How the Body Works: Energy
by Kaycie Rosen

 

…whether a person has thyroid disease, diabetes, heart disease, or even is going through menopause, the primary and most aggravating aspect of any illness is usually just feeling so darn tired..

I was standing in my kitchen with a friend last night discussing some of the more amazing people we know: A man who is considered a world expert in his medical field, with dozens of articles in the works at any one time. A woman whose life work is devoted to fostering communication between warring groups in the Middle East . Single moms who simultaneously hold two jobs, raise four children, and consistently appear happy and energetic. Friends who run 100-mile races into their 50s. These people are inspiring because they display incredible energy and vitality. So, what is it that distinguishes them from others? Genetics? Nutrition? Joy? Passion? Necessity?

 

Why do some people seem to possess a greater “vital force” than others?  On a similar note, what causes that vitality to suddenly change? In my practice, the most common problem my patients complain of is fatigue. This is because, regardless of the process going on in the body, the end result is that the disease diverts energy from fueling healthy function. So, whether a person has thyroid disease, diabetes, heart disease, or even is going through menopause, the primary and most aggravating aspect of any illness is usually just feeling so darn tired.

 

So what is “energy,” where does it come from, and why does everyone seem to have a different amount? From a scientific perspective, when we distill function to its most fundamental building blocks, our bodies run on electricity. Our cells require electrons to maintain and restore their structure as well as to fuel whatever function the cell is performing. The fuel comes in the form of food and oxygen. We breathe oxygen, which is bound to hemoglobin in our red blood cells, then circulated through the blood vessels and delivered to all the cells in our body. Similarly, when we eat food, it is absorbed, broken down into glucose in the liver (or made into another molecule for storage), bound to insulin, and circulated in the blood to all the cells in the body.

 

When glucose and oxygen reach the cell, they are sent to the mitochondria, which is equivalent to a biological power plant. Oxygen goes to a system called the electron transport chain, which takes available electrons from the oxygen and binds it to carbon, creating carbon dioxide, which is then circulated via the blood back to our lungs and exhaled back into the environment (for the plants to use!). Glucose is circulated through a process called glycolysis, then through another called the Krebs cycle, where it is broken down and manipulated in such a way that electrons are extracted from it as well. These electrons are then used to fuel ATP, which is like human gasoline; it fuels all the pumps necessary to make our cells do their jobs.

 

It is important to remember that in addition to oxygen and glucose, a variety of vitamins (particularly the B vitamins) and minerals (particularly Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium) are vital players in the reactions that take place in this electron extraction process. When we look at the bigger biochemical picture, it can be seen how vital all the vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals are in addition to the basic fats, carbohydrates and proteins for proper functioning of the human system. Nutrition, in this view, becomes of critical importance in maintaining vitality: if the system gets the right fuel, it will run well. This is true for many people. I often see people in my practice whose energy improves immeasurably when their nutrition improves. However, we all know people who eat impeccably and still feel exhausted and people who have very poor diets who feel much better. So, this mechanical view obviously isn’t the whole picture.

 

In Naturopathic Medicine, one of the fundamental principles upon which the medicine is based is in Latin called Vis Medicatrix Naturae (the Vis ), which in English means the Healing Force of Nature. The definition of this force is that when free of obstacles and given the proper nutrition, the Vis will bring every living thing into a state of perfect balance, or health. Other long-standing healing traditions utilize similar concepts; for example, Chinese medicine calls this fundamental energy chi and Ayurveda calls it prana. Achieving health in these paradigms is based upon identifying whatever force is blocking the Vis and then supporting the function of the organism so that it is able to bring itself back into balance.

 

Although it would seem to be simple, identifying the obstacles to health can be multifactoral and quite challenging. Pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and viruses are relatively easy to identify. However, environmental toxins, allergens, emotional stressors, genetics and dietary factors can be much trickier to evaluate because they play a long-term and subtle role, and can easily overlap. One very clear example of this is evaluating for toxic substances in a person’s environment.

 

In environmental medicine, we use a concept called Total Load, which refers to the amount of burden the body is under from the sum of all the toxins with which it interacts. The body can be viewed like a bucket: it is strong and able to effectively process millions of molecules each day from a tremendous number of sources and never express symptoms—as long as its capacity is not exceeded. However, as these factors build up, symptoms emerge as the bucket “overflows.” In this case, there is not any one cause, but a variety of assaults to the system. Removing the obstacle is thus more like peeling the layers of an onion.

 

Similarly, giving the body its proper nourishment can also be complex. Every person has a basic set of nutritional needs. These are generally well established and can be found in any nutritional textbook, or even by checking the Recommended Daily Allowances on a food label. These standards are useful and give us a baseline of what a human needs on a minimum level to avoid specific illnesses. However, they do not give us any idea of what an individual needs to achieve optimum health. When a body is out of balance, each system is working at a different rate. You can have the world’s healthiest lungs, for example, but if your heart isn’t functioning you will still die from lack of oxygen because your blood won’t circulate.

 

Once we are able to determine the obstacles to health in the different systems, it then becomes imperative to strengthen those systems that aren’t working at a rate necessary to balance the whole. An example of this is the treatment of eczema. Going back to environmental medicine, a person may have been exposed to a toxic substance such as a solvent, which harmed the liver and decreased the rate at which it processes toxins. Because these toxins are staying in the body longer, the body starts to have an immune reaction to them, which is expressed as inflammation in the skin. In this case, the skin is not the root cause of the problem. If we can boost the function of the liver, those substances that are causing the reaction will be removed from the body and the skin will eventually clear. So, beyond the basic RDA of nutrients, it is important to specifically nourish those systems that are out of balance. It is also important to remember that those systems can include the organs, blood, skin, emotions, and spirit.

 

May the months ahead bring you energy and vitality in good health!

 

Dr. Kaycie Rosen practices Naturopathic Family Medicine at Total Health, Inc.  She can be reached at 563-2929.