“Molecular biology has shown that even the simplest of all living systems on the earth today…cells, are exceedingly complex objects. Although the tiniest…cells are incredibly small, weighing less than .000000000001 grams, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the nonliving world.” - Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis It’s called the living biological cell, and scientists know that, though it weighs trillions less than a copper penny, even the simplest ones are exceedingly complex; they are biochemically sophisticated “beings” capable of creating all the chemistry and components of life. When meditated on for even a moment, one can be forgiven for seeing the cell's existence as testimony of a guiding hand behind biological existence. Even if one isn’t inspired to wax divine or poetic, it’s hard not to be awed by this tiny blob of living-ness that can manufacture 10 million molecules a second. The cell is the most complex and basic living entity on the planet and the most abundant. It’s made up of 100 billion atoms and many millions of working parts. It’s got hundreds of thousands of substructures, some with a complexity that rivals that of their macroscopic residence. There are compartments, and a skeleton, and an information storage system that contains megabytes of data. All of this is crammed into an invisible little speck of stuff as small as 1/100th the size of the head of a pin, covered with a layer of fat a thousand times thinner than the cell itself. This slender slice of oily atoms act as a quantum electrical system, turning the membrane, as it is called, into a liquid crystal microprocessor that functions as the little creature’s brain! Above that is an even thinner layer of electrically activated sugar and water called the “glycocalyx” that functions as an insulating and protective barrier, trapping warmth and repelling would-be invaders; in essence, it is an energetically charged, saccharin skin. A cell is a multifunctional, miniaturized, throbbing dynamo that the microbiologist Guy Brown called a “vast teeming metropolis”. Cells extract nutrients from food, conduct electrical energy for a heartbeat, and detoxify poisons like pharmaceutical and food additives. Cells deliver oxygen, fight bacteria, and build bone and connective tissue. All this is occurring at an infinitesimally tiny scale. In fact every single function of the human body must occur in a vast amount of cells before we can know about it. Likewise diseases must occur at the level of a vast amount of cells before we recognize that we’re sick.
So, a cell is not only an example of the astounding creativity, intelligence and sophistication of life. From a less cosmic and more practical standpoint, the optimal functioning of the cell is the key to the optimal functioning of the human body. All of this nano-structure detail and functionality requires energy. Behind all disease is always a group of cells that, through starvation, suffocation and toxification, no longer have the vim and vigor to do their business. All disease is cell disease. Heart disease is heart cell disease, liver disease is liver cell disease, and skin disease is skin cell disease. Likewise with bone, muscle, or any other broken down part of the body that is associated with chronic illness. If we’re sick and not getting better, somewhere, some cell system is toxic, suffocated, starved and not able to do its work.
But, behind “disease sick cells”, dirty blood is always to be found. It is the blood that is responsible for keeping the cells healthy. Blood is the five liters of sanguine fluid that winds through the nearly 50,000 miles of circulatory vessels, delivers food in the form of vitamins and minerals, drops off energizing oxygen, and drains away the acids and poisons produced by the cell as a part of its normal metabolism. If all disease is cell disease, all cell disease is the disease of dirty blood. It’s no coincidence that diseases of the kidney, the body’s blood filter, are increasing at dramatic rates and medical professionals have long-recognized that kidney health issues increase when the blood is toxified by high levels of drugs, pesticides and industrial solvents.
So, how does the blood become dirty? Well, aside from the aforementioned poisons, it should come as no surprise that the major source of blood toxicity is the digestive tract. In the small intestine there is an enormous amount of blood flow, as would be expected, considering it’s this juncture through which nourishment enters circulation. Unfortunately, sometimes along with what is nourishing is the not-so-nourishing. The end result is that in addition to nutrition entering into the blood circulation so does toxicity.
Making good food choices is the main way to keep the circulatory system clean. Foods that cause digestive distress (constipation, loose stools, or a gas-bloating-sense-of-fullness, etc.) should be avoided. Think about digestive enzymes after all meals, or apple cider vinegar can be helpful too. In addition to the aforementioned probiotics, make sure your diet includes some fermented foods, like sauerkraut, miso, tempeh are all good. If you are dealing with diet-based blood toxicity, caloric restriction and fasting are a great way to stop and slow down the stream of biochemical dirt that enters the body through foods. Using cartilage-based supplements like hyaluronic acid, glucosamine and chondroitin can strengthen the digestive tract lining, reducing or preventing the leakage of incompletely processed food particles into the blood. Eliminating gluten and plant toxins can be helpful, same with simple sugars from processed flour and soda pop that can wreak havoc on gut health.
Practicing deep breathing techniques can leverage respiratory detoxification; blood toxins are expelled with every exhalation. Oxygen thins the blood, improving the movement of nutrition and the removal of toxicity. Drinking water and proper hydration can have the same effect. There are also specific nutrients that have blood thinning properties, most notably Vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids. One controversial but effective technique for blood cleansing in chelation, a sort of magnetic vacuum cleaner that picks up poisons like a magnet picks up filings. For maximum chelation benefits, doctors can pump a chemical called EDTA directly into the blood. There are also chelating agents like selenium, Vitamin C and Bentonite Clay which can be ingested orally.