ELECTRIFYIN

IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALLIIIIVE! Our bodies give electrifying performances

WRITER: RICHARD T. BOSSHARDT, MD, FACS

In Mary Shelley’s book, “Frankenstein,” there is no specific mention of how the monster made of recycled body parts is brought to life. The book, however, does mention galvanism, the therapeutic use of electricity, and refers to the “spark of life.” In various movie versions, Frankenstein’s monster is brought to life by electricity. Lightning is the source, probably because it is cinematographically dramatic.

There is fact behind the fiction. We are, in a very real way, electrical beings. Years ago, I saw a lady who came to me for a surgical procedure. Her biggest concern was something I had never come across. She wasn’t worried about the anesthesia, infection, bleeding, or any of the usual risks of surgery. Her worry was that the surgical incisions would somehow alter her electrical meridians, fields of electricity surrounding her body and flowing through her which, she felt, were important to her health. I had no answer for that.

She elected to move forward with surgery, and to both my relief and hers, her meridians appeared to be fine afterwards.

More recently, a medical colleague brought up in conversation how much we rely on electricity to power our bodies. It is not something you hear much about.

Since I expect most readers are no more sophisticated about electricity than I am, I will keep this simple. All matter, including you and me, is comprised of atoms, the basic building blocks of our universe. Atoms contain three particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge and electrons have a negative charge. Neutrons are neutral. What? You want to know what “charge” means? Good luck with that. No one seems to know. What we do know is that protons and electrons somehow attract and cancel each other out.

Atoms with equal numbers of protons and electrons are stable. Electrons, however, can “hop off ” of one atom and go to another atom. This movement of electrons is called a current and a steady flow of electrons produces an electric current. Now, we may not completely understand how this works, but we can put it to good use, and have. Just look around at how essential electricity is to our daily lives. Without it, we would probably still be living in caves stoking our fires for heat, meals, and protection.

Electricity also animates us. Our nervous system functions due to the flow of electrons along nerve fibers, all of which originate in our central nervous system — our brain and spinal cord. Interrupt this flow and we suffer potentially catastrophic disability, as seen in strokes and a host of neurologic disorders. Many of our diagnostic tests to define our health, or lack thereof, are basically measurements of electricity. The electroencephalogram (EEG) measures electrical activity in the brain. Nerve conduction studies measure this in our nerves.

I use nerve conduction studies to diagnose conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. In carpal tunnel syndrome, pressure on a major sensory nerve at the wrist causes pain, numb- ness and weakness of fingers in the hand. This can be clearly seen by measuring the flow of electricity through the nerve. In carpal tunnel, this slows down dramatically in the wrist.

Electrical activity in our brain is so critical that it is a crucial measure of life itself. One of the legal and medical definitions of death is the absence of any electrical activity in the brain. Such individuals are defined as “brain dead,” a description accepted by all major religions as the end of meaningful life. This is regarded as so certain that we can ethically and morally justify harvesting organs from such individuals for

Fast Fact

Once every second or so, a dime-size bundle of cells in the upper chamber of the human heart produces an electrical pulse that keeps the organ beating.

transplantation purposes.

Electricity keeps you alive in other ways. Your heartbeat is the direct result of the flow of electrical signals along very specific pathways in your heart. These cause your heart muscles to contract in a coordinated way so that blood is effectively pumped through your lungs and body. Disrupt this and your heart may beat erratically and/or ineffectively. Most cases of sudden death are due to an abnormality of normal electrical activity in the heart. In a move eerily reminiscent of the Frankenstein story, we use electrical defibrillators to “shock” the heart and restore function when it has stopped beating normally.

Electricity is even present on a cellular level, in our most basic metabolic activities. Movement of nutrients and oxygen into our cells, and elimination of waste products of metabolism all depend on the sustained flow of electrons across our cell membranes and even with the cells themselves. We can use microscopic probes to actually measure the electrical potential across the wall of cells and inside cell structures. There is, literally, no process in living things that is not, in some way, electrical.

This is all very interesting (at least I find it so) but what does it have to do with health or, more to the point, your health in particular? Well, only everything! Think of the house you live in. Unless you are a hermit in the woods living “off the grid” your house relies on external sources of energy and proper functioning of innumerable electronic devices within it for you to live your best.

Our bodies are electrical marvels, almost miraculous in their own way. We should treat them with reverence and respect. To do otherwise is to risk shortened and/or miserable lives.

IS YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER?

Our bodies pretty much run themselves. All they ask is that we provide a few basics and get out of the way — healthy food, sufficient rest, moderate exercise and at least some effort at limiting stress. Attending to our emotional and spiritual well-being are all that is required. Oh, and avoiding toxic substances. Not too much to ask considering that our bodies are our own unique, individual home.

Sadly, instead of taking care of our homes, we do endless things to destroy them. Take smoking. Cigarette smoke contains hundreds of toxic substances. Why would anyone put this stuff in their bodies, their only home? The same goes for trans-fats in high fat, high-sugar processed foods. Physiologically, consuming trans-fats is like dropping countless grenades into a power plant. There is no safe minimal quantity.