting to a 3+ charge (ferric iron). This creates methemoglobinemia — a dangerous condition where oxygen can no longer bind effectively.

"This is what a free radical environment looks like."

What Causes Methemoglobinemia?

Several things can trigger this dangerous state:

• Cyanide poisoning
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• High doses of acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Formaldehyde and fluoride exposure
• Anesthetics like lidocaine and benzocaine
• Aluminum and copper toxicity

The King's Antidote: A Historical Connection 👑

Dr. Boz shares a fascinating historical tidbit about kings and rulers who would take tinctures to protect themselves from cyanide poisoning. The telltale sign? They would pee blue because they were taking methylene blue.

"It's real in the history books that the king would pee blue. Why was he peeing blue? Because he was taking methylene blue."

Methylene blue works by offloading cyanide as fast as it binds, preventing the poison from shutting down cellular respiration. If the body was saturated with enough methylene blue, it could survive an assassination attempt by cyanide.

---

4. What Methylene Blue Does in Your Mitochondria ⚡

This is where Dr. Boz really geeks out on the electron transport chain — the powerhouse process happening inside every mitochondrion.

The Electron Transport Chain Basics

Inside the mitochondria's inner membrane, there are protein complexes (Complex 1, 3, and 4) that transfer hydrogen ions from inside to outside the membrane. This transfer of protons is literally how your body makes energy (ATP).

"That's where life happens. I did a lecture to several people of faith and I titled it 'The Holy Spirit is in the wall of the mitochondria' because as soon as that mitochondrial wall doesn't function, you die."

Cyanide completely blocks Complex 4, stopping all proton transfer. But methylene blue can prevent this blockage by helping shuttle electrons along the chain even when parts of it are damaged.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Mitochondria

Dr. Boz uses cartoon illustrations to show the difference:

• Healthy mitochondria have beautiful, taut folds along their inner membrane, efficiently transferring electrons
• Unhealthy mitochondria look deflated, with holes in the membrane that leak electrons (free radicals) into the cell

"Metabolic disease is when your body ages, when your body lets these little rogue electrons out to play inside your cells and they hurt your DNA."

When mitochondria are damaged, electrons escape where they shouldn't, causing:

• Genetic mutations
• Chronic inflammation
• Joint pain and swelling
• Accelerated aging

How Methylene Blue Helps

Methylene blue acts as an electron carrier, helping restore proper proton transfer across the mitochondrial membrane. It takes oxidized iron (3+ charge) and returns it to the stable 2+ charge, essentially putting out fires caused by free radicals.

"If something trades electrons, it's helping the mitochondria to do a better job of efficiently moving those electrons along."

---

5. Does Methylene Blue Really Do Anything? The Antioxidant Argument 🤔

Dr. Boz addresses a common frustration she has with most "antioxidant" supplements:

"Whenever somebody asks me about an antioxidant, I'm always like, 'Oh, good grief.' It doesn't do that much."

The problem with most antioxidants (like acai berries) is the journey they must take to actually help:

1. Swallow it
2. Get past the gut
3. Survive the liver's filtering process
4. Enter circulation
5. Pass through cell membranes
6. Finally reach the mitochondria

"Good grief, that's a long journey for one. I would say not diddly."

The difference with methylene blue is that it actually reaches the mitochondria. We know this because at autopsy, organs with high mitochondrial density (brain and heart) turn blue in people who have been taking it.

Historical Medical Uses

Methylene blue has been around for thousands of years in various forms:

• Jewish tradition: The slightly blue-tinted tassels on prayer shawls are connected to methylene blue's cleansing properties
• Military medicine: Soldiers taking it for malaria prevention would have their compliance checked by whether their urine was blue
• Laboratory staining: Scientists used it to visualize malaria parasites and tuberculosis bacteria under microscopes — and noticed it was killing the organisms, not just staining them

---

6. Clinical Observations: What It's Done for Dr. Boz 🏌️

Dr. Boz shares her personal experience after taking methylene blue for about three weeks.

The High-Dose Experience

When she took about 15 drops to make her tongue blue for the video thumbnail:

"I felt high. I felt like not only do I have high ketones, but I now just added methylene blue. My speech was super fast. I had a tough time sitting still. Like, I got to go for a walk. I got to walk off some of this energy."

Joint Pain Relief

More significantly, she noticed improvement in the base of her thumb — the first joint to typically fail with osteoarthritis:

"When I look at the change that I saw within five days of starting this, I noticed that, oh, that thumb doesn't hurt as much."

This matches what she's seen in countless anecdotal reports online. The most common reason people try methylene blue is for chronic joint pain, and many report noticeable improvement within the first week.

"I didn't test it with a golf round, but it does help me to say, oh, that's probably what folks are experiencing."

---

7. Does Methylene Blue Cause Serotonin Syndrome? ⚠️

This is the number one concern people raise when researching methylene blue. Dr. Boz tackles it head-on.

What Is Serotonin Syndrome?

Serotonin syndrome occurs when serotonin levels spike dramatically, causing:

• Elevated body temperature
• Rapid heart rate
• Potentially life-threatening symptoms

Understanding MAO Inhibitors

Methylene blue is a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. MAO enzymes break down neurotransmitters:

• MAO-A breaks down serotonin and norepinephrine
• MAO-B predominantly breaks down dopamine

There are two types of MAO inhibitors:

• Irreversible (like old-school antidepressants phenelzine and selegiline) — these permanently bind to enzymes and take weeks to restore normal function
• Reversible — these can be "knocked off" by changes in pH, temperature, or other factors

The Good News

Methylene blue is a reversible MAO inhibitor:

"As soon as the pH changes or anything else comes along to touch that enzyme or even just the temperature rises inside a body, you can see that connectivity between the enzyme and methylene blue undo."

This makes it significantly safer. While she recommends caution and consulting your doctor if you're on SSRIs or SNRIs (Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro, Effexor, etc.), she points out:

"Prozac's been around since, what, mid-80s. If people were taking methylene blue and Prozac, there would have been a much bigger signal if the serotonin syndrome was actually happening."

She searched for case reports and found you'd have to drink an entire bottle to cause problems — far more than anyone would want to consume given its bitter taste.

---

8. Dosing Guidelines 📊

Dr. Boz presents a dosing chart based on body weight:

For reference:

• She puts about 10 drops in her morning drink
• For the thumbnail photo, she took about 10 drops (one dropper full)
• At 20 drops total per day, she's still under the half milligram per kilogram threshold

Her Protocol

• Takes it in the morning with a small amount of liquid
• Chases it with sparkling water due to the bitter taste
• Avoids taking it at night (causes increased urge to urinate)
• Committed to four consecutive weeks at the target dose

"Skip the tongue, get it in your stomach, and chase it with some bubble water. That's what I do."

---

9. Q&A Highlights 💬

Does it help with joint issues?

"This is the number one place that I've been impressed... the majority is they're doing it for the pain relief and with pretty good anecdotal responses."

She recommends giving it at least four weeks to see results.

Will it mess up urine pH test strips?

It will turn them blue, but it shouldn't affect pH measurements.

Is it safe with other medications?

Talk to your doctor if you're taking SSRIs or SNRIs. But given that methylene blue is a reversible MAO inhibitor that's been around for thousands of years, the risk appears to be low.

Is methylene blue better than blueberries for inflammation?

"Hell yes."

Dr. Boz gets fired up about this one:

"My people that watch this channel, they like food too much and they love the buzz of food. They eat the whole dang box of blueberries with hedonistic joy... then their sugars are high and their ketones are down and their insulin is off the charts."

Would it help a skin infection?

She's uncertain but notes that fish tank enthusiasts use it to clear infections (called "ick") from their tanks, and their skin turns blue from exposure without apparent harm.

---

Conclusion: A Promising Tool, Not a Magic Bullet 🎯

Dr. Boz wraps up with an important caveat:

"If you're walking to the methylene blue link and saying, 'Oh, I'm going to put this in my body and it's going to make all this go away' — it's not that good."

Methylene blue shows real promise for:

• Reducing chronic inflammation
• Supporting mitochondrial function
• Potentially relieving joint pain

However, it's not a replacement for fixing your metabolic foundation through proper nutrition, fasting, and ketosis. The real magic happens when you have healthy mitochondria with intact membranes efficiently transferring electrons.

For those curious about trying it, the links to both the methylene blue she uses and the book by Mark Sloan are in the show notes. Just be prepared for blue pee, a bitter taste, and potentially some energizing effects that might have you talking a little too fast! 💙