Life Is Having The Ability To Exchange Energy Without It There Is No Life.
Have you ever wondered: What is life? There are many ways to answer this seemingly simple yet innately complex question. Life is the ability to exchange energy and we will show this here in the article below.
Biologists have identified properties common among all living things including cellular organization, metabolism, homeostasis, growth, reproduction, ability to respond to stimuli, and evolution or adaptation. Of course, this list is not definitive. Different scholars and different species challenge these criteria, but overall, this gives an idea of what we consider as proof of life.
For Dr. Thomas Lodi, integrative oncology and metabolic medicine expert, life is the “ability to exchange energy.” In a new video, Dr. Lodi explains further. “Life brings energy in and gets energy out and that’s what life is, that ability. Energy in biological systems is electricity and we all know what electricity is. It’s the flow of electrons.”
Electrons are the “negatively charged particles of the atom.” The electrons in an atom create a negative charge which balances the positively charged protons.
He added, “We know when they flow, it’s going to hurt you, it’s going to burn you. When we do your blood test, we measure and look at your electrolytes. If they go off too much, your ability to conduct electricity doesn’t work. Humans are electric.”
The cells in our body can conduct electrical currents. In fact, electricity is crucial for bodily functions including sending signals throughout the body and to the brain.
How Does The Human Body Use Electricity?
The charged elements in our cells are called ions, and our cells use these to generate electricity. The cell membrane protects the cell interior and serves as a way for the cell to generate electrical currents.
This happens through the flow of charges across the cell membrane. Charged ions flow in and out through the membrane—with resting cells inside more negatively charged and the outside more positively charged.
Cells control the flow of charged elements through the proteins on the cell surface. These proteins are called ion channels. When a cell is stimulated, ion channels allow positive charges to enter, causing the cell interior to become more positively charged. This, in turn, triggers electrical currents that turn into action potentials. Action potentials initiate correct movements, behaviors, and even thoughts.
Electricity is so vital to our health that a disruption in the flow of currents can cause illness. For instance, irregular electrical currents can cause heart muscles to contract incorrectly and can lead to a heart attack.
Dr. Lodi furthered, “If I want to know how your heart is, I listen to it. I do an EKG, and the EKG is going to show me the form. So, I know by the width, the height, the space, I know by all these things what the health of your heart is by its electrical output. Now, what happens if we have a flat line measuring your electrical output? If you’re in the emergency room, we grab the paddles and what do we do? We put electricity back in.”
An electrocardiogram—aka ECG or EKG—is a common test used to record electrical signals in the heart. During this non-invasive and painless procedure, sensors or electrodes are attached to the chest or the limbs to detect the heart’s electrical activity.
According to Dr. Lodi, the real and fundamental essence of being alive is the ability to bring in energy, and conversely, to get it out. “If you can hold a charge, you’re alive. If you can’t hold a charge anymore, you’ve not alive. It’s really very simple,” he said.
You can book an online consultation with Dr. Lodi himself to learn more, ask questions and consult about your health. Keep reading this blog for more information or watch his life-changing video lecture series on health.