Crazy Celebrity Health Remedies

Nick Nolte

Ozone

Actor Nick Nolte is known for taking chances, and when it comes to his health, he is no different. Nolte, who, in an interview with Larry King on CNN, spoke about different ways to slow the aging process and stay healthy for as long as possible, said he tried a controversial treatment involving trioxygen (O3) or ozone, the name for three oxygen molecules bonded together.

Ozone is found in the upper atmosphere where it filters damaging ultraviolet rays from sunlight before it reaches Earth. Doctors have experimented with a variety of uses for ozone since it was discovered by a homeopathic doctor in 1856. Ozone is injected into the body in controlled amounts, not inhaled.

"It's a treatment that -- that oxidizes the brain," Nolte said in the interview. "And maybe -- certainly on the brain scan, you can see that the -- the brain is more metabolized."

But ozone as a therapy is controversial, with some experts saying it has healing properties for diseases like cancer and others saying it has no proven benefits. In fact, because it oxidizes organic compounds, ozone can be toxic.