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The Reformation Herald Online Edition

Looking in the Mirror

To your Health
The Circle of Life
Abigail Ducheine
The Circle of Life

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).

In the Middle Ages people generally believed that the heart was like an ever-springing fountain or like a fire that was burning and had to be continually nourished.

Today, we know that the blood is actually flowing in a “circle”: from the heart to all the peripheral cells of the body—back to the heart, then to the lungs and once again back to the heart. The red blood cells, called the erythrocytes, live 120 days, and their whole life is a long journey through our body.

The red blood cells live in order to give what they receive and until their death they keep following this holy principle—the principle upon which the whole universe is founded.1

Essential parts

Blood is a fluid which consists of approximately equal parts of liquid and of cellular elements called corpuscles. The circulatory system consists of three essential parts: the blood, the heart (a four-chambered pump), and the blood vessels.

Purpose

The circulatory system is the body’s means of internal transportation. The blood transfers water, heat, oxygen, and nutritional elements for the cells, and waste products like carbon dioxide for elimination.

In addition to transportation, the blood also works as a method of intercellular communication. It carries hormones like insulin or adrenaline to certain target cells which need special signals—the hormone molecules— in order to begin, speed up, slow down, or stop one or more activities. When insulin reaches the liver cells, enzymes (which cause glucose to be converted and stored as glycogen) are activated. Body temperature is also regulated by the blood, by way of controlling blood flow to the skin.

There are three basic types of blood cells. The erythrocytes contain hemoglobin to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide. Leukocytes act to help the body defend against infectious organisms. Thrombocytes play an important role in blood-clogging, the process by which blood is prevented from leaving an injured blood vessel.

Additional to the blood cells, the blood contains various types of proteins, molecules, elements, and electrolytes, each one with its specific duty to fulfill. Proteins often work as carriers of non-soluble products. Molecules and elements, which are soluble, are carried by the bloodstream itself to the appointed place where they are to be processed. Electrolytes play a vital role in the maintenance of the acidic balance of the blood and maintain its osmotic pressure.

The “circle”

The circulatory system consists of (1) the systemic circulation and (2) the pulmonary circulation.

1. Let’s start our journey in the wonderful “railroads” of our body by looking at it’s “main station,” the heart. From the left heart ventricle, our little erythrocytes and all the other blood contents are pushed into the aorta with a speed up to 100 centimeters each second. Every minute our heart contracts about 60 to 80 times and thus works like a pump, pushing about 80 milliliters of blood for each beat to circulate its liquid, hour by hour, day by day without ceasing for as long as we are alive. If we calculate that we get nearly 5.5 liters of blood flow each minute, that means 330 liters each hour and nearly 8000 liters of blood in one single day! Our heart handles eight tons of life-sustaining blood in one day, and we do not even notice that!

The erythrocytes continue their way past the aorta and through the arteries and then arterioles—very often having to choose between two “railroad tracks,” as the blood vessels divide and subdivide—until they reach their destination: the capillaries—small vessels which connect the arterioles with the venules and thereby continuing the vascular network.

Along the vessels the speed of blood is decreasing continually. Consequently, the erythrocytes are able to change their load: the oxygen they got from the lungs is discharged and carbon dioxide, the waste product of cellular metabolism, is loaded. This process affects their color as they change from light-red to dark-red-blue. The travel continues in the venules, veins, and the vena cava. In these vessels our Creator installed certain valves which hinder the blood from flowing backward. Thus the oxygen-depleted and waste-rich blood returns to the heart entering through its right atrium.

2. Now the heart muscle places our erythrocytes from the right ventricle into the pulmonary circulation. Via pulmonary arteries the blood enters into the lungs, where erythrocytes can be “purified” from the waste they carried, the carbon dioxide, and fill up with fresh oxygen in order to bring it to the tissues. So the erythrocytes return through pulmonary veins into the left atrium of the heart in order to close the “circle.”

The hepatic portal circulation is a branch of the systemic circulation, draining impure blood rich in nutrients from the abdominal organs. Before entering the heart by the inferior vena cava, the blood passes by the liver in order to be modified and filtered. Therefore it is collected from the stomach, intestines, and other organs into the hepatic portal vein, which leads it directly to the liver, wherefrom it once again is led to the heart. Waste products are removed by the liver and kidneys.

For healthier blood circulation

We are generally inclined to search for things we do not have in order to be happy—instead of improving what we have. Our loving Creator has given us the best He could give! Could we imagine our body’s circulatory system more perfectly built than it already is? No! Even a functioning imitation devised by scientists cannot match it! Let’s consider these precious counsels from inspiration:

Breathe deeply in fresh air, open the windows at night

“We are more dependent upon the air we breathe than upon the food we eat. Men and women, young and old, who desire health, and who would enjoy active life should remember that they cannot have these without a good circulation. . . . For fear of taking cold [some invalids] persist, from year to year, in having their own way and living in an atmosphere almost destitute of vitality. It is impossible for this class to have a healthy circulation.”2

“In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full, deep inspirations of pure air, which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the blood. They impart to it a bright color and send it, a life-giving current, to every part of the body. . . . The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible. Their capacity is developed by free action; it diminishes if they are cramped and compressed.”3

Drink pure water abundantly and apply hydrotherapy

“In health and in sickness, pure water is one of heaven’s choicest blessings. Its proper use promotes health. It is the beverage which God provided to quench the thirst of animals and man. Drunk freely, it helps to supply the necessities of the system and assists nature to resist disease. The external application of water is one of the easiest and most satisfactory ways of regulating the circulation of the blood. A cold or cool bath is an excellent tonic. Warm baths open the pores and thus aid in the elimination of impurities. Both warm and neutral baths soothe the nerves and equalize the circulation.”4

Take time for physical exercise and useful manual labor

“The chief if not the only reason why many become invalids is that the blood does not circulate freely, and the changes in the vital fluid, which are necessary to life and health, do not take place. They have not given their bodies exercise nor their lungs food, which is pure, fresh air; therefore it is impossible for the blood to be vitalized, and it pursues its course sluggishly through the system. The more we exercise; the better will be the circulation of the blood. More people die for want of exercise than through overfatigue; very many more rust out than wear out. Those who accustom themselves to proper exercise in the open air will generally have a good and vigorous circulation.”5

“The living machinery God designed should be in daily activity, and in this activity or motion of the machinery is its preserving power. Manual labor quickens the circulation of the blood. The more active the circulation the more free will be the blood from obstructions and impurities. The blood nourishes the body. The health of the body depends upon the healthful circulation of the blood.”6

Cover our body evenly, including our limbs

“In order to have good health, we must have good blood; for the blood is the current of life. . . . At every pulsation of the heart the blood should make its way quickly and easily to all parts of the body. Its circulation should not be hindered by tight clothing or bands, or by insufficient clothing of the extremities.”7

“Another evil which custom fosters is the unequal distribution of the clothing, so that while some parts of the body have more than is required, others are insufficiently clad. The feet and limbs, being remote from the vital organs, should be especially guarded from cold by abundant clothing. It is impossible to have health when the extremities are habitually cold; for if there is too little blood in them there will be too much in other portions of the body. Perfect health requires a perfect circulation; but this cannot be had while three or four times as much clothing is worn upon the body, where the vital organs are situated, as upon the feet and limbs.”8

Conclusion

God has endowed our human body with an excellent infrastructure and system of communication—the circulatory system. Especially in our world of sin full of germs, toxins, and impurities, it is of vital importance to maintain the circulatory system unhindered in doing its daily work of purification. Clogging it in one area may have an impact on the whole system.

Let’s breathe fresh air, drink pure water in abundance, take regular baths; let’s open our windows especially at night, exercise even in wintertime, and evenly cover our bodies even in summertime.

References
1 See The Desire of Ages, p. 21.
2 Counsels on Health, p. 173.
3 The Ministry of Healing, p. 272.
4 Ibid., p. 237.
5 Counsels on Health, p. 173.
6 The Health Reformer, May 1, 1873.
7 The Ministry of Healing, p. 271.
8 Ibid., p. 293. [Emphasis added.]