Note from the Editor: The human body – and any other living body for that matter – is a complex machine that just keeps going without stopping. Even when you’re sleeping! It never stops.
Because it’s such a complicated machine, I decided to break its function down into parts to make it simple. This is the first in a series of extracts from the works of Adelle Davis who explains it so simply which, of course, makes this complex machine understandable.
Medical vs Biochemistry
“Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi, who was given the Nobel Prize for his early work on vitamin C, pointed out that when he was a medical student, everything appeared to be always wrong with the body. There were so many diseases that it seemed impossible to learn them all; he tells how he flunked examinations covering this subject.
“Later, when getting his doctorate in biochemistry, or the chemistry of the body, which is the study of health, he was amazed to find that this time everything was so right, so very right.
“Probably there never has been a person who has studied the detailed mechanisms which make up health who has not felt as did Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi.
“In fact when one considers the healthy body as a functional structure of billions of cells having hundreds of separate purposes, yet each working co-operatively in perfect unison with absolute harmony and almost inconceivable synchronization, so far surpassing the most delicate machinery made by man, one cannot help being reminded of the philosophers who argue that there is only one perfection, and that perfection is God.
“Regardless of the religious skepticism of any person when he starts to study the workings of the healthy body, he usually soon agrees with the philosophers and realizes simultaneously that only disease is man-made. The God-made perfection is health, and potentially this perfection is you.
Billions of Cells
“Let us now see how all nutrients help the body by imagining that we can watch one of your cells. Let us say you are in perfect health; therefore all the processes of this cell are perfect.
“The cell is in the shape of an egg. Foods can pass through its walls just as spilled juice might pass through a tablecloth. Every moment from birth until death there is poured in and sucked out a continuous surf of blood plasma, or tissue fluid. The incoming surf is pushed in by the force of the blood pressure from capillaries branching from arteries; the outgoing surf is withdrawn by the attraction of the tiny particles of a protein, albumin, in the capillaries joining the veins. The incoming wave carries fresh supplies; the outgoing wave removes wastes.
“We can see through this ever-moving fluid as a diver can observe sea life about him when he walks the floor of the ocean. As we gaze into the cell itself, we see endless particles in fantastic and ceaseless motion.
“First we notice the business center of the cell, the nucleus. It is made of amino acids from the proteins you have eaten and of nucleic acid, obtained perhaps from yeast or liver; with the help of at least three B vitamins (biotin, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6) these substances are formed into what are known as nucleotides; they in turn are combined into genes and chromosomes carrying your hereditary pattern, the life program of this cell.
“Surrounding the nucleus are ever-changing clusters of protein particles, or molecules, formed into what are known as colloids; these protein clusters make up the tissue of the cell, the cytoplasm. The whole, or the nucleus and cytoplasm together is called protoplasm.
“There is so much to observe that we scarcely know what to look at first. Before us are molecules of fat and glucose, both combined with phosphorus; bits of the body starch, called glycogen, made up of dozens of glucose molecules; tiny globules of the fat-like materials, cholesterol and lecithin. We see every known vitamin and mineral.
Enzymes and Their Functions
“Our eyes fall on the worker ants in this amazing anthill, the carpenters who build, the demolition crews who tear down; these workers are the enzymes. Your genes carry the blueprint of the enzymes in your body; it is by enzymes that heredity is made possible.
“If you have blue eyes and brown hair, some of your enzymes are different from those of the person having hazel eyes and black hair.
“All enzymes are made of protein, but many also contain a vitamin and/or a mineral, such as magnesium or cobalt. They have been named according to the work they do, just as a family might originally have been named Smith because the father worked as a blacksmith.
“We watch an enzyme family called phosphatase breaking phosphorus free from molecules of glucose and fat, thus beginning to change them into energy.
“By the help of other enzymes containing vitamin B1 or pantothenic acid (also known as vitamin B5) , the particles of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which form the sugar and fat are torn apart.
“Hod-carrier enzymes containing vitamin B2 take oxygen from the blood cells and carry it to the fat or sugar.
“Still other enzymes, this time containing vitamin C, pick up the hydrogen freed as the food is broken into its component parts. With the help of these and other enzyme families, oxygen from the air is combined with the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which once formed sugar and fat and which are changed into carbon dioxide and phosphorus helps calcium, calcium helps vitamin C, ad infinitum.
“No nutrients play a hermit role.
“Many activities which take place in this cell are brought about by other substances; although neither the activities nor the substances are described, both are known and understood by scientists. There are still, however, myriads of unknown activities and unknown substances which scientists have yet to understand.”
The Body Made Simple – Part II
Brought to you with the compliments of CalMag-C.
Instant CalMag-C is not some miracle “drug” that you only use to resolve a symptom, even though many think it is because of the results they get. It is not a drug. It has two life-essential minerals, calcium and magnesium.
Calcium and magnesium are two minerals your body needs. Without them, life would seize. They are very important as they are responsible for more than 300 functions in the body, such as digestive, brain function, hormonal functions, relaxation, sleep, prevention of pain, blood pressure, adrenal function, heart function, maintenance of blood sugar, etc, etc.
Calcium Needs Magnesium: In order for the body to absorb calcium, it needs magnesium – and vice versa – in a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium. The best form of calcium is the gluconate form. (It is also used for severe pain.)
Calcium and Magnesium Need Vitamin C: As both minerals are alkaline, they can’t be absorbed by the body unless they have some kind of acid such as vitamin C (or apple cider vinegar). Failing to have this balance can increase deficiencies of both calcium and magnesium. We have used both ascorbic and citric acids to create the correct pH so the body can absorb and use the calcium and magnesium efficiently. Having calcium without the proper pH can result in calcium depositing in joints (arthritis) or kidneys (stones) and even behind the eyes (cataracts).
Why Instant CalMag-C Works: It has been formulated in a 2:1 ratio of calcium gluconate and magnesium carbonate with vitamin C to adjust the pH so your body can actually use it. It is safe for small babies (great for teething, colicky and restless babies) in very small doses, like the tip of a teaspoon in the water bottle. As tolerance increases, you can increase it slowly.
Disclaimer: Please note that we are not doctors. Should you have any illness or disease, please refer to your medical practitioner for the advice. The only advice we give is purely educational but we do recommend that you find yourself a practitioner who understands nutrition in relation to disease.