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From High To Low: How What's Outside Of Us Gets In; or,
What We Can Learn About Health From Switzerland And Napoleon's Hair!

by Mark Cammack    June 27, 2019


"What if being aware of this can allow you to improve health, brain and body performance, and may possibly save your life?"



Three images show chemical concentration going from high to low. The first has blue dots representing oxygen and the outline of a person. Some oxygen is being breathed in. The second image shows potentially harmful chemicals as red dots while only oxygen is in the person. The third image shows that the chemical has entered the body as red dots appear.

How the chemical concentration in the environment can affect us.


Image 1 shows a person in a pure environment. The blue dots represent oxygen amidst a background of nitrogen. The lungs act as a pump to help bring in air when we breathe. Oxygen is distributed throughout the body. Image 2 has chemicals or heavy metals in the environment. These are not naturally occurring in a human being. Our surroundings can be contaminated by things we do not need. Some substances can get into us by contact with the skin or through foods. Lastly, we see the outcome with the concentration of undesirable items increasing in us.

In human history our bodies have generally done well by getting rid of things that did not belong in them. We have many detoxifying systems at our disposal. These include tiny cellular pumps that move substances from one place to another. The liver has phases of detoxification that work in stages. There are methods that are not so apparent, even to persons teaching university anatomy. I watched a fellow lecturing to his class in the United States. It went something like this...

"What is the purpose of hair?" the speaker began.
"It helps us sense things," a student replied.
"You mean like insects crawling on us? ...Nope... Anyone else want to try?" the teacher queried.
"It changes the way we look," another pupil responded.
"No, hair has no purpose," the teacher proclaimed.

With the above exchange, the class looked confused. Let's try to clear things up. First, nature usually does something for a reason. Energy is required to make hair. The first student was correct in that hair can help us sense insects or other items in the environment that we may need to know about. While the hair that we see is considered as not being alive, the layers of skin it begins in and grows through are. The skin has sensors and hair can be like an extension to them. Suppose a venomous black widow spider just began crawling on your body. Would you have gratitude for experiencing a tickle from hair? The sensation can give you forewarning and hopefully allow you to safely remove a bug before it bites.


A photo of a black widow spider crawling on a twig

Black widow spider of the genus Latrodectus.
They inject the dangerous neurotoxin latrotoxin.


A black widow spider might remain for a time on a hairless twig, but hopefully we can sense it quickly. The concentration of toxin goes from high while inside the spider to low if it injects it in a person or animal. I saw these just outside a former house and one was living under the hood of my car. Fortunately, no bites occurred and careful methods were used to eliminate the spiders.

The second student was also correct from a sociobiological perspective. Social signaling in human history has involved the amount, color, and location of hair. Hair can make an animal or person look bigger in nature and less likely to be pounced upon by an adversary or predator (please do not put this to a test). The gray hairs in some cultures are associated with wisdom and can indicate a dominant role in that society. Monks such as Buddhists may do the opposite and shave their heads entirely indicating their social position. Wigs have also been worn to reveal rank by major world cultures. This is notably still in use for respectful status purposes by British judges in court.

The students were on the right path. It is not always what we immediately see, but rather what we do not that can be of value. What was hidden was chemistry. Hair helps us in a way that is seldom discussed. As we go from high to low, can you guess what that is?


A painting of Napoleon Bonaparte in regalia wearing a black top,  gold epaulets, white pants, and tall black boots. He is trapped between the chemical symbol for mercury and arsenic.

Napoleon Trapped Between Mercury And Arsenic.


Was Napoleon Bonaparte's Waterloo really arsenic? According to documents, his hair tested positive for high levels of the element. This was likely beyond what his body could remove naturally to remain in good health. Napoleon reportedly had symptoms of heavy metal poisoning. It has been speculated that he may have breathed in arsenic from green wallpaper that contained it. Both Paris Green and Scheele's Green paints and pigments contain arsenic. Paris Green has been used to kill insects and rodents, and is still in use in fireworks.

One account goes into detail of multiple possible sources that may have affected Napoleon. Amazingly, the paper reveals a small group of French police looking into the matter without being able to substantiate damaging effects. We may need to call upon someone else for clues. It should be noted that there are general and specific individual responses from substances which were not considered. We would expect variances from person-to-person and in testing from hair-to-hair. If the amount of arsenic was elevated at a distinct time, would we not suspect suspects both environmental and of the two-legged variety? The American Museum of Natural History issued an article with a crucial point. According to it, two days before Napoleon died he was given mercury containing Calomel by British doctors. He collapsed afterwards and never recovered. Mercury is a poison in its own right and further burdens detoxification paths (see Mercury Toxicity).


“You medical people will have more lives to answer for in the other world than even we generals” - Napoleon Bonaparte


The answer to our initial riddle is that hair helps us to eliminate toxic substances such as heavy metals. We can clearly test and find them in human hair. One reason this happens is because of the sulfur content. Sulfur is also in glutathione which can aid us as it binds with heavy metals for removal. We may see arsenic, lead, and mercury when testing hair. It has a purpose. It assists in taking an undesirable metal inside us back to the outside. It helps to restore the proper clean state and functioning of the human body. If we are fortunate the toxic levels are low enough to allow recovery. There are multiple routes for the elimination of undesirable things. The body is constantly working to bring us into a healthy balance.

The general process of going from high to low concentration can happen with many chemicals. Picture being in a hotel room or office with windows that are sealed shut. You do not have access to fresh air. The only air received is recirculated from ducts or a wall air conditioning unit without an outside vent. It is possible to breathe in bacteria, viruses, molds, cleaning agents, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and more. The term sick building syndrome has emerged due to buildings that may have high concentrations of things that can be harmful to us. It is not that a person necessarily has inherent poor health, but rather that they can be injured due to what is in the closed environment.

Most of us do not encounter venomous spiders regularly. We may experience chemical or heavy metal toxins though. Just as we can sense something on us that should not be there with hair, our bodies also sense things that get in us. Instead of being tickled, we may feel headache, nausea, fatigue, or flu-like symptoms.

When we eat or breathe, we are taking in a concentration of what is in the food or air. It is often going from high to low unless we have more of something already inside of us. If that something is healthy, such as oxygen, vitamins, phytonutrients, protein, or water, our cells gladly receive it. If it can be detrimental, like arsenic from old wallpaper or perhaps rice, mercury from some seafoods, pesticides, paint and cleaning agent fumes, etc., our cells may not be so glad. It is vital to be aware of the ratio of what is outside of us to what is inside.


A color photograph of multi-story buildings in Zurich, Switzerland. Various windows are open that allow for fresh air to enter.

Lovely Zurich, Switzerland. It is a tradition to open the windows regularly for fresh air.


In health aware countries such as Switzerland and Germany, it is common to open windows for fresh air daily. This can be seen in apartments, homes, and businesses. It may be a few times per day for even five minutes duration. It is done throughout the year and even in winter. This can balance concentrations of what is in the air. Frequently an emphasis is placed on salubrious surroundings. They understand what it means to go from high to low!







Works of interest

American Museum of Natural History. (2014). Poison: What Killed Napoleon? Retrieved from American Museum of Natural History

Cammack, Mark. (2004). Mercury Toxicity: A Cause for Concern In Sports & Health. Retrieved from doublebrainandbodypower.com

Colby, George E. (1901). Arsenical insecticides : Paris green, commercial substitutes, home-made arsenicals. Retrieved from archive.org

Florea, Ana-Maria; Yamoah, Ebenezer N.; and Dopp, Elke. (2005). Intracellular Calcium Disturbances Induced by Arsenic and Its Methylated Derivatives in Relation to Genomic Damage and Apoptosis Induction. Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, University Hospital, Essen, Germany; Department of Otolaryngology, Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California, USA. Retrieved from nih.gov

Hindmarsh, J. Thomas; Savory, John. (2008). The Death of Napoleon, Cancer or Arsenic? Clinical Chemistry. Retrieved from Clinical Chemisty

Seguin, E. C. (1882). Myelitis following acute arsenical poisoning (by Paris or Schweinfurth green). Retrieved from archive.org


Images

All images are © Copyright 2019 Mark Cammack. All rights reserved.

Concentration Goes From High To Low image is a work created by author. A part of it is based on art from the public domain Silhouette of a brain inside a human. publicdomainvectors.org

Black widow spider on a twig is a derived and modified work by author. It is based on the original public domain photo by James Gathany for the CDC. phil.cdc.gov

Napoleon Trapped Between Mercury And Arsenic is a derived and modified work by author. It is based on the original public domain art by Charles François Gabriel Levachez, following Louis Joseph Lefèvre. wikimedia.org

Open Windows in Lovely Zurich, Switzerland is a derived and modified work by author. It is based on the original public domain photo graciously provided by Julian Hacker of Hamburg, Germany. Jonny_Joka at pixabay.com






© Copyright 2019 Mark Cammack. All rights reserved.