With the continuous supply of O2 to the mitochondria of muscle cells, the oxygen system of energy production (ATP resynthesis) operates. During aerobic work, with an increase in the intensity (power) of the load, the amount of O2 consumed by the muscles per unit time increases. Since there is a linear relationship between the rate of O2 consumption (l / min) and the power of work (W) of an aerobic nature, the intensity of work can be characterized by the rate of O2 consumption. At a certain, individual for each person, load, the maximum possible rate of O2 consumption for him is reached - the maximum oxygen consumption (IPC). For a physiological assessment of the relative power of aerobic work, it is evaluated by the relative rate of O2 consumption, i.e. expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the rate of consumption of O2 (l / min) when performing this work to the IPC. For the energy supply of muscle work, the oxygen system can serve as substrates for oxidation of all the main nutrients - carbohydrates (glycogen and glucose), fats ( fatty acid ); proteins (amino acids). The contribution of the latter to energy supply is small and is practically not taken into account. The ratio between oxidative carbohydrates and fats is determined by the relative power of aerobic work (% MIC): the greater the relative power of aerobic work, the greater the contribution of oxidizable carbohydrates and, accordingly, the smaller the contribution to the energy supply of fats. During light work at 50% MIC O2 (with a limit of several hours), most of the energy comes from fat oxidation. When performing harder work (up to 60% of the MIC), carbohydrates provide a significant part of the energy production. When working close to the IPC, the vast majority of aerobic energy production comes from carbohydrates. Thus, when working at high power, carbohydrates are the main energy substrates in working muscles. They are split mainly aerobically (oxidized) during work up to several tens of minutes and to a large extent anaerobically (glycolytically) during shorter work. Aerobic breakdown of carbohydrates (glycogen and glucose) follows the same path as in anaerobic glycolysis up to the formation of pyruvic acid. In the latter case, due to the lack of O2, pyruvic acid is converted (reduced) into lactic acid. Under aerobic conditions, pyruvic acid is not reduced to La, but oxidized. In this case, the final products of oxidation, CO2 and H2O, are formed. Muscle glycogen is the preferred substrate for oxidation during intense muscular work. The rate of its expenditure is in direct proportion to the relative power of work (% of the IPC) and inversely to the content in the muscles. The greater the power of work (the force of muscle contraction), the higher the rate of glycogen consumption. Up to a work capacity of 70% of the MIC, glycogen undergoes mainly aerobic glycogenolysis. At higher loads, the rate (share) of anaerobic glycogenolysis sharply increases. During anaerobic glycogenolysis, 13 times less ATP is resynthesized than during aerobic glycogen breakdown. This explains the sharp increase in the rate of glycogen consumption with an increase in work power in excess of 70% of the MIC. As the glycogen content in the muscles decreases, the rate of its consumption decreases, and the consumption of glucose from the blood increases. The capacity of the oxygen system used as a substrate for carbohydrate oxidation is on the order of 80 Mol Ator, or 800 kcal. By oxidizing available carbohydrate stores alone, an untrained person can run 15 km. Another important substrate of the oxygen system is fats (lipids). Fats have the highest energy capacity of all other muscle energy sources. 1 mole of ATP - gives about 10 kcal; 1 mol of CRF is about 10.5 kcal, 1 mol of glucose during anaerobic breakdown is about 50 kcal, during aerobic breakdown (oxidation) about 700 kcal, and 1 mol of fat during oxidation provides 2400 kcal. The reserves of fats in the human body are from 10 to 30% of the total weight. When operating at the level of 50-70% of the MIC, the contribution of this source is very large. Approximate calculations showed that due to the oxidation of all fats stored in the body, active muscle mass(20kg) to resynthesize several thousand moles of ATP. This value characterizes the enormous energy capacity of the oxygen system, which uses fats as an oxidation substrate. In general, the oxygen system, using both carbohydrates and fats, has the highest energy capacity, many thousands of times dominating the capacity of the lactic acid and phosphagenic systems. However, in this system, carbohydrates are 10-13% more effective than fats. If work is performed close to the IPC, near the maximum aerobic work, it is more limited by the rate of O2 consumption. In this case, carbohydrates have an advantage over fats, because. for the formation of the same amount of energy (ATP) during the oxidation of carbohydrates, a smaller amount of O2 is spent. Especially effective in this case is the oxidation of muscle glycogen, which has a high energy efficiency of O2. Finally, the total amount of energy (ATP) produced per unit time from the oxidation of carbohydrates (especially muscle glycogen) is twice that from fat oxidation.
On the diagram of the main systems of the human body, given at the beginning of the book, we have designated the energy supply system. In a personal computer, this function is performed by the power supply system. Unfortunately, there is still no scientifically based way to measure the amount of energy in the body, just as we measure the amount of electricity with an ammeter.
A Chinese medicine specialist determines the level of Qi and Blood of patients by outward signs- the condition of the hair and skin, the color of the lips and gums, plaque on the tongue ... The conclusions are quite subjective, the opinions of different doctors often do not coincide. Therefore, a group of scientists from Shanghai and I decided to start work on creating a device for measuring the level of human energy, we hope that such a device will be put into service in the near future.
So far, a device that objectively assesses the level of Qi and Blood in the human body does not exist in nature. However, based on classical medical treatises and many years of observations, we can offer a way to determine the energy status of the body and a description of each level. Based on this, we can understand the cause of the disease, and knowing the cause, we can find ways to treat it.
We will define five levels in terms of Chinese medicine with translation into modern language, so you can independently assess the energy state of your body, understand at what level it is.
The Five Levels of the Body's Energy Status and Associated Diseases and Symptoms
Health level
All organs and systems are in harmony, there is no deviation either towards Yang or towards Yin. Harmony is an ideal state, all therapies in Chinese medicine are aimed at achieving balance. Signs of the level of health: the body is well developed and proportionate, the skin of the face is pinkish and smooth, the character is calm, the lifestyle is correct (the mode of work and rest is balanced). Since the body's defenses are very high, it is not easy for diseases to enter the body. You will not often meet people with such a level of health, perhaps only people who practice qigong or yoga for a long time and seriously can maintain this state of the body. I didn't get to see those. Perhaps because they have no reason to seek help from a doctor.
Yang Deficiency Level (Yang Xu)
The energy level is somewhat less than ideal. There can be many reasons for this - the habit of going to bed late, malnutrition ... Protective abilities are reduced, and diseases are already on the threshold. But there is enough energy in the body to cope with uninvited guests, and in different parts and organs of the body there are real battles with aggressors, manifested by certain symptoms. Many people who are often attacked by disease consider themselves sickly and physically weak. At this level of energy are those who are prone to colds (often with a high temperature) and allergic reactions.
Yin Deficiency Level (Yin Xu)
If the downward trend in energy is not corrected in time, the body moves on to the next phase. Lack of energy causes the self-diagnosis and recovery systems to fail. At this stage, if the disease invading the body or damage to the internal organ does not pose an immediate threat to life, the body can postpone recovery work until better times. It only has enough energy to support daily needs. The body does not resist disease, so there are no unpleasant symptoms, unless an experienced doctor can determine the disorder by the complexion and shape of the body.
People whose bodies are in this stage are the majority in our industrial society. Many of them consider themselves perfectly healthy, work hard, go to bed after midnight. But the absence of disease only means that the body, which is depleting the last crumbs of energy, simply cannot afford to get sick.
In people whose body is at this level of energy, the mood usually improves in the evening. This happens because the energy produced per day is not enough to replenish the daily overdraft, as a result of which the missing portion is supplied from the reserves. It can be said about such people that they do not have enough strength to get sick, and diseases simply quietly develop in the body.
It is difficult to guess how long a person can stay at this stage of energy, it is individual for each individual person. Much depends on the conditions of life in childhood and adolescence, when the main energy reserves are accumulated. It also depends on whether such a person can find time from time to time for rest and replenishment of forces.
Based on my own observations, I can note that those who grew up in the countryside have more chances than those who grew up in the city. This can be explained by the fact that in the villages people usually go to bed earlier, as a result they accumulate more inventory qi and blood. Modern children often go to bed quite late, which means they will not have enough energy reserves, which contributes to a possible early development serious illness.
Level "Lack of Yang and Yin" ("Yin Yang Liang Xu")
If energy continues to be spent thoughtlessly, and its reserves are not replenished, then the body begins to actively devour strategic energy reserves (Ho). During this period, a person often experiences a breakdown, a bad mood. At this level, in order to obtain the necessary energy, the body can begin to “extract” it from muscle or other tissue.
Often, at the stage when the reserves are running out, fatigue and unwillingness to be active can make a person rest and gain strength, this is how the body's defenses work.
Energy Depletion Level ("Xue Qi Ku Jie")
When replenishment for some reason does not occur, the energy status continues to decline and reaches a level that in Chinese medicine is called "Yin and Yang Depletion", that is, energy reserves are used up and not replenished. At this stage, fire in the liver, insomnia, increased mood and activity by night are usually diagnosed. But the less a person sleeps, the less energy remains, the stronger the fire in the liver - this is how a vicious circle arises. The gallbladder channel is blocked, gastric juice ceases to break down food, to make raw materials for the production of blood from it, nutrients are practically not absorbed.
The diseases developing at this stage are very serious diseases, since the body has already lost even the ability to control internal organs. Cancer, kidney failure, lupus erythematosus, a stroke can develop ... In an organism that is in this state, almost all organs can fail in turn in a very short period of time. In fact, violations in the work of one organ entail the failure of other organs and systems.
Figure 4 below shows how the energy level falls and rises. The decline in energy usually occurs very slowly, each stage can last for decades. And the increase in level occurs quite quickly, in a few months, as if we connect the battery to charger- half an hour and you can use your phone or laptop all day. The charging time is calculated in minutes, and the consumption time is calculated in hours. If you listen to the recommendations outlined here, go to bed early, get up early, tap the gallbladder channel, then the energy level will replenish very quickly. Almost one month of a proper lifestyle is enough for a person to feel beneficial results - strength will increase, mood will improve. And after 4 - 5 months you will not recognize yourself, you will surprise your loved ones with a healthy look.
In a year of proper lifestyle, most people can upgrade their body to the level of "Lack of Yang". But you need to keep in mind that when the amount of energy reaches the level of "Lack of Yin", the process can slow down significantly - the body will begin to fight hidden and postponed until better times diseases. On the transition to the “Lack of Yang” level, the speed will slow down even more, the body will begin to deal with diseases hidden very deeply. The rate of energy replenishment depends on how much a particular organism has accumulated ailments, what these ailments are, how serious they are.
No matter what energy level the body is at, the cure for most diseases is just to increase the energy level, then increase it day by day. Diseases internal organs and chronic diseases are nothing but a sign of lack of energy. Therefore, only when replenishing energy reserves there is a chance to get rid of these diseases.
Figure 4
Similar information.
All processes of activity of the functional systems of a person and the whole organism as a whole are associated with the expenditure of energy, which is necessary both for muscle contraction and for the generation and transmission of nerve impulses, the biosynthesis of complex organic compounds necessary for the body.
The source of energy in the human body is the potential chemical energy of food substances. In the process of exchange, it is released and converted into other types of energy. The immediate and direct source of energy is adenosine triphosphoric acid, or adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
When one molecule of ATP is broken down, 10 kcal of energy is released:
ATP ADP + HzRO 4 + 10 kcal
The reserve of ATP is in the muscles, however, these reserves are relatively small: they are enough for 2-3 seconds of intense work. Therefore, to continue work, the restoration (resynthesis) of ATP in the body is of great importance, and the rate of ATP resynthesis must correspond to its consumption.
Depending on the characteristics of the biochemical reactions that occur during resynthesis, it is customary to distinguish three metabolic systems for the recovery of ATP:
alactic anaerobic or phosphagenic, associated with the processes of ATP resynthesis due to another high-energy substance creatine phosphate (CrF);
glycolytic anaerobic, providing resynthesis of ATP through the reactions of splitting glycogen or glucose to lactic acid (LA);
aerobic, associated with the oxidation reactions of energy substrates (carbohydrates, fats, proteins).
Each of the listed bioenergetic components is characterized by power, capacity and efficiency criteria.
The power criterion evaluates the maximum amount of energy per unit time that can be provided by each of the metabolic systems.
The capacity criterion evaluates the total reserves of energy substances available for use in the body, or the total amount of work performed due to this component.
The efficiency criterion shows how much external (mechanical) work can be done for each unit of energy expended.
Alactate metabolic process represents the most powerful, quickly mobilized source of energy. ATP resynthesis due to CRF is carried out almost instantly. This system has the greatest power compared to the other two and plays a major role in the energy supply of the body during short-term work carried out with maximum effort: sprinting, jumping, sharp blows.
However, its capacity is small due to the limited reserves of CRF in the muscles, so the process of providing the body with energy includes anaerobic glycolysis, which starts almost from the very beginning, but reaches its power only after 15-20 seconds and this power cannot be maintained for more than 2-3 minutes. Glycogen serves as energy substrates.
Glycogen, stored in the muscles and liver, is a chain of glucose molecules (glucose units - GU), which are sequentially split off during the reaction. Each GE from glycogen restores 3 ATP molecules (glucose molecule only 2) and at the same time forms 2 more molecules of lactic acid (LA). Therefore, with a high power and duration of glycolytic anaerobic work, a large amount of UA is formed in the blood. Up to a certain concentration, UA is bound by buffer systems of the blood, but when this concentration is exceeded, the possibilities of buffer systems are exhausted and the acid-base balance in the blood shifts to the acid side, which causes inhibition of the key enzymes of anaerobic glycolysis, up to their complete inhibition. The accumulation of lactic acid in sensations is expressed by painful phenomena in the muscles.
When moving from a state of rest to muscle activity, oxygen demand increases many times over. However, it takes 1-3 minutes for the activity of the cardio-respiratory system to increase, and oxygenated blood could be delivered to working muscles. With an increase in the duration of exercises, the speed of processes increases. aerobic energy generation and, with an increase in the duration of work for more than 10 minutes, energy supply is almost entirely due to aerobic X processes.
The power of the aerobic energy supply system is 3 times less than the power of phosphagenic and 2 times less than the power of anaerobic glycolytic. At the same time, it differs in the greatest productivity and profitability. In this case, carbohydrates, fats and proteins that enter the body with food are used as oxidation products.
Aerobic breakdown of carbohydrates, in contrast to the anaerobic breakdown of glucose, is characterized by the fact that pyruvic acid does not turn into lactic acid, but is broken down to carbon dioxide and water, which are easily excreted from the body. In this case, 39 ATP molecules are formed from one molecule of carbohydrates. Fats have even greater energy intensity (1 mol of a mixture of fatty acids forms 138 ATP molecules). Proteins are even more energy intensive, but their contribution to the aerobic process is very small.
During exercise of low power (heart rate 120-160 beats per minute) for a sufficiently long time (up to several hours), most of the energy is supplied by fat oxidation. With an increase in power, carbohydrates enter into oxidative reactions, while working at maximum power (heart rate 180-200 beats per minute), the vast majority of energy production is already provided by the oxidation of carbohydrates.
In real conditions of physical activity, all 3 bioenergetic systems are involved. Depending on the power, duration and type of physical exercises, only the ratio of the contribution of each system to energy supply changes (Fig. 2.3).
Rice. 2.3. Dynamics of the rate of energy-forming processes.
Aerobic intensity work can be characterized by the rate of oxygen consumption . At a certain power of physical activity, the maximum oxygen consumption (MOC) individual for each person is achieved. The power of physical activity, for example, the speed of movement at which the MPC is achieved, is called critical. In young healthy untrained men, BMD averages 40-50 ml/kg/min, while in highly trained athletes in endurance sports it is 80-90 ml/kg/min.
With uniform continuous work (heart rate up to 150 beats per minute), the rate of oxygen consumption reaches the value requested by the working muscles, while the body is able to satisfy this request. Work at this level of physical activity power can continue for a long time.
With an increase in the intensity of the load (heart rate 180-200 beats per minute) to a critical level, oxygen consumption increases to the IPC. This level cannot be maintained for a long time, even for trained people no more than 6-8 minutes. With further continuation of work at the level of the IPC, the body's needs for oxygen are no longer satisfied, because. the possibilities of CCC have been exhausted or the oxidizing ability of respiratory enzymes in muscle cells has been exhausted. In this case, the anaerobic energy supply systems are again activated. The body works as if "in debt". With an increase in the power of work and, accordingly, an increase in oxygen consumption by more than 50% of the MIC, the content of UA in the blood increases sharply. This boundary of a pronounced transition from a predominantly aerobic energy supply to a mixed aerobic-anaerobic energy supply is called threshold of anaerobic metabolism(PANO). TANM is a measure of aerobic efficiency.
In practice, this is a well-defined value: in order for an untrained person to be able to perform work in which large muscle groups are involved for a long time, he must not exceed the TAN or the power corresponding to the 50% level of the IPC.
A person who systematically engages in physical exercises not only increases the MPC, but also raises the PANO to 60% of the MPC, and also minimizes his energy costs by improving the technique of performing movements. The way to increase physical performance through an increase in aerobic efficiency is the least risky and most acceptable, because. does not require a significant increase in heart rate and therefore is available to all age categories. This is the reason for the widespread use of cyclic types of exercises (running, skiing, swimming) and aerobic gymnastic exercises in physical culture classes, as well as the use of targeted, selective training effects on individual components of physical performance.
It is generally accepted that ancient man lived exclusively on carbohydrates and that omnivorousness, which led to the consumption of meat and animal fat, was a decisive step towards his modern diseases. This statement is not entirely accurate. Neither ancient man nor great apes, contrary to popular belief, ever ate exclusively carbohydrates. Their body has always used both carbohydrates and animal fats as a source of energy. Ancient man actually received energy from plant foods, using mainly glucose as an energy material, as well as another carbohydrate - fructose. But regardless of the original food product, if an excess of glucose appears in the blood, then this glucose in adipose tissue is converted into fat with the help of the hormone insulin. This happens according to the same scheme, according to which, when feeding poultry with grain, they achieve fat accumulation in it.
If the vegetable fats contained in plant foods are, from a chemical point of view, unsaturated fats, then semi-solid and solid, or saturated, fats are formed from glucose in the human body (we get the same fats from the animal body). When food does not enter the body, for example at night, it is these fats that serve as a source from which energy is extracted.
Thus, after a meal, conditions are created for the use of energy food materials and, accordingly, reserves of reserve fat are preserved. Moreover, fat stores are even replenished: if an excess of glucose accumulates in the blood (for example, due to a decrease in its use in muscles), then this excess turns into fat under the influence of the same insulin. The type of energy supply changes completely under conditions of starvation, for example at night, when food does not enter the body. The energy homeostat system behaves very “reasonably” even under these conditions: fat is used as fuel, the reserves of which in fat depots are much higher than the reserves of glucose contained “in animal starch” - glycogen. And glucose is stored for the nervous tissue, for which it is the main source of energy. At the same time, it even “takes into account” that glucose reserves in the body are limited and, under conditions of starvation, the mechanism that ensures the production of glucose from protein is enhanced.
So, in the body there are two ways of energy supply. In the first method, which can be conditionally called daily, energy materials come from food, while at the same time turning off the use of reserve fat. The source of energy here is glucose and, to a lesser extent, dietary fat. Sharing the two energy substrates is facilitated by the fact that fats are burned in the carbohydrate flame. In the second way of providing the body with energy, which can be conditionally called nocturnal, fatty acids become the main source of energy. The correct alternation of the types of supply of energy material is normally achieved due to the influence of food on the system of a four-component energy homeostat, in which the main regulatory factors are glucose and insulin, fatty acids and growth hormone. However, in obesity and in the process of normal aging, the mechanism of switching the energy homeostat is disturbed, and the body, regardless of its true needs, switches to the fatty pathway of providing energy. Hence it follows that in the energy homeostat with increasing age, the same changes occur that are observed in both the adaptive and reproductive homeostat.
http://flowercityfashionista.com/map192 But here's what might seem strange. If the system is poorly inhibited, that is, if an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood does not have a normal inhibitory effect on the secretion of growth hormone, then its level in the blood should increase. However, on the contrary, in middle-aged individuals, in whom the hypothalamic threshold is elevated, the concentration of growth hormone in the blood is clearly lower than in young people. For a long time, this contradiction remained unexplained, until various researchers found out that obesity is characterized by a decrease in the level of growth hormone in the blood. Subsequently, it became clear that it was fatty acids, the concentration of which in the blood during obesity is increased, that cause a decrease in the level of growth hormone. This conclusion is confirmed as follows. A person is injected with nicotinic acid, a vitamin that inhibits the mobilization of fat, and a decrease in the concentration of fatty acids in the blood is accompanied by a sharp increase in the level of growth hormone.
The existence of a "fatty brake" based on the ability of fatty acids to inhibit the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland is highly expedient. Indeed, given that the intake of food in the body should inhibit the use of reserve fat, then not only carbohydrates (glucose), but also fat (fatty acids) should, in accordance with this rule, inhibit the release of fat-mobilizing growth hormone .. However, in the operation of this expedient mechanism there is an important limitation, which for some reason did not attract attention earlier. In childhood, there is simultaneously a high level in the blood of both fatty acids and growth hormone, as if there were no “fat brake” at all. This paradoxical situation can be explained as follows.
Combination increased concentration in the blood of both growth hormone and fatty acids contradicts their relationship determined by the negative feedback mechanism: after all, a high level of fatty acids in the blood should lead, by acting on the hypothalamus, to a decrease in the level of growth hormone in the blood. Therefore, a simultaneous increase in the level of both growth hormone and fatty acids can occur only if the sensitivity threshold of the hypothalamus to the inhibitory effect of fatty acids is increased. In other words, during childhood, a phenomenon is observed in the hypothalamus-growth hormone-fatty acids system, which in other major homeostatic systems occurs only in the process of aging.
Indeed, in the adaptive and reproductive systems, the hypothalamic threshold increases with age. The same phenomenon takes place in the energy homeostat in the system that controls the relationship between growth hormone and glucose. But in the same energy homeostat, with aging, something completely opposite is also observed, namely, an age-related decrease in the hypothalamic threshold of sensitivity to the inhibitory action of fatty acids. This leads to the fact that as we age, when fatty acids become the main source of energy, the concentration of growth hormone in the blood decreases.
Energy system of the body
To As can be seen from the previous material, this issue is central in solving the problem of human interaction with the Cosmos, and this problem itself is the main one among all the problems that we face when creating a single picture of the World in our brain. Therefore, we will consider the energy system of the body in more detail.
As you have already seen, this system is directly related to such a property of a living organism as electrical conductivity. Therefore, we must start with it.
The eminent American scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi wrote that life is a continuous process of absorption, transformation and movement of energy of various types and various meanings. This process is most directly related to the electrical properties of living matter, and more specifically, to its ability to conduct electric current (electrical conductivity).
Electric current is the ordered movement of electric charges. Carriers of electric charges can be electrons (negatively charged), ions (both positive and negative) and holes. About "hole" conductivity became known not very long ago, when materials were discovered, which were called semiconductors. Prior to this, all substances (materials) were divided into conductors and insulators. Then semiconductors were discovered. This discovery turned out to be directly related to the understanding of the processes occurring in a living organism. It turned out that many processes in a living organism can be explained using the electronic theory of semiconductors. An analog of a semiconductor molecule is a living macromolecule. But the phenomena occurring in it are much more complicated. Before considering these phenomena, we recall the basic principles of semiconductor operation.
Electronic conduction is carried out by electrons. It is realized in metals, as well as in gases, where electrons have the ability to move under the influence of external causes (electric field). This takes place in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere - the ionosphere.
Ionic conduction is realized by the motions of ions. It takes place in liquid electrolytes. There is a third type of conduction. It results from the breaking of a valence bond. In this case, a vacant place appears with a missing connection. Where there are no electronic connections, a void, nothing, a hole is formed. Thus, in a semiconductor crystal, additional opportunity to carry electric charges because holes are formed. This conduction is called hole conduction. So, semiconductors have both electronic and hole conductivity.
The study of the properties of semiconductors has shown that these substances bring living and inanimate nature. What in them resembles the properties of the living? They are very sensitive to the action of external factors, under their influence they change their electrophysical properties. So, with increasing temperature, the electrical conductivity of inorganic and organic semiconductors increases very much. In metals, in this case, it decreases. The conductivity of semiconductors is affected by light. Under its action, an electric voltage arises on the semiconductor. This means that light energy is converted into electrical energy (solar batteries). Semiconductors react not only to light, but also to penetrating radiation (including X-rays). The properties of semiconductors are affected by pressure, humidity, air chemistry, etc. Similarly, we react to changing conditions in the outside world. Under the influence of external factors, the biopotentials of tactile, gustatory, auditory, and visual analyzers change.
Holes are carriers of a positive electric charge. When electrons and holes combine (recombine), the charges disappear, or rather neutralize each other. The situation changes depending on the action of external factors, such as temperature. When the valence band is completely filled with electrons, the substance is an insulator. This is a semiconductor at a temperature of -273 degrees C (zero temperature in Kelvin). Two competing processes operate in semiconductors: the union (recombination) of electrons and holes and their generation due to thermal excitation. The electrical conductivity of semiconductors is determined by the relationship between these processes.
Electric current depends on the amount of transferred charges and on the speed of this transfer. In metals where the conductivity is electronic, the transfer rate is low. This speed is called mobility. The mobility of charges (in a hole) in semiconductors is much greater than in metals (conductors). Therefore, even with a relatively small number of charge carriers, their conductivity can be more significant.
Semiconductors can be formed in another way. Atoms of other elements can be introduced into the substance, in which the energy levels are located in the band gap. These introduced atoms are impurities. So you can get a substance - a semiconductor with impurity conductivity. Conductors with impurity conductivity are widely used as converters of primary information, since their conductivity depends on many external factors (temperature, intensity and frequency of penetrating radiation).
In the human body, there are substances that also have impurity conductivity. Some impurity substances, when introduced into the crystal lattice, supply electrons to the conduction band. That is why they are called donors. Other impurities capture electrons from the valence band, that is, they form holes. They are called acceptors.
It has now been established that in living matter there are atoms and molecules, both donors and acceptors. But living matter also has properties that organic and inorganic semiconductors do not have. This property is very small values of the binding energy. So, for giant biological molecules, the binding energy is only a few electron volts, while the binding energy in solutions or liquid crystals is in the range of 20-30 eV.
This property is very important, because it allows to provide high sensitivity. Conduction is carried out by electrons that pass from one molecule to another due to the tunnel effect. In protein and other biological objects, the mobility of charge carriers is very high. In the system of carbon-oxygen and hydrogen-nitrogen bonds, an electron (excited) moves through the entire system of the protein molecule due to the tunnel effect. Since the mobility of such electrons is very high, this ensures high conductivity of the protein system.
In a living organism, ionic conductivity is also realized. The formation and separation of ions in living matter is facilitated by the presence of water in the protein system. The dielectric constant of the protein system depends on it. The charge carriers in this case are hydrogen ions - protons. Only in a living organism all types of conductivity (electronic, hole, ionic) are realized simultaneously. The ratio between different conductivities varies depending on the amount of water in the protein system. The less water, the less ionic conductivity. If the proteins are dried (there is no water in them), then the conduction is carried out by electrons.
In general, the influence of water is not only that it is a source of hydrogen ions (protons) and thus provides the possibility of ionic conduction. Water plays a more complex role in changing overall conductivity. The fact is that water is an impurity-donor. It supplies electrons (each hydrogen atom breaks into a nucleus, that is, a proton and one orbital electron). As a result, the electrons fill the holes, so the hole conductivity decreases. It shrinks a million times. Subsequently, these electrons are transferred to proteins, and the position is restored, but not completely. The total conductivity after this still remains 10 times less than before the addition of water.
It is possible to add to protein systems not only a donor (water), but also an acceptor, which would lead to an increase in the number of holes. It has been established that such an acceptor is, in particular, chloranil, a substance containing chlorine. As a result, the hole conductivity increases so much that the total conductivity of the protein system increases by a factor of a million.
Nucleic acids also play an important role in the living organism. Despite the fact that their structure, hydrogen bonds, etc. differ from those of biological systems, there are substances (non-biological) with fundamentally similar electrophysical properties. In particular, such a substance is graphite. Their binding energy, like that of proteins, is low, and the specific conductivity is high, although several orders of magnitude lower than that of proteins. The mobility of electron carriers, on which conductivity depends, is lower for amino acids than for proteins. But the electrophysical properties of amino acids are generally fundamentally the same as the properties of proteins.
But amino acids in the composition of a living organism also have properties that proteins do not have. These are very important properties. Thanks to them, mechanical influences in them turn into electricity. This property of matter in physics is called piezoelectric. AT nucleic acids a living organism, the thermal effect also leads to the formation of electricity (thermoelectricity). Both properties of amino acids are determined by the presence of water in them. It is clear that these properties vary with the amount of water. The use of these properties in the organization and functioning of a living organism is obvious. So, the action of the rods of the visual retina is based on the dependence of conductivity on illumination (photoconductivity). But the molecules of living organisms also have electronic conductivity, like metals.
The electrophysical properties of protein systems and nucleic molecules manifest themselves only in dynamics, only in a living organism. With the onset of death, electrophysical activity disappears very quickly. This happens because the movement of charge carriers (ions and electrons, etc.) has stopped. There is no doubt that it is precisely in the electrophysical properties of living matter that the possibility of being alive lies. About this Szent-Györgyi wrote: “I am deeply convinced that we will never be able to understand the essence of life if we limit ourselves to the molecular level. After all, an atom is a system of electrons, stabilized by a nucleus, and molecules are nothing but atoms held together by valence electrons , i.e. electronic communications.
From a comparison of the electrical properties of protein systems and amino acids with semiconductors, one may get the impression that the electrical properties of both are the same. This is not entirely true. Although in the protein systems of a living organism there is both electronic, and hole, and ionic conductivity, they are interconnected in a more complex way than in inorganic and organic semiconductors. There, these conductivities are simply added up and the total, final conductivity is obtained. In living systems, such an arithmetic addition of conductivities is unacceptable. Here it is necessary to use not arithmetic (where 1 + 1 = 2), but the algebra of complex numbers. Moreover, 1 + 1 is not equal to 2. There is nothing strange in this. This suggests that these conductivities are not independent of each other. Their mutual changes are accompanied by processes that change the overall conductivity according to a more complex law (but not arbitrarily!). Therefore, when speaking about the electronic (or other) conductivity of protein systems, the word "specific" is added. That is, there is electronic (and other) conductivity, which is characteristic only of living things. The processes that determine the electrophysical properties of living things are very complex. Simultaneously with the movement of electric charges (electrons, ions, holes), which determines the electrical conductivity, electromagnetic fields also act on each other. Elementary particles have magnetic moments, i.e. are magnets. Since these magnets interact with each other (and they are obliged to do this), as a result of this action, a certain orientation of these particles is established. Continuously, molecules and atoms change their state - they carry out continuous and abrupt (discrete) transitions from one electrical state to another. Receiving additional energy, they are excited. When they are released from it, they pass into the main energy state. These transitions affect the mobility of charge carriers in a living organism. Thus, the action of electromagnetic fields changes the movement of electrons, ions and other charge carriers. With the help of these charge carriers, information is transmitted in the central nervous system. The signals in the central nervous system that ensure the operation of the whole organism as a whole are electrical impulses. But they propagate much more slowly than in technical systems. This is due to the complexity of the whole complex of processes that affect the movement of charge carriers, their mobility, and hence the speed of propagation of electrical impulses. The organism responds with an action to a certain external influence only after it has received information about this influence. The body's response is very slow because signals about external influences spread slowly. Thus, the rate of protective reactions of a living organism depends on the electrophysical properties of living matter. If electric and electromagnetic fields act from the outside, then this reaction slows down even more. This has been established both in laboratory experiments and in studying the influence of electromagnetic fields during magnetic storms on living systems, including humans. By the way, if the reaction of a living organism to external influences were many times faster, then a person would be able to protect himself from many influences, from which he is now dying. An example is poisoning. If the body could respond immediately to the ingestion of poison, then it could take measures to neutralize it. In a real situation, this does not happen and the body dies even with very small amounts of poison introduced into it.
Of course, today we still do not know all the properties of the complex electrical conductivity of living matter. But it is clear that those fundamentally different properties that are inherent only to living things depend on them. First of all, by influencing the complex electrical conductivity of the stomach, the influence of electromagnetic radiation of artificial and natural origin is realized. To delve into the understanding of bioenergetics, it is necessary to concretize it. To reveal the essence of electrical phenomena in a living organism, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the potential of a biological system, biopotential. In physics, the concept of potential has the following meaning.
Potential is opportunity. In this case, it is an energy opportunity. In order to tear off an orbital electron from a hydrogen atom, it is necessary to overcome the forces that hold it in the atom, that is, it is necessary to have the energy ability to do this work. Energy in atomic and nuclear processes, as well as in the study of elementary particles and the processes in which they participate, is measured in special units - electron volts. If a potential difference of 1 volt is applied, then an electron in such an electric field acquires an energy equal to one electron volt (1 eV). The magnitude of this energy on a technical scale is very small. It is only 1.6 x 1019 J (joules).
The energy expended on the detachment of an electron from the nucleus of an atom is called the ionization potential, since the process of detachment itself is called ionization. By the way, for hydrogen it is equal to 13 eV. For the atoms of each element, it has its own meaning. Some atoms are easy to ionize, others are not very easy, and still others are very difficult. This requires large energy capabilities, since their ionization potential is large (electrons are more strongly retained inside the atom).
In order to produce the ionization of atoms and molecules of living matter, it is necessary to apply much less energy than when acting on inanimate substances. In living substances, as already mentioned, the binding energy in molecules is units and even hundredths of an electron volt. In inanimate molecules and atoms, this energy is in the range of several tens of electron volts (30-50). Nevertheless, in principle this process in both cases has the same physical basis. It is very difficult to measure the ionization potentials in biological molecules because of the smallness of the minimum values of the electron energy in this case. Therefore, it is better to characterize them not by absolute values (electron volts), but by relative ones. It is possible to take the ionization potential of a water molecule as a unit of measurement of the ionization potential in the molecules of living systems. This is all the more justified, since from an energy point of view, water is the main one in a living organism. It is the basis of the life of a biological system. It is important to understand that here we are not talking about any water, but about the water that is contained in biological systems. Taking the ionization potential of water in living matter as a unit, it is possible to determine in these units the ionization potentials of all other biological compounds. There is another subtlety here. The hydrogen atom has only one orbital electron. Therefore, its ionization potential is equal to one energy value. If an atom and a molecule are more complex, then their orbital electrons are in the sense of the possibility of their detachment in unequal conditions. It is easiest to detach from the nucleus those electrons that have the lowest binding energies with the nucleus, that is, those that are located on the outermost electron shells. Therefore, speaking about the ionization potentials of complex biological systems, they mean those electrons that are most easily detached, for which the binding energy is minimal.
In biological systems, as a result of a certain distribution of electric charges (their polarization), there are electric fields, since electric forces (Coulomb forces) of repulsion and attraction act between electric charges, depending on whether these charges are like or unlike, respectively. The energy characteristic of an electric field is the potential difference between different points of this field. The potential difference is determined by the electric field, which, in turn, is determined by the distribution of charged particles. The distribution of charged particles is determined by the interaction between them. The potential difference in biological systems (biopotentials) can be units of millivolts. The value of biopotentials is an unambiguous indicator of the state of a biosystem or its parts. It changes if the body is in a pathological state. In this case, the reactions of a living organism to factors change. external environment. Reactions occur that harm the body, its functioning and structure.
The electrophysical properties of biological compounds also determine the speed of the reaction of a living organism as a single whole, as well as its individual analyzers, to the action of external factors. The speed of information processing in the body also depends on these properties. It is estimated by the magnitude of electrical activity. Without the movement of charge carriers, all these functions of the body would be impossible. Thus, bioenergy phenomena at the level of elementary particles are the basis of the main functions of a living organism, life is impossible without these functions. Energy processes in cells (energy conversion and the most complex biochemical metabolic processes) are possible only due to the fact that these processes involve light charged particles - electrons.
Biopotentials are closely related to the electrical activity of a given organ. Thus, the electrical activity of the brain is characterized by the spectral density of biopotentials and voltage impulses of various frequencies. It has been established that the following biorhythms of the brain (in hertz) are characteristic of a person: delta rhythm (0.5-3); theta rhythm (4-7), alpha rhythm (8-13), beta rhythm (14-35) and gamma rhythm (36-55). There are, although irregularly, some rhythms with greater frequency. The amplitude of the electrical impulses of the human brain reaches a significant value - up to 500 μV.
Anyone familiar with electronics knows that when transmitting information and processing it, not only the pulse repetition rate and their amplitude are important, but also the shape of the pulses.
How are these impulses formed? Their characteristics indicate that they cannot be created by changes in ionic conductivity. In this case, the processes develop more slowly, that is, they are more inertial. These impulses can be formed only by the movement of electrons, the mass (and hence the inertia) of which is much less.
The role of the form of electrical impulses can be understood by the example of the effectiveness of defibrillation of the heart (the return to normal functioning of the heart in the event of its arrest by exposing it to electrical impulses). It turned out that the efficiency of restoring the work of the heart depends on the shape of the pulse of the applied electrical voltage. Its spectral density is also important. Only with a certain form of impulses is the restoration of the normal movement of charge carriers in a living organism, that is, the usual electrical conductivity is restored, at which the normal functioning of the organism (heart) is possible.
In this method, electrodes are applied to the human body in the chest area. But electrical impulses in this case act not only directly on the heart muscle, but also on the central nervous system. Apparently, the second way is the most effective, since the possibilities of the central nervous system to influence all organs (including the heart) are the widest. Commands to all organs come through the central nervous system most quickly, since its electrical conductivity (and hence the speed of information propagation) is much higher than the electrical conductivity of muscle tissues and the circulatory system. Thus, the return to life of the human body occurs if it is possible to restore the electrophysical properties of living matter, or rather, the specific movements of electric charges with those features that are inherent in living systems.
Of decisive importance for the life and functioning of a living organism are precisely the electrophysical properties of a living organism. This is evidenced by such facts.
It has been established that if irritating factors suddenly act on a person, then the resistance of the human body to electric current (the greater the resistance, the lower the electrical conductivity) changes dramatically. It is fundamentally important that unexpected external influences can have a different physical nature. It can be a bright light, and a touch with a hot object, and a message to a person of unexpected, important information for him. In all cases, the result is the same - the electrical conductivity of the human body increases. The change in electrical conductivity over time depends both on the acting external factor itself and on its strength. But in all cases, the increase in electrical conductivity occurs very quickly, and its recovery to normal values is much slower. A rapid change in electrical conductivity can only occur due to electronic (one or another), which is the least inertial.
Take, for example, the defeat of a living organism by electric current. The consequences of this defeat depend not so much on the magnitude of the current, but on the state of the human nervous system at that moment. Death under the action of an external electrical voltage occurs if the electrical conductivity of the central nervous system is disturbed. The current passing through the human body destroys the connections of the electronic structure of the nervous system. But the energies of these bonds are very small. Therefore, it is possible to break them even at very low voltages and currents from external voltage sources. If, under the influence of these currents, the movement of charge carriers in the brain cells (in the cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems and their connections) is disturbed, then there is a complete or partial cessation of oxygen supply to the cells.
Disastrous changes in the electrical conductivity of the central nervous system and in general the electrophysical characteristics of the body also occur under the influence of toxic substances. Apparently, medicine in the future will treat a person from # various ailments, primarily by restoring the electrophysical properties of the central nervous system.
Of course, this question is very difficult. It has already been established that the electrical conductivity of different living organisms and different systems in one living organism is different. Organs and systems of the body, which must respond to external stimuli most quickly to ensure survival, have the least inertial conductivity - electronic and electron-hole.
Now consider the energy system of the body.
From the outside, energy enters the body, which ensures its functioning as a whole, as well as all its constituent parts. Energy charges can have both positive and negative signs. It must be borne in mind that we are not talking about electric charges. In a healthy organism there is a balance of positive and negative elements of energy. This means a balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition (energy elements of the same sign excite the work of the organ, and the opposite sign inhibits it). When the balance between the flows of positive and negative energy is disturbed, then the body (or its individual organ) goes into a state of illness, since the balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition is disturbed. At the same time, some diseases are caused by excessive excitation of functions (excess syndrome), while others are due to their inhibition (deficiency syndrome). To heal the body, it is necessary to restore the balance (balance) of positive and negative types of energy in it. This can be achieved by using a needle on the biologically active points of the skin.
Energy from the air enters various organs and systems of the body through a certain energy-conducting system. Each organ has its own channels for this energy. True, in this case, each organ must be understood not narrowly anatomically, but more broadly, based on its functions. So, in the organ "heart" it is necessary to include the entire system, which provides both all the functions of blood circulation, and some elements of a person's mental activity. The "kidney" organ includes, along with the system of urination and urinary excretion, all endocrine glands. The "lungs" organ also includes the skin. The "liver" organ includes not only the system for providing metabolic processes, but also their regulation by the central nervous and autonomic systems. The system that provides all the processes of perception and processing of food in the body is associated with the "spleen".
Thus, to understand the work of the body, it is more correct to consider not narrowly anatomical organs, but certain functional systems. It is not the organ itself that is important, but its function. It is important to know how to set up this feature if it is broken. Each such functional system (organ) receives energy from the air (from space) through certain channels of energy movement on the surface of the skin. These channels are called meridians. Each organ consumes energy that comes through a certain meridian. Meridians are the main channels, highways through which energy from the outside comes to a given organ (in the broad sense of the word described above). Along with them, there are less important ways of receiving energy. They, in turn, branch out, and so the whole skin is covered with a network of these channels.
The entire path along which energy enters from the air to the organ is divided into two stages. At its first stage, it is captured. This part of the meridian is located on the arms and legs. Through the subsequent part of the meridian, energy is transported to a given organ or body system.
It is important to understand that the capture of energy from the air (which is carried out by the skin system of the arms and legs) is more effective if there is an active musculature under the skin. This means that the amount of energy received by the body from the air is influenced by the intensity of energy radiation from the muscles under the skin. The energy necessary for the organ is concentrated on the skin, because the processes of excitation and inhibition in this organ attract elements of energy from the outside (of different signs, respectively). So, as a result of the internal activity of the body, particles of the necessary energy are concentrated on the skin. This is reflected in the names of the meridians (energy channels) by specialists: they say - the meridian of the hand and lungs, the meridian of the leg and kidneys, etc. Through one meridian, the organ receives the energy of excitation, and through the other - the energy of the opposite sign - that is, inhibition.
The meridians "work" not independently of each other, but very coordinated. Bodies work in the same way (in healthy body). At the same time, all channels (meridians), and hence the organs, constitute a single coordinated system through which energy passes in the body. All organs and systems in the body work in a certain rhythm. More precisely, there are many rhythms. European medicine has already come to this. And according to the teachings of acupuncture, it follows that energy must pass through the body rhythmically, with a period of 24 hours. This is the period of rotation of the Earth around its axis.
Energy passes through all the energy highways in the body sequentially. Therefore, each organ (meridian) has its turn at its own time of day. At this time, it is best to act on this organ, to treat it. For the liver system, this time of day is from one to three in the morning, for the respiratory system - from three to five in the morning, for the stomach - from seven to nine in the morning, for the heart - from eleven to thirteen, etc.
Since all energy channels (meridians) are connected into a single system, that is, they are a kind of communicating vessels, any organ can be influenced not only through its "own" meridian, but also through the meridians of other organs. This can be either exciting or depressing. The liver can be affected from the kidney meridian. Such an impact will be exciting. But if you act on the spleen from the side of the liver (through its meridian), then the work of the spleen will be inhibited. By acting on the liver from the side of the lungs, we will inhibit its work. The impact on the heart from the liver leads to the excitation of its work. This interaction is used by specialists in the practice of treatment. Thus, there is no need to act on the lung system between three and five in the morning. The same influence can be carried out through the points of the meridian of the heart at a convenient time from eleven to thirteen hours. Etc.
Each energy channel is not homogeneous. It contains physiological active points. There can be from 9 to 68 on a given meridian. There are 12 meridians in total. On each of them, experts single out the so-called standard meridians among the active points. They have certain functions. There are 6 such points on each meridian.
From what has been said above, for the problem we are describing, the most important thing is that the organism and the cosmos are a single system. A living organism receives energy directly from space, that is, there is a direct energy exchange between the organism and environment. For most, this will seem unusual, since we were brought up on the fact that energy in the body arises as a result of the breakdown of substances (food). In fact, there is also a direct influence of the energy of space on the energy of the body.
It is important to pay attention to another conclusion from the above. The functioning of all organs and systems of the body is not only interconnected (which is natural and beyond doubt), but is also controlled by some kind of energy (better to say information-energy) service of the body. It provides all the regulation in the body. We added the word "informational" because without information, its receipt, analysis, processing and transmission, nothing and no one can be controlled. Therefore, this service, connected with the energy flows from space to the body and in the body itself, is informational. If this service is disturbed for some reason (for example, the state of the environment prevents the flow of energy from outside), then the course of regulatory processes in the body's systems is also disrupted. This can become the basis for a violation of the proper functioning of the body, that is, the cause of the disease. Correct this violation, it can be eliminated by proper acupuncture, as already mentioned.
The flow of energy from outer space into the body cannot be arbitrary, unregulated. The body must receive as much energy as it is required for its proper functioning. This amount depends on the work performed (physical and mental), on psycho-emotional stress, etc. etc. Therefore, it is natural that the body should have regulators that, based on an analysis of the state of the body and its energy needs, would regulate the flow of energy into it from space.
The human body is an electromagnetic system. Almost all of its main functions are related to electricity and magnetism. With the help of electrical potentials, the entrance and exit from each cell is regulated. Electrical charges ensure the transport of oxygen by the blood. Nervous system is a kind of complex electrical circuit. The electric fields of all organs were measured, the nature of which varies depending on the work of the organism, its state and load. Energy channels - meridians - are determined by the fact that along them the electrical conductivity of the skin is higher. The human skin is something like the printed circuit board of a TV or radio: it has a complex network of channels that conduct electricity well. We have already seen that the flow of energy from space into the body is also regulated by the electrical system.
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