Re: Are there benefits to ingesting oxygen? What happens to ingested gases?

Dear Jim,

I believe ingestion of oxygen would have little effect other than a feeling 
of discomfort caused by distension of the stomach.  The majority would be 
lost by 'burping'.  The digestive system breaks down complex organic 
molecules down to smaller simpler chemicals for absorption.  Oxygen is a 
molecule comprising two oxygen atoms and the digestive system would not 
break this down further.  Some of the oxygen may dissolve and pass through 
the stomach or intestinal walls into the blood stream.  However, compared 
with the large volume of oxygen taken up by the blood from the lungs in 
every breathing cycle, the quantity that you could absorb from ingestion 
would be very small and insignificant.  I would suggest that attempts to 
ingest large volumes of oxygen would be of absolutely no benefit and may be 
harmful.

I hope this answers your question
Regards
Dave Burton