Human Energy

The body absorbs molecules

When was the last time you thought about how the body digests food? If you’re ‘normal’, the last time you probably gave it any more energy than a passing thought was back in seventh grade health class. Back then you probably learned that saliva mixes with you food when you chew it (if you chew it) and then hydrochloric acid in the stomach breaks it all down into a slurry that then passes through the intestines where your body absorbs the nutrients. After that, well, I think we all know what we end up with!

Yet, it’s a bit more interesting than that. That is, if you’re not ‘normal’.

So, today, we’re going to take a closer look at this process. The closer look will specifically be regarding what the body absorbs rather than how the body absorbs. There is a distinction here that is fairly subtle, yet profoundly simple. If that distinction is understood, the process of how the body absorbs becomes a simple mechanical process for what the body absorbs is what’s important.

Sugar Molecules

To start with, everyone knows that food gives us energy. You eat an apple, and we can say you consumed roughly 70 calories of energy. To get to those calories, the digestive process has to break down the plant cell structures to release the (roughly) 20 grams of carbohydrates. Those twenty grams of carbohydrates (a fairly complex collection of molecules) are then broken down into simple sugars (smaller molecules) that can be absorbed into the body.

A simple sugar can look like the following combination of glucose and fructose.

Once in the body, the sugar molecules, that can be of many different forms (molecular shapes), are then dispersed to the cells where they can perform cellular respiration to extract the energy. Cellular respiration is a generally a chemical oxidation process where when sugar is combined with oxygen to release the energy (light), carbon dioxide and water.

In this case, the body absorbed sugar molecules derived from some carbohydrates. Carbohydrates come in many different forms: Monosaccharides, Disaccharides Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. The following diagram shows a simple combination of one type of saccharide.

Protein Molecules

Amino acids are the molecules that when put together create protein molecules. Amino acids are considered the basic building blocks for the molecules that our bodies build and use. As we all know, during the digestive process, the body breaks down proteins (longer strains of amino acids) into their basic form in order to assimilate them into the body. When it does, these amino acids can be used to not only produce new molecules, but be used to create energy. From Wikipedia:

When taken up into the human body from the diet, the 22 standard amino acids are either used to synthesize proteins and other biomolecules, or are oxidized to urea and carbon dioxide as a source of energy.

The basic common component in a protein molecule can be seen from this Wikipedia diagram.

If you take a look at another diagram they offer at Wikipedia, you’ll notice that amino acids very based on the “R” position of the above diagram. They state:

An alpha-amino acid has the generic formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent;[1] the amino group is attached to the carbon atom immediately adjacent to the carboxylate group (the α–carbon).

Which is supported by their diagram:

As it turns out, there are essential and nonessential amino acids. The general context in which the essential term applies here is in humans. The cool part about amino acids is that they can easily be combined by what’s called the Peptide bond and that they can be broken down to produce energy through the urea cycle.

The most interesting thing about this class of molecules is that scientists are discovering different forms on a regular basis. It’s as if the key thing that these molecules have in common is the ‘connector’. What hangs off the connector as the organic substituent can have many different forms and, one must assume, different functions for each form.

As it turns out, someone has done a little math giving a rough idea regarding the number of variations.

One cheminformatics study[6] identified 849,574 unique substituents up to 12 non-hydrogen atoms large and containing only C,H,N,O,S,P,Se and the halogens in a set of 3,043,941 molecules. Fifty common substituents are found in only 1% of this set, and 438 in 0.1%. 64% of the substituents are unique to just one molecule. The top 5 consists of the phenyl, chlorine, methoxy, hydroxyl, and ethyl substituent. The total number of organic substituents in organic chemistry is estimated at 3.1 million, creating a total of 6.7×1023 molecules.

These things come across as tinker-toys or Legos and there is a huge number of them.

When you think about the absorption of these molecules in the human, if the body picks them up via their connector, there could be virtually anything hanging off of it as the unique substituent. Even though science has isolated some really basic ones, the set that is available shows that there are a lot more that are yet to be discovered, or, explored to see how they function in the body.

Vitamin Molecules

As it turns out, vitamins are also molecules that the body absorbs and many of them seem to take on forms that are similar to amino acids but they are not considered amino acids. One example that I came across is Vitamin B5 (also known as Pantothenic acid). It looks like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pantothenic_acid_structure.svg

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) looks like this:

Vitamin b2 (Riboflavin) looks like this:

This list goes on and on, but the key thing here is that these are molecules that are slightly different then amino acids that are key components for different functions within the body.

And, as with the amino acid molecules, new vitamin molecules are named fairly regularly. Any time scientists can specifically outline a process in which the catalyst is discovered, we get to learn about it as a new vitamin.

Mineral Molecules

The area that I find most interesting is the mineral molecules. We all know that minerals serve key roles in our lives, but what most people don’t understand is that there is a difference between bio-available and non-bio-available forms of minerals.

Even though common sidewall in houses is made of Gypsum (calcium sulfate dehydrate), breaking off a piece and eating it doesn’t have the same positive affect that consuming calcium from a green leave might provide. In fact, minerals in their raw form can often be detrimental to the body.

Upon researching this article, I came across a molecule that carries iron; Heme. One form of it looks like this:

This molecule plays a key part in the oxidation process. It works in the hemoglobin to carry oxygen around to the cells so they can use that oxygen to generate energy.

Magnesium is another mineral that finds an organic transporter. That is what we know of as the chlorophyll molecules. There are a number of different types of chlorophyll molecules. This is just one of them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chlorophyll_c1.svg

Organic life also finds that cobalt is also needed and forms a molecule that’s known as Cobalamin. This is the key part of vitamin B12. It looks like this:

There are more examples, but I’ll get you get the idea. The key takeaway in these molecules is that we find a single atom of the mineral combined with the other organic matter. We don’t find combined minerals (like so often found in the ground) and we don’t find attached clusters – like two iron atoms.

Other common molecules

Another well known molecule is beta-Carotene. Wikipedia states:

β-Carotene is an organic compound and classified as a terpenoid.

As they state, this molecule is of the class terpenoid. If we follow that link we find that:

The terpenoids (pronounced /ˈtɜrpɨnɔɪd/ TUR-pə-noyd), sometimes called isoprenoids, are a large and diverse class of naturally-occurring organic chemicals similar to terpenes, derived from five-carbon isoprene units assembled and modified in thousands of ways. Most are multicyclic structures that differ from one another not only in functional groups but also in their basic carbon skeletons. These lipids can be found in all classes of living things, and are the largest group of natural products.

Plant terpenoids are used extensively for their aromatic qualities. They play a role in traditional herbal remedies and are under investigation for antibacterial, antineoplastic, and other pharmaceutical functions. Terpenoids contribute to the scent of eucalyptus, the flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, and the color of yellow flowers. Well-known terpenoids include citral, menthol, camphor, Salvinorin A in the plant Salvia divinorum, and the cannabinoids found in Cannabis.

The steroids and sterols in animals are biologically produced from terpenoid precursors. Sometimes terpenoids are added to proteins, e.g., to enhance their attachment to the cell membrane; this is known as isoprenylation.

Which opens up another class of molecules that the body absorbs in subtle ways. Yet, everyone knows that if you eat too much carrot juice you’ll start to turn orange.

Similar to this compound is Lycopene, the latest bus word from tomatoes. Its molecular structure looks like this:

Hormone Molecules

Here is another class of molecules that the human body can absorb. The Wikipedia shows a list of common human hormones that looks to be pretty long. In this list, we find amine-, peptide- and steroid- versions. Here is Testosterone and Thyroxine:

 

In the case of Thyroxine, the molecular formula shows that there are 4 iodine atoms. Testosterone simple contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Other natural molecules

There are other naturally occurring molecules that are small enough to be absorbed in the body, the first one that comes to mind is caffeine.

Or, maybe, the active ingredients in chocolate; theobromine and phenethylamine.

Or what about the active ingredient in pot, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Summary

I’m sure there are more common collections of molecules that I’ve overlooked here, but the main idea is that when we ingest food, the molecules that exist in the food get absorbed into the body. And, as we’ve all discovered, one type of plant may have a specialized molecule that acts like a trigger to produce some cascading sequence of events that may be witnessed consciously.

For instance, if you eat pot, the active ingredient, THC, is absorbed by the body and the affect is consciously noticeable. Likewise, if you were to consume Viagra, (molecule found here) its affects can clearly be noticed by the body. Caffeine and alcohol are two other really simple examples. In each case, the body didn’t actively produce these molecules, but when they are introduced they trigger responses that may, or may not be desired.

In the standard case, it appears that root molecules are highly absorbable even if it is considered a toxin to the body (alcohol). Mineral compounds are also known to be absorbed even if they are not in a bio-available molecule. Drugs, compounds that the body has never seen before also find their way into the system.

What is still unclear to me is does the body have the ability to absorb amino acid chains? Or, are their larger structures that are seen as ‘safe’ and combine to be brought into the digestive cells only later to find out that it was not useful?

Conclusion

I hope you find this research thought provoking for it helped me gain strength regarding the fact that when humans eat, the body absorbs molecules and it’s not very discerning regarding what it takes in. If you drop a poisonous molecule into your mouth and swallow, chances are pretty high that your body will process that molecule.

This article has also made me think differently about another article that I posted Why people should not eat animals. In that article I stated that the body not only absorbs these ‘simple’ molecules, but it may possible absorb strings of molecules or proteins. Even though I can find specific examples showing that the body absorbs strings of proteins, I have discovered that the body will absorb just about everything else. May there be situations where the protein strings are short enough to make it into the system? I will keep looking for I still believe there may be common situations.

If you have any questions, let me know. Unless, of course, you want to stay ‘normal’.

A Real Sense of Being

I’m really starting to love Youtube! What an amazing tool for linking people together. As you probably already know, pictures and video capture the essence of spirit so it can be viewed anywhere and everywhere. Well, today I’ve come across a video posted on thejoyofraw’s channel.

I would be willing to bet that it really was an astonishing moment when she realized that she was more than just a body! And I’d like to share that with you.

3:12 “It feels like my cells are ringing out with the harmony with the music of life!”

4:39 “[raw food] opens you up in a very magical way…”

I absolutely love how she admits that she didn’t know it was possible to feel this way. While she’s speaking these words, if you listen with your heart, you’ll feel the same experience! The emotions and understanding of her experience transfer very well in this video.

Part two goes into more details. This is where she talks about her spiritual awakening!

I love how she, once again, admits that spirituality is something that she’d never considered before. To me, that is pretty amazing, for as long as I can remember I’ve thought of myself as a spirit in a body. The body is here to serve the spirit.

She states, “It was this day that I realized, I recognized that I even had a spirit…” And then continues that the realization was that she was more than just this physical body. And the feelings transfer with her words!

Wow. I love her use of “I am” statements! Those resonate so powerfully. And the “You just know that it’s there” admission as the truth.

Another gift of a video for other like minded spirits to enjoy!

And, thejoyofraw – I truly support your experience! There is nothing to deny. May your life be fully open and aware. My your experiences be full!

Why people should not eat animals

Ever wake up with the answer to a question you didn’t know you asked? It felt that way to me this morning. I awoke with the reason why people should not eat meat. It’s a really simple concept and it doesn’t involve the dreaded four letter word FEAR. It’s all about the body ridding itself of triggers what would have toxic side effects.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell (and others) for a while and it was the last thing that I read before falling asleep.

This book is all about the links between animal based proteins and common disease. The authors have done an amazing job taking a second look at scientific studies from a nutritional point of view. I highly recommend giving it adequate time (and I’m only half way through it) yet I’ve already drawn one connection that makes the reading all worth it.

Before falling asleep last night, I read through the Autoimmune Diseases chapter (9) and highlighted this section:

What does all of this have to do with what we eat? It so happens that the antigens that trick our bodies into attacking our own cells may be in food. During the process of digestion, for example, some proteins slip into our bloodstream for the intestine without being fully broken down into their amino acid parts. The remnants of undigested proteins are treated as foreign invaders by our immune system, which sets about making molds to destroy them and sets into motion the self-destructive autoimmune process.

This is basically saying that there is a point during the digestion process where the intestines can absorb molecules and it is long before the amino acid level. This leads us too; when you eat, not only do you get the atomic acids that are the fundamental building blocks for life, but you get some of the ‘life’ of the previous animal too!

In other words, the animal that you’re eating had to create protein complexes that it used for cellular life. Sequences of proteins that unlocked its DNA are now floating around in your biological system.

As Dr. Campbell points out, the autoimmune system discovers these foreign protein complexes and replicates another protein to break it down.

Now the real question comes to play – why?

To understand why, we have to look at the work of Dr Lipton:

You remember reading through that book? If not, you can always revisit the lecture series that I blogged about a short while ago (Unlocking your DNA). One of the key things that Dr. Lipton demonstrates is that protein molecules perform functions within the body as stimuli and/or triggers. If you need a refresher, start at the fourth video for there he talks about primary and secondary stimuli and then leads into how the cell replaces the proper effecter for the stimuli by using the DNA to replicate the desired response protein.

Dr. Lipton points out that when a cell doesn’t have the right response for a stimuli in the environment, the signal molecules unlock the DNA in order for the cell to create the correct response to handle the environmental signals.

With this as background, let’s add the two together and see what happens.

Some animal dies for our food. In that animal’s cells (just before and after death) there are an un-measureable number of complex (and simple) protein molecules that work as both the signal and response proteins for that animal’s cells. We than consume these cells in large quantities where not all the proteins are broken down to their basic amino acids. This means that both signal and response proteins could be floating around in the bloodstream triggering cells to behave in ways that the ‘brain’ (or central controller) never intended. As an emergency response to the float of signals in the bloodstream, the autoimmune system quickly replicates the ‘anti-molecule’ to inhibit the invasion of proteins. Yet, sometimes, because the animal proteins may be very similar to human proteins, the ‘anti-molecule’ ends up attacking a similar useful protein in the body (like the pancreas that causes type-1 diabetes). Also, if the autoimmune system can’t get to all of them fast enough, some of them may actually trigger the chain reaction on the surface of a cell that eventually causes some relatively dormant function in the cell to awaken and to successfully service the signal, some primitive section of the DNA gets unlocked and harmful proteins are reproduced to service the trigger.

Said differently, when we consume protein molecules that were other animal triggers and responses, we end up introducing ‘foreign’ forms of life into our biological system. How those other life forms work and respond may not be aligned with what should be done for humans.

What about plants? When you read The China Study, it’s pretty clear that the differentiating line is between animal proteins and plant proteins. Could it be that Mother Nature thought of all this ahead of time so as to make the signals and triggers different between animals and plants? Also, maybe our bodies are specifically designed to NOT break down molecules into their basic amino acid so as to allow for absorption of molecules like chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is so close to the form of Hemoglobin that it doesn’t make sense for the body to break it down all the way, but rather absorb it and let the body tweak it from one form to another. It would save lots of energy to not break something down just to have to rebuild it again.

Also, the simple concept that plants take in animal waste and animals take in plant waste is a pretty good sign that the relationship is synergetic.

So, what was the realization that I woke up with?

It’s this, when we consume animal protein, because our system doesn’t completely digest all molecules, many different types of molecules enter the bloodstream through digestion rather than being released through our glandular systems. When this happens, our bodies respond through our immune system to remove the invaders before they do damage to the cells. Unfortunately, if the amount of animal protein is too high (or they enter the blood too fast) the defense mechanisms of the body can’t keep up and these proteins act upon our cells as if they would in the animal!

This idea would seem to give more meaning to the phrase – you are what you eat!

This also ties in well with a video that I came across a long time ago from The Raw World TV Show. As luck would have it, I’ve found that old show.  Here it is:

I remember when I first watched this being struck by the idea that it wasn’t just giving up animal proteins, but giving up cooking as well. This would make sense for when you cook Chlorophyll molecules, they break apart into molecules that would be absorbed, yet they would also be ‘toxic’ substances that the immune system would have to deal with. That is not the case when you go raw!

At this point, it seems to me that when we cook food we denature molecules that the body expects to see in its natural state. Likewise, when we consume animal proteins, we willingly accept signal and response molecules that may or may not have unexpected effects on the body.

Waking up with this understanding gives me a new perspective on what I eat!  If it also does for you, let me know.

Have a great day!

Happy New Year Vibrations

Hi All,  Wow!  You know how every once in a while you come across something that really touches you deeply? Well, today, I got those feeling that warmed me up inside as if I’d found a long lost friend.

YouTube is really amazing. When the camera was invented, I’m sure the person that put it together didn’t know they would actually be able to transfer the spirit of a person through time and space by recording the actions a few flickers at a time!

I’ll keep it short and simply share. If you want more info about this video, please see Therese’s website or YouTube channel.

Oh, can’t leave without saying that it didn’t take 20 seconds before I felt the good vibrations and knew it. The fact that a few seconds later she mentions gifting good vibrations just confirms what I felt. And don’t let her intellectually divert what you feel by transferring your attention to the chants! The gift she’s given has already been expressed via the purity of her spirit at the moment of recording the clip! Just reach out and feel what she offers unconditionally!

Who’s telling the truth?

I keep coming around to the notion that when you believe something to be the truth, the subconscious mind acts as if it really is the truth. This concept stood out strong after reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz a few months ago because he goes into this concept in great detail. The basic example goes something like this: If you believe what someone tells you, your body (and mind) respond in physical ways that go to support that belief. In other words, upon accepting that new truth you’re Being starts to resonate with the energy of that statement as if its truth. Even when you don’t put conscious energy into living up to that new truth, your subconscious mind will take care of that task for you.

It’s really amazing how thorough the subconscious mind is when it comes to fulfilling your every desire!

Just the other day, I came across this concept again in The Biology of Belief (on pages 103-4):

… We can actively choose how to respond to most environmental signals and whether we even want to respond at all. The conscious mind’s capacity to override the subconscious mind’s preprogrammed behaviors is the foundation of free will.

However, our special gift comes with a special pitfall. While almost all organisms have to actually experience the stimuli of life first-hand, the human brain’s ability to “learn” perceptions is so advanced that we can actually acquire perceptions indirectly from teachers. Once we accept the perceptions of others as “truths,” their perceptions become hardwired into our own brains, becoming our “truths.”

From Dr. Lipton’s point of view, (which has strong roots in cellular interactions), a thought or belief is a stimuli for the cells regardless to whether it’s true or not. Once the stimuli are produced, the cells react. It’s really that simple.

Based on this, he states:

… Yes, perception “controls” biology, but as we’ve seen, these perceptions can be true or false. Therefore, we would be more accurate to refer to these controlling perceptions as beliefs.

Beliefs control biology!

So, what it really comes down to is: Do you believe what you’re told? Or do you seek the truth for yourself?

One of the most beautiful things about human Beings is that we have built in feedback systems that allow us to discover truths for ourselves. Some people believe that the systems are subtle, but I’m learning that they are a whole lot more dynamic than people give them credit for.

In my experience, the number one feedback system is emotion! There’s no faster way to know if something is right for you than to listen to how it makes you feel. Likewise, there is no better way to determine if what you’re doing is right (or wrong) than to pay attention to the emotions that you feel when you’re doing it. If those emotions make you feel good, the actions that you’re doing are most likely in harmony with your spirit. Those actions are most likely in harmony with the environment too.

What does this speak of truth? Well, if you’re body (and mind (read: ego)) resonate to some statement that is not in harmony with the truth (as you know it) you can feel this emotional affects as dis-ease. The sensation is similar to the sensation you ‘hear’ when tuning an instrument. The energy needed to maintain the statement gives off vibrations that are either in tune with the spirit of your Being or not. If you ‘feel’ the discord, then focusing specifically on the ‘root of that instrument’ will allow you to find a way to either tune it up or discard the statement as being inharmonic with your Being.

As we know from previous studies (Is my current belief system serving me?), everything that we’ve come to know of as being physical – hard – matter is really invisible energy (soft). All this ‘matter’ resonates with life whether we pay attention to it or not. As we pull it into our immediate environment (consuming it) we’re empowered by its vibration or hindered by its discord. If someone is not sensitive enough to feel the individual vibrations, they can still observe the affects that it has on the body (human system).

Finding harmony in yourself is a great way to enhance your sensitivity to emotions. With a little practice and conscious observation (of the feedback) you should be able to discern what it is that is in harmony with your spirit and what is not.

Ultimately, you choose what you are and how you want to be. At any moment you can re-analyze any statement that you carry around as truth to see if that truth is one that you want to continue to resonate with (identify with). If you find that the statement is not truth, it will fall away.

Things that were once truths don’t always have to be truths. Find the truths that resonate strongest with you and experience those! Consciously choosing to not carry around inharmonic truths is the fastest way to living in harmony with yourself.

Listen – do you feel that harmonic vibration?