A Florida scientist who spent 100 days underwater says he still retains some of the health benefits nine months after returning to land.
Retired Navy diver Joseph Dituri spent this record-breaking amount of time in a bunker 30 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, in a high-pressure environment that he credits with reversing his body’s age at a cellular level.
When Dituri emerged in June last year, he claimed blood tests showed a 50 percent reduction in all inflammatory markers in his body, 17 times the number of stem cells he had before the season and longer telomeres (structures on chromosomes that have a theorized link to life extension.
Joseph Dituri spent 100 days underwater in 2023, breaking the previous world record of 73 days. He claimed that his blood showed signs of reverse aging when he resurfaced.
‘Now I am 56 years old. My extrinsic (biological) age was 44 years. When I came out of the water, my extrinsic age was 34 years old,” Dituri told reporters in WKMG News in Orlando. ‘So, my telomeres got longer. In fact, I became younger when I was underwater.
At the end of chromosomes are telomeres, which are like the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces.
Every time cells divide, telomeres shorten. Once they are gone, the chromosome falls apart and the cell dies. So the idea is that keeping them for a long time will help the cells live longer, which will slow down the overall aging process.
This idea of longevity has not yet been demonstrated in human experiments, but other researchers are working on gene therapies to lengthen telomeres in hopes of slowing the aging process.
Dituri stated that his telomeres are not as long as when he first came out, but they are still longer than before.
He also reported that his cognition improved during his stay underwater.
Dituri believes the change in age was due to living in a high-pressure or “hyperbaric” environment.
In modern medicine, a hyperbaric chamber usually contains pure oxygen, but in the case of underwater pressurization, the mixture is more similar to that of normal air.
The health benefits of hyperbaric chambers have been well documented since a British doctor built the first one in 1662, more than 100 years before the discovery of oxygen.
However, in many cases, proponents of the curative effects of hyperbaric therapies have relied more on anecdotal evidence than on high-quality clinical trials.
However, the medical literature shows that some people have received profound, almost miraculous, benefits from hyperbaric therapy.
In his underwater capsule, Dituri took many readings about his physical health, including encephalography (EEG) recordings.
In an interview with an Orlando news station this week, Dituri said he still shows residual signs of anti-aging in his cells.
Doctors treated 1918 Spanish flu patients with hyperbaric therapy, bringing them back from the brink of death simply by moving them into chambers filled with pressurized air.
‘Now then! This has existed. So why wouldn’t we treat post-COVID (complications)?’ Dituri said.
He added that scientific studies should be done, but that the anecdotal evidence provided should be enough proof that there is something worth exploring.
Specifically, he said, scientists should explore “mechanisms of action”: what happens at the molecular level that produces health effects.
One of those he points out is ulcerative colitis, a chronic intestinal disease related to inflammation.
“These are the kinds of things we need to do studies on,” he said.
Although more research is needed, since its inception hyperbaric therapy has been linked to improved wound healing and a decrease in inflammatory markers.
Recent investigation It even showed that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can reduce the rate of blood cell death and even lengthen telomeres.
Inflammatory molecules have been linked to autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and even long COVID.
Reduced inflammatory markers are linked to a lower risk of cancer, better cognitive function, and a lower risk of heart disease.
Dituri also carried 17 times more stem cells than he had before his time underwater, he said.
Dituri spent her time in a 100-square-foot pod, where her REM sleep improved considerably from her baseline level.
When Dituri exited, he was reportedly three-quarters of an inch shorter than when he entered.
Stem cells can become any other type of cell in the body, which is why they are associated with regenerative medicine.
The effects of Dituri were observed in 100 days of 24-hour exposure to a hyperbaric environment.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, on the other hand, is usually performed in one-hour increments over the course of a few days to a couple of months.
However, most studies showing its health effects were conducted under those conditions, so it shouldn’t be necessary to lock yourself under the ocean to reap the anti-aging benefits.
Dituri also said: “We have been seeing excellent results in long COVID – just 10 treatments.”
However, it can be expensive. Dituri said each one-hour treatment should cost about $250, but suggested some providers could be charging much more.
Dituri is careful to note that more studies are needed to demonstrate the purported anti-aging effects of hyperbaric therapy.
Dituri insists he has no financial conflicts of interest, but he makes a living training doctors in hyperbaric medicine in his Underwater Oxygen Academy.
However, not all the effects were positive.
“I shrank three-quarters of an inch, had some major problems, broke a tooth while I was there,” Dituri told reporters.
Compared to astronauts who are in zero gravity and tend to grow an inch or more during long trips, Dituri lived under immense pressure.
“When you go under water, you increase the pressure; in my case, I almost doubled it,” he said.
However, Dituri isn’t too worried about losing height.
“I’ve got what I’ve got, and these are the cards I’ve been dealt,” he told reporters, after being pressed about his disappointment at being just six feet tall.
Dituri also maintains other fashionable health practices, beyond living in an underwater capsule.
During the interview, he told reporters that he fasts for much of the day and subsists on water and bone broth until about 3 p.m.
Therefore, hyperbaric therapy may not be the only treatment that helped slow or reverse your aging process.
And although Dituri makes some miraculous claims about hyperbaric therapy, he approaches it with cautious optimism.
“The science is not over yet, but we are working on it,” he said. ‘There are a lot of things that can’t be cured, but it has some good uses.