The primary role of Red blood cells is to carry Oxygen.
The body uses Oxygen to break apart sugars and fats, (carbohydrates and lipids) for fuel.
Mitochondria are "organelle's", we may have up to 10,000 of them in a single man cell. Nerve, heart and the cells of our optical system have the most mitochondrial density, as that is where we require the most energy.
Mitochondria evolved from a kind of bacteria that arose about 2.3 billion years ago. They exist within our cells yet they keep their own unique and simple DNA.
One might speculate that cells gave them a safe place to exist and in return gained the electrical energy they produce. This is transported in the body as a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate, after it is spent it is adenosine diphosphate and must be re-charged).
Each time an electron moves, a photon of light energy is released, some people suspect that in this way, mitochondria may actually be "networking" or co-ordinating to bring energy to where it is most required. That is amazing but beyond our current scientific abilities to access. There are many esoteric healing traditions based on light and energy, perhaps that is related, who knows?
Cells that have either damaged mitochondria or no mitochondria (like red blood cells), can not use oxygen to burn fats or sugars.
When we exercise at a rate that exceeds our ability to “oxidise” fuel, we ferment sugar (carbohydrates) instead . It is possible to convert proteins to sugar and then ferment that, though it is in not efficient and the body will only do it if there is no other fuel available.
Fermenting Carbohydrates leaves behind a lot of hydrogen and carbon which creates lactic acid. I am not a chemistry student, (but this seams to be a reasonable assumption.)
We can feel both the Lactic Acid burn in our muscles, and our heart rate increasing as it needs to pump more blood through our lungs to get rid of the extra carbon as the Carbon Dioxide we exhale. This is also bringing in more Oxygen, but how much energy we are deriving from fermentation and how much from "respiration", (mitochondrial action) is dependant on our health and the fuel we use.
Red Blood Cells and Sugar
A minimal blood sugar level is all that Red Blood Cells require to function perfectly. People who eat no sugars or carbohydrates of any kind have adequate blood sugar to keep all their systems running perfectly. A healthy body will contain about 1 teaspoon or 4 grams of sugar in the total blood supply, about 5 litres. Eating carbohydrates, especially refined or processed, takes us much higher than this.
Enter Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes carry a parasite that creates a disease state called Malaria. In 2016 there were 216 Million reported cases resulting in 731,000 deaths.
The parasite requires enormous energy to grow and propagate. As much as 75 times more energy than an uninfected red blood cell requires. With the advent of agriculture, the diets of humans have changed away from fats towards carbohydrates for fuel.
The world diabetes epidemic also coincides with a move away from ancestral diets, (based on herbivores grazing on grass) towards eating processed grains and their oils. In swapping grass for grass seeds we have left our cells open to disease and our nervous systems bereft of precious Omega 3 fatty acids.
Bio Hack 6 - Lower your blood sugar
Measuring blood sugar will not tell you if you are “Pre Diabetic”. This appears to be a state created by accumulated oxidative damage to the mitochondria. They become damaged when there is insufficient anti-oxidants present within the organelle to protect them.
To find where you are on the spectrum of insulin sensitivity and diabetes, you will need to measure blood insulin directly over a period of time after consuming glucose. That test must be requested specifically as many doctors still do not understand the ramifications of a diet based on fruits, legumes and grains ie constant elevated blood sugars.
Of course processed foods make this much worse. There is still this pervading myth that plants are somehow more healthy for us than animal foods. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Insulin Resistance is something I may write more about in coming articles.
Learning how to use fat as a fuel, becoming fat adapted is a skill that can take many months to learn.
Fasting is not as good as being full time fat adapted, but it is a good second choice and will help to reduce the ravages of seeds and seed oils on your body’s organ systems.
I call this psychobiology - a little biology, a little psychology, and a lot of practical experience, trying things out in my own life. I am a surfboard salesman who did not attend any university, so please do your own research, I do make mistakes when trying to put these thoughts into my own words.
=8-P