The Heart as a Field/Information Generator

As discussed in this abstract, there are some very interesting properties of the heart muscle that go beyond its function as a "piston pump".  The authors, from the Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science, University of Arizona, describe two additional properties:

1.  The rotational contraction, producing torsion.

2.  The production of electrical and magnetic fields, with each contraction, that extend within and outside the body.

They point out that there has been little exploration as to the potential therapeutic value of heart generated field activity.  They hypothesize that these heart generated fields may transfer information that is pivotal to normal body function, and, that the source of the information is based on the following physiological actions:  vortex blood flow in the left ventricle, electrical and magnetic fields, heart sounds, and pulse pressure generating amplitude and frequency information.

Reference

Med Hypotheses.  2005;64(6):1109-16.
Cardiac torsion and electromagnetic fields:  the cardiac bioinformation hypothesis.
Burlesion KO, Schwartz GE.

Natural Aromatase Inhibitors

The topic of natural aromatase inhibition came up recently in a Ray Peat interview discussing breast cancer research.  Aromatase is an enzyme manufactured in the body that converts androgens, such as testosterone, into estrogens, thereby increasing overall estrogen levels.  In that context, aromatase can contribute to an estrogen excess, or, "estrogen dominance", especially if progesterone levels are deficient.

As mentioned in the interview, there are many natural substances that can inhibit aromatase activity.  For example, naringenin, found in orange and guava juice, and orange peel, and apigenin, found in celery and parsley, are potent anti-aromatase substances.  Other anti-aromatase foods include white button mushrooms and the tea leaf, Camellia sinensis, commonly consumed as green or black tea.

Aspirin was also mentioned as an effective aromatase inhibitor.

References

Friday Night Talk, KMUD Radio Audio Archive, March 20, 2015:
http://kmud.org/programs-mainmenu-11/kmud-audio-archive.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17178902
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11739882
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23370353
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19127721
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20669045

Brain Fats, Gut Bacteria, Metabolism, & Longevity

As discussed in Dr. Peat's latest newsletter, Directing epigenetic adaption, there is an assumption that, because we have polyunsaturated fats in our brains, and bacteria in our intestines, the presence of these substances is somehow an adaptive advantage, if not an essential requirement for proper function.  As Dr. Peat points out, these assumptions may not be in our best interest.

As it happens, there is experimental evidence that both polyunsaturated fats and intestinal bacteria interfere with cellular metabolism, ultimately promoting the formation of nitric oxide, lactic acid, and inflammation in a self perpetuating vicious cycle.  Research also shows that both germ free animals and animals fed a diet free of polyunsaturated fat tend to live longer, have a higher metabolic rate, less susceptibility to obesity, diabetes, and tumors, and heal more quickly than animals with "normal" levels of unsaturated fats in their tissues and bacteria in their intestines.

Besides avoiding polyunsaturated fats and bacteria-feeding starch, restriction of dietary arginine can also help to lower nitric oxide formation since arginine is readily converted into it.

References

Directing epigenetic adaptation, Ray Peat's Newsletter, January 2015

Russian NLS: A Revolutionary Tool

Russian Non Linear Analysis Systems (NLS) are a very unique and creative way of evaluating the functionality of human biological fields.  These biofeedback systems are able to "tune in" to and record the "noise" produced by the "torsion" or rotational fields generated by all biological structures, including cells and cell structures, as well as organs and tissues.

The first NLS "trigger sensor" was developed by Svyataslov Nesterov in 1988.  Since 1990, the research and development of NLS technology has been led by the Institute of Practical Psychophysics and Vladimir Nesterov of Omsk, Russia.

The basic premise of such systems is that the human body generates an electromagnetic information network of sorts that is responsive to external radiation.  NLS devices thereby trace functional changes in the wave patterns of tissues via the amplification and interpretation of the bio-electric activity of brain neurons.  Put another way, NLS devices interact with the brain to evaluate the quality of information generated throughout the body at a given time.

How is that possible?  Based on Quantum Entropic Logic Theory and Torsion Field Theory, information transfer is instantaneous and long range.  In other words, at any given moment, the brain has a comprehensive and accurate picture of the physio-informational activity throughout the entire body, from a macro to a micro level.  Furthermore, the brain can make adjustments to that activity to restore order, coherence, and functionality to biological fields.

References

http://www.uk.metatron-nls.ru/download/nonlinear__nls__diagnostic_systems.pdf
http://www.uk.metatron-nls.ru/download/fiz_osnovy_eng1-1.pdf
http://www.uk.metatron-nls.ru/download/fiz_osnovy_eng2.pdf

Water as a Liquid Crystal

Professor Gerald Pollack and his team at the University of Washington in Seattle are making some very interesting discoveries regarding the physical state of water at interfaces.  They first noticed that water near surfaces tends to be highly effective at excluding solutes, thus naming it "exclusion zone" or "EZ" water, whose formula is H3O2 rather than H2O.  This led to further studies of the physical properties of EZ water and the following discoveries:

• It is highly ordered, much like a liquid crystal.
• This increased order or structure results from separation of electrical charge, like a battery, induced by exposure to light, especially infrared light.
• This charge separation results in the creation of useful energy.

These properties of the liquid crystal phase of water (called the 4th phase of water) have many technological and scientific implications, including new and more efficient methods of filtering and desalinating water, a potential new source of "free" energy, and, perhaps most provocative, a new way of looking at cell biology and the basic processes of life.

The biological implications are especially interesting in that water appears to be an active participant in the production of biological energy at a cellular level via its ordered, gel-like state inside cells.

Click here to see a relatively short and fascinating lecture given by Dr. Pollack on the subject:

References

http://faculty.washington.edu/ghp/research-themes/water-science/
http://faculty.washington.edu/ghp/research-themes/water-based-technology/
http://faculty.washington.edu/ghp/research-themes/water-and-cell-biology/

Reactivity to Food

Since food is an important way in which we interact with our environment, and what we assimilate from our environment can help us or harm us, let us take a look at some of the ways in which our bodies respond to food and factors that influence that response.

Perhaps the most important factor affecting how our bodies respond to food is the presence of toxins, either inherent or added, in the food.  It is known that plants contain various defense substances that are produced in response to the environment in which they are grown.  If the environment is hostile, the plant will contain higher levels of these defensive substances, including enzyme inhibitors, that ultimately cause some type of incompatibility, resulting in harmful reactions in the intestines and elsewhere.  In addition, potentially allergenic substances, such as the thickening agent carrageenan, are often added to foods in food processing.

A second key factor influencing the tissue response to food is the hormonal environment in the body at the time of exposure.  Low blood sugar, for example, can trigger the release of various "stress" hormones, including estrogen and cortisol, that can increase cross reactivity with food components.  Bacterial overgrowth in the intestines, often caused by low thyroid, can, for example, contribute to reduced digestive secretions and intestinal irritation and leakiness, again resulting in food cross reactivity.

Third, some foods are inherently high in resistant starch, which tends to linger too long in the intestines, feeding pathogenic bacteria, or polyunsaturated fats, which, among other harmful effects, inhibit the activity of digestive enzymes, again contributing to the overgrowth of pathogens and the toxic byproducts therefrom.

It is thus helpful to make food choices that reflect care and attention to growing conditions and processing, and equal care and attention to our inner environment, especially hormonal activity.

References

Milk in Context - Ray Peat's Newsletter, 2011
Vegetables, etc. - Who Defines Food? - Ray Peat's Newsletter, 2006

Birds and Organizational Fields

Have you ever seen a flock of small birds moving in unison, displaying incredible speed, grace, beauty, and unity?  All of them, sometimes dozens or more, moving as one holistic unit, clearly guided by an unseen "field", or means of instantaneous communication and inter-awareness?

My family and I happened to witness this phenomena recently, while driving on a rural highway amongst rolling fields of corn.  In this particular case, the flock eventually broke off into two individual groups, continuing to display coherence and unity within, and between, each group.  The movements themselves appear as a sort of poetic dance, following some sort of inherent or intuitive and beautiful flow pattern.

Witnessing such phenomena reminds me of the coherence and unity of the human body.  I imagine how the same kind of instantaneous communication happens among the myriad cells, tissues, and organs of the body, via unseen organizational fields.  I am reminded of the Tufts University video showing the "bio-electric signals" of a frog embryo that precede the formation of its head and face:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFe5CaDTlI

All kinds of questions come up in my mind when contemplating such biological fields:  How do these fields form?  What kind of energy, and how much, is required for their proper formation and function?  How can they be influenced?  What role might they play in affecting healing and repair or regeneration?  Is there any way to measure them or their activity?  What role do intention and attention play in all of it?

The Decision to Heal

Where does the decision to heal come from?  What is it inside of us that moves us in the direction of well being?  Doesn't it seem that we have an inborn will to be well, so to speak?  An inner drive that is, perhaps, instinctual, but a powerful force that compels us to seek out that which will help to restore balance within our organism, within our being.

It seems we can amplify this will to be well by consciously going within, that is, checking in with our cells, tissues, and organs, searching for a feeling or insight for what is needed or what's missing, or how to enhance the innate regenerative process.  It is often in moments of such contemplation that inspiration happens, and we find ourselves feeling uplifted and directed, nurtured and nourished, like we tapped into a potent source of life-supporting information and energy.  It's as if the body is giving us the nod, letting us know we're on the right track.

And, with each such act of self (life) appreciation and love, we feel more and more alive, more connected, more inspired.  We have come alive, and we're well on our way to a new and greater state of well being!

The Autonomic Systems: Friends or Foes?

How does our organism integrate within itself and with its environment?  What role does the autonomic nervous system play in that regard?  Let us briefly explore those questions.

As Dr. Ray Peat describes in his article Autonomic Systems, the autonomic nerves extend from the brain, through the spine, into all the diverse organs and tissues.  The two branches, sympathetic (flight or flight) and parasympathetic (vegetative), can be seen as having opposing actions on the respective organs and tissues.  The sympathetic intensifies energy expenditure while the parasympathetic limits energy expenditure.  These are, in turn, regulated by the cortex of the brain, according to the overall needs of the organism.

The ultimate function of these systems, as described by Dr. Peat, is for the integration and optimization of energy throughout the organism.  When energy is adequate, the activity of these systems is minimal.  When energy is inadequate, the cortex of the brain adjusts their activity in order to stabilize energy in the respective organ or tissue.  The primary mechanism for the influence of the autonomic systems is the various transmitters, including histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and adrenalin, all of which can impose further stress on the organism if their activity is excessive.  Thus, the importance of supporting optimal cell, tissue, and organ energy so as to minimize the activity of the autonomic systems.

Also of relevance here is the observation that an environment that provides choices and allows for meaningful and complex interactions minimizes the toxic effects of over activity of the parasympathetic (energy sparing) system.  In other words, when choices are limited, energy expenditure is reduced, and energy production is inhibited, having systemic and long-term ramifications.

References

Autonomic Systems - Ray Peat's Newsletter, 2006
The Dark Side of Stress - Ray Peat's Newsletter, 2013

Organisms as Patterns in Time

The following is my own response to a wonderful blog post at pranarupa.

Imagine that there are fields in the body regulating metabolism, structure, healing, and regeneration.  These fields would facilitate coherence of the entire body, that is, a holistic way of regulation via a bird's-eye view of what's happening and what needs to be adjusted to effect balance and harmony.  These fields, also called "morphogenetic" fields, would provide a pattern or guiding principle for the formation of structures, from cellular to organic to the entire shape of the body, and, the structures would interact with energy to effect function.  Here, the old adage, "structure meets function" applies, in that the quantity and quality of the energy determines the nature of the structure.

That being the case, what would be the thing that generates, organizes, and energizes these fields?  Consciousness, or, sensitive and dynamic interaction with Life, would seem to be the impetus or the means by which these fields are manifested.  "An organism is a pattern unfolding in time, oriented by consciousness".

Here, then, the importance of the nervous system becomes apparent.  The nerve supply to tissue can be viewed as the means by which consciousness is extended throughout the body, or, at least the primary way in which that happens.  As biological research has shown, to the degree that the nerve supply is compromised, there is a corresponding lack of structure, energetic coherence, regeneration, and proper differentiation of tissue (The Body Electric by Robert O. Becker).

How, then, to promote the healthy formation and function of these morphogenetic fields?  Anything that promotes coherent development of the nervous system would likely be of benefit.  As Phil at pranarupa describes, meditation can effect coherent nervous system development by promoting "inhabitation" of the nervous system.  Carbon dioxide retention is also emphasized, via reduced breathing techniques such as yoga, for example.  Carbon dioxide facilitates the efficient use of oxygen with favorable effects on metabolism, benefiting the entire organism.

A Holistic View of Carbon Dioxide Physiology

Is it at all important to understand the real role of CO2 in the human body?  Read on!

The common idea of the role of carbon dioxide in human physiology is that of a "waste gas".  That is, it is commonly thought of as solely a useless byproduct of metabolism and something that the body must continuously eliminate.  As Dr. Ray Peat illuminates, however, CO2 is actually a most important regulator and facilitator of oxygen usage at the cell and tissue level.

In Altitude & Mortality, he explains that "Carbon dioxide, produced in the cells, releases oxygen into the tissues, relaxes blood vessels, prevents edema, eliminates ammonia, and increases the efficiency of oxidative metabolism."  In effect, it opposes all the harmful consequences of increased lactic acid.

He notes that increased lactic acid contributes to many, and varied, chronic degenerative diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and cataracts.  This notion fits nicely with a holistic view of physiology in that anything, including lactic acid, that interferes with normal oxidative metabolism, whereby glucose is oxidized to produce CO2, interferes with efficient energy production leading to "stress physiology" via the many compensatory mechanisms available to temporarily fill an energy deficit.  These adaptive mechanisms all function at a tremendous cost to the resilience of the organism as a whole, ultimately depleting energy and leading to a chronic inflammatory state.

So, what causes increased lactic acid production?  According to Dr. Peat, hypothyroidism, or decreased thyroid function, is the primary cause of elevated lactate, via low blood sugar, high adrenaline, and finally hyper-ventilation, which further depletes CO2 in a vicious cycle.  In this context, decreased thyroid function potentially includes both the thyroid gland itself, as well as the thyroid hormone.

References

Altitude & Mortality - Ray Peat

Wound Healing and Regeneration

Wound healing is actually a very appropriate example of the regenerative process of the body.  A properly healed wound has lost little or none of the structure or function of the original tissue before it was damaged.  Unfortunately, with aging, as tissue damage occurs, there is a tendency toward more and more inflammation and scarring resulting in a loss of structure and function of the respective tissue.

The good news is that the ultimate determining or limiting factor in healing and regeneration appears to be primarily environmental, not genetic.  Environmental factors such as temperature and nutrition play a particularly important role in that regard.  The types of fats we eat, for example, have a profound effect on the types of signaling factors produced during wound repair.  Certain fats, such as specific polyunsaturated fatty acids, promote the production of inflammatory signaling factors, inhibiting the normal regenerative process.  These fats can also directly harm certain immune cells called macrophages that are necessary in the regeneration of tissue.

Thyroid hormone is another endogenous factor that plays a key role in regeneration, the production and function of which is profoundly influenced by the environment, including light exposure and nutrition.  Carbon dioxide and the youth associated hormones are yet other important factors in healing and regeneration, similarly influenced by the environment of the cell, tissue, and organism.

References

 Regeneration and degeneration:  Types of inflammation change with aging - Ray Peat

Nightmares

I was intrigued to learn, from Dr. Ray Peat, that nightmares are triggered by nerve stress caused by falling blood sugar levels.  Basically, if the liver function is not optimal, blood sugar will tend to drop during sleep as a result of not eating.  As Dr. Peat describes it, when the blood sugar drops, it's like suffocation to the nerves.  When that happens, the stress hormones, including cortisol, are released in order to increase the glucose level, which is not ideal, as that creates stress in and of itself.  The nerves become desperate, in a sense, and so create experiences that will wake you up, whether a nightmare or perhaps thoughts or aromas of food.  Either way, you wake up with hunger or a desire to take in nourishment, and the body gets what it needs. 

Another fine example of how the body functions as a coherent whole in order to adapt to some form of stress.  Low blood sugar may be the most frequent cause of physiological stress for the average person.  That being said, I find it helpful to have some juice before bed in order to stave off low blood sugar during the night.

The Vision of the Self Heal Centre Blog

With this, my very first blog, I'd like to share the vision and scope I see for the discussions herein.  I will be discussing all things Holistic, especially as it relates to how the human body functions, and, in particular, how it naturally heals itself.  This, in the context of environmental influences on that healing process, and how to promote and optimize the influences that support that process while minimizing those that detract from it.  This inquiry, in my experience, affords the opportunity to witness and encourage the magnificent resilience of body, and the innate drive it has to heal and be well.

To that end, let us take a look at the term Holism.  In a nutshell, the term describes a viewpoint that considers that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  For example, a Holistic view of the human body sees the body not as a linear summation of many different parts that work more or less in isolation of one another, but rather a coherent, purposive, cooperative, intelligent whole, wherein every part functions with the consciousness or awareness of the whole in mind.  I find this viewpoint to be absolutely necessary if one is to begin to make sense of how the human body actually heals itself.

May this mark the beginning of many interesting, timely, pertinent, relevant, imaginative, and practical discussions of all things related to the Holism of Self Healing.

Thank you for reading.

Bat Man

Bat Man is the title of an article in this month's National Geographic magazine.  I can't think of a better example of the Holism of the human body.  The article describes the extraordinary sensory abilities of Daniel Kish, a 47 year old man whose eyes were removed when he was 13 months old.  He is nonetheless able to "see" well enough to ride a bike, via "echolocation", using his tongue to create sound waves, the echoes of which are processed by his brain into dynamic images!  "It's like having a conversation with the environment" he said.

Talk about a "team effort"!  His other senses have clearly "picked up the slack", especially the sound faculties, in order to compensate for the lack of "visual" input.  And yet, a visual image is in fact generated in his conscious awareness!  Amazing!  He sums it up nicely:  "Vision isn't in the eyes; it's in the mind".  And, he teaches other blind people to do it too!  Wonderful and inspiring!