This piece continues from the previous part of Stones in the Body: More Frightening Than Cancer (Yoon Jong-won). The body, figures, and citations follow the manuscript as written.
4. Where Should We Cut It
To break a vicious cycle, we must cut it somewhere. Where is easiest to cut?
In most cases D (Deficiency) is the link that is easiest to cut. When you exercise, D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) is blocked, and H-CR (circulatory hypoxia) is blocked as well. With a single action you close two gates.
When you take care of nutrition, D-NT (nutritional deficiency) is blocked. Immunity recovers. I (Inflammation) decreases.
When you block D (Deficiency), I (Inflammation) decreases; when I (Inflammation) decreases, A (Acidosis) decreases; when A (Acidosis) decreases, D (Deficiency) decreases further. A virtuous cycle begins.
At fifty-five, in a health checkup Mr. O received diagnoses of osteopenia, hypertension, prediabetes, and arteriosclerosis. It was not osteoporosis yet, but it meant he was heading there. Only then did he come to his senses. He began to exercise. He began to take care of his meals.
It was late, but not too late. The links of the vicious cycle can be cut.
Finding My Coordinates: A Self-Check of the Bone Calcium Efflux DIAH Trigger
So far we have examined the structure of the DIAH funnel. We have confirmed how tens of thousands of factors gather into the four DIAH trigger gates, how the primary, secondary, and tertiary differ, and how the gates connect to one another.
Now a question remains.
Where am I?
Which gate of mine is open?
Where did I begin?
Scene: The Six-Step Determination Procedure
We will find our own coordinates by ourselves. You simply follow the six steps.
Step 1: Check the Current State
First, check your current state. Do you have a diagnosed disease? Do you have an uncomfortable symptom? Is there an item you were flagged for in a checkup?
For example, things like "I am taking hypertension medication," "My lower back often hurts," "The checkup said my bone density is low."
Step 2: Determine the Preceding DIAH Trigger
Think about which of D, I, A, H that state is related to. Which gate opened first?
If it is hypertension? If the blood vessels are stiff, calcification may have accumulated on the vessel walls. It is a misplacement of calcium following bone calcium efflux. Then what caused the bone calcium efflux? If stress was severe, it may be I-ST (stress inflammation). If you did not exercise, it may be D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) and H-CR (circulatory hypoxia).
If bone density is low? Calcium is leaking out of the bones. It is bone calcium efflux. What caused the bone calcium efflux? If calcium intake was insufficient, it is D-NT (nutritional deficiency). If you did not exercise, it is D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency). If there was chronic inflammation, it is I (Inflammation).
Step 3: Trace the Trigger Cause
Find the concrete cause that produced that trigger. If it is D-PH, why did you not exercise? If it is I-ST, what stress did you receive?
Only when you find the cause does a solution emerge.
Step 4: Determine the Tier
Determine which of primary, secondary, or tertiary that cause corresponds to.
If the reason you did not exercise is that you were depressed, it is primary. The problem of the mind is the root.
If the reason you did not exercise is simply that it was bothersome, that the habit did not take hold, it is secondary. It is a lifestyle-habit problem.
If the reason you did not exercise is that you were in a cast from a fracture, it is tertiary. It is an acute-event problem.
The approach differs according to the tier.
Step 5: Select the Subcode
Combining the trigger and the cause, you select one of the nineteen subcodes.
This is how you attach a code.
Step 6: Composite Coding
In most cases not just one gate opens. Several open at once. You distinguish and mark the main one (the main code) and the incidental ones (the sub codes).
Composite Coding Example
Do you remember Mr. Park? A fifty-three-year-old man whose snoring was severe. Through sleep apnea, H-RS (respiratory hypoxia) opened first; as hypoxia repeated every night, I-ST (stress inflammation) arose; and as he grew fatigued and stopped exercising, D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) followed.
Sleep apnea is primary. Because it is a problem of rhythm. The inflammation too arose because of it, so it is primary. The decrease in activity became a habit, so it is secondary.
Example 2: Heavy Drinking + Nutritional Decline + Metabolic Inflammation
Do you remember Mr. O? A fifty-five-year-old man who was nutritionally deficient, drank often, and developed metabolic inflammation.
Because heavy drinking was the main habit, A-DT (dietary acid load) is the main code. Nutritional deficiency (D-NT) and metabolic inflammation (I-MT) followed incidentally. All are habit problems, so they are secondary.
Do you remember Ms. Jeong? A seventy-two-year-old woman who fell and broke her hip, and whose condition worsened while she lay in bed.
A fall is an acute event, so it is tertiary. Because of being bedridden, D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) and H-CR (circulatory hypoxia) arose.
What is your code?
Pick up a pen now. And check the questions below.
[Table] 📝 My DIAH Coordinate Checklist - if it applies, mark ✓ in the □.
| Category | Check Item |
|---|---|
| [Primary factor: mind/rhythm] | |
| □ | I am often stressed, and I have no proper way to relieve it |
| □ | In the last 3 months, it has often taken more than 1 hour to fall asleep |
| □ | Even after waking in the morning I do not feel refreshed, and I am often drowsy during the day |
| □ | Without any special reason I feel listless or lack motivation |
| □ | Meeting people feels bothersome, and my time spent alone has increased |
| [Secondary factor: habit] | |
| □ | My daily walking time is less than 30 minutes |
| □ | My sitting time is 8 hours or more a day |
| □ | I often eat ultra-processed foods such as snacks, instant noodles, and frozen foods |
| □ | I often eat sweet foods or carbonated drinks |
| □ | I drink alcohol 3 or more times a week |
| □ | I hardly eat vegetables and fruits |
| □ | My protein (meat, fish, eggs, legumes) intake is insufficient (*1.2-1.6g per 1kg of body weight recommended) |
| [Tertiary factor: acute event] | |
| □ | Within the last 1 year I have experienced a fall, fracture, surgery, or hospitalization |
| □ | Within the last 1 year I suffered a major infection (pneumonia, urinary tract infection, etc.) |
| [Interpretation criteria] | |
| ✓ 2 or more primary | You must care for the mind and rhythm first |
| ✓ 3 or more secondary | You must change the structure of your habits |
| ✓ 1 or more tertiary | You must focus on recovery and rehabilitation |
| ✓ 5 or more in total | Your DIAH funnel is already widening |
If you have finished checking, now try to attach your own code.
What is your current state?
Which gate opened first?
What tier is that cause?
If you know the code, you can know where to block.
Big 5: The Five Keys That Open the Modern Person's DIAH Funnel
Among the nineteen codes, focus on and remember the five most common in modern people.
[Table] Big 5 - The Core Codes That Explain 80% of the Whole
| Rank | Code | Name | Core Message |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D-PH | Lack of exercise | If you do not move, the bone signal is cut off |
| 2 | D-NT | Nutritional deficiency | If there is no material such as calcium, the body borrows from the bones |
| 3 | I-ST | Stress | The fire of the mind burns the bones |
| 4 | A-DT | Wrong diet | When acid piles up, it is neutralized with bone |
| 5 | H-RS | Sleep/breathing disorder | When oxygen is cut off, every door opens |
When these five overlap, the DIAH funnel widens rapidly. Conversely, when you block these five, the DIAH funnel narrows.
The table below is all nineteen codes. The Big 5 are marked with ★.
[Table 6-9] Classification Table of 19 Subcodes (★ = Big 5)
| Trigger | Code | Name | Core Mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | ★ D-PH | Physical-stimulus deficiency | No stimulus (gravity, weight-bearing, exercise) to the bone |
| ★ D-NT | Nutritional deficiency | Insufficient intake of calcium, vitamin D, protein, minerals | |
| D-LF | Life-input deficiency | Insufficient basic inputs such as sleep, sunlight, water | |
| D-MD | Drug-induced deficiency | Deficiency caused by steroids, PPIs, diuretics, etc. | |
| D-HR | Hormone deficiency | Insufficient estrogen, testosterone, growth hormone | |
| I | I-EN | Environmental amplifier | Environmental inflammation such as pollution, chemicals, dust, smoking |
| I-MT | Metabolic inflammation | Metabolic causes such as obesity, glucotoxicity, insulin resistance | |
| I-CH | Chronic infection | Persistent infection such as periodontitis, leaky gut, chronic bronchitis | |
| I-AC | Acute infection | Acute infection such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, sepsis | |
| I-AG | Aging inflammation | Chronic low-grade inflammation due to immune aging | |
| ★ I-ST | Stress inflammation | Inflammation from the collapse of the cortisol rhythm | |
| I-AI | Autoimmune inflammation | Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism, lupus | |
| A | A-FN | Functional acidosis | Insufficient acid-excretion capacity from declining kidney and liver function |
| ★ A-DT | Dietary acid load | Acid load from high protein, high salt, processed food, alcohol | |
| A-RS | Respiratory acidosis | CO₂ retention from COPD, sleep apnea, etc. | |
| A-HM | Hypermetabolic acidosis | Metabolic hyperactivity such as hyperthyroidism | |
| H | H-CR | Circulatory hypoxia | Reduced blood flow from heart failure, vascular disease, lack of exercise |
| ★ H-RS | Respiratory hypoxia | Reduced oxygen intake from lung disease, sleep apnea | |
| H-AN | Anemic hypoxia | Reduced oxygen transport from iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, anemia of chronic disease |
Conclusion: Narrowing the DIAH Funnel Is Prevention
So far we have come a long journey together.
We have seen the structure of the DIAH funnel. We learned that tens of thousands of factors gather into the four DIAH gates and ultimately converge into a single exit (bone calcium efflux).
We have seen the difference among primary, secondary, and tertiary. We learned that the primary, as a problem of mind and rhythm, amplifies the DIAH funnel over the long term; the secondary, as a problem of habit, expands the funnel every day; and the tertiary, as an acute event, passes through the funnel in a single stroke.
We followed the stories of patients. Ms. Jeong, Mr. Park, Mr. Lee, Mr. O. We saw how the gates opened and the chain occurred in their bodies.
We also saw the door that drugs can open. We saw the vicious cycle of the chain as well. We also learned how to find our own coordinates.
Then what is the conclusion?
Narrowing the DIAH funnel is prevention.
You simply narrow the entrance of the DIAH funnel. You simply reduce the factors entering the gates. You simply close the opened gates.
The tertiary cannot be avoided. You can fall at any time, be infected, undergo surgery.
But the primary and secondary can be managed. When you care for the mind, keep your sleep, exercise, and take care of nutrition, the gates narrow.
When the gates are narrow, even if the same tertiary comes, the result is different. Like Mr. A, you become a body that gets up even after falling.
Scene: The Most Efficient Intervention Point
Among the countless factors, where is the most efficient intervention point?
[Table] One-Sentence Prescription
| Prescription | Content | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| ① Move | Exercise blocks D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) and H-CR (circulatory hypoxia) at the same time | The only intervention with a double effect |
| ② Guard your sleep | Sleep is the recovery switch of the primary factor | When the primary collapses, the secondary and tertiary follow automatically |
Exercise is special. No other intervention can block two gates at once.
When you exercise, physical stimulus reaches the bone. D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) closes.
When you exercise, the muscle pump runs. H-CR (circulatory hypoxia) closes.
With a single action you close two doors. Exercise is the only intervention with such efficiency.
Sleep too is special. Sleep is the recovery switch of the primary factor.
While you sleep, growth hormone is secreted. The cortisol rhythm recovers. Inflammation calms. Damaged tissue is repaired.
When the primary factor recovers, correction of the secondary factor becomes possible. Only when the mind is healthy does the motivation to exercise arise, and the motivation to eat good food arise. When the secondary is corrected, a reserve capacity against the tertiary arises.
Also, if you maintain the blood calcium concentration through calcium intake and strengthen nerve and muscle function, you can suppress the primary and secondary factors. A point to note is that in the elderly, whose secretion of the gastric acid that breaks down calcium has decreased with aging, or in those whose digestive function has declined due to stress, even if they consume high-calcium foods or calcium supplements, it may not break down well in the stomach and absorption may be difficult.
In such cases it is important to choose a calcium whose particles are small so the absorption rate is high, and whose bioavailability has been verified through the use of natural raw materials. Conversely, calcium with large particles, even in large intake amounts, is not absorbed smoothly, and may instead fail to improve or even worsen the state of deficiency in the body.
Therefore, when choosing a calcium supplement, it is advisable to consume it after confirming whether scientific clinical data exist and whether there is verified evidence registered in an SCI-class paper.
The core of this chapter: the Four Gates of Death (四關門)
We will organize what we have seen in this chapter into a single picture.
[Diagram] Comprehensive Diagram of the DIAH Four Gates Funnel
| Layer | Content |
|---|---|
| Entrance (the sea of factors) | |
| Primary factor | Stress, depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, trauma... |
| Secondary factor | Lack of exercise, overeating, drinking, smoking, sedentary living... |
| Tertiary factor | Fall, fracture, infection, surgery, hospitalization... |
| ↓ | All factors converge downward |
| DIAH: the Four Gates of Death (四關門) | |
| D (Deficiency) | Deficiency - there is no material |
| I (Inflammation) | Inflammation - the fire does not go out |
| A (Acidosis) | Acidosis - acid piles up |
| H (Hypoxia) | Hypoxia - oxygen is insufficient |
| ↓ | All converge here |
| BCO: Bone Calcium Efflux | Calcium leaks out of the bones and flows into the blood |
The names of diseases number in the hundreds. Like hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, angina, dementia, and cancer, they sound heavy at the mere mention of the name and seem to be diseases that walk entirely different roads from one another. The causes too number in the tens of thousands. Like stress, lack of exercise, overeating, drinking, falls, and infection, merely listing the everyday scenes has no end.
But is it not strange? Even though the causes and disease names are scattered endlessly like this, the flow when the body collapses always appears wearing a similar face.
On the surface it begins in tens of thousands of branches, but once it enters the body, the gates it must ultimately pass through are only four. The gate where deficiency piles up, the gate where inflammation does not go out, the gate that tilts toward acidification, and the gate of hypoxia where the supply of oxygen and energy is shaken.
Even as the number of disease names increases, it is the result of passing through the four gates that lead to death, and so what we must truly look at is not the 'name of the disease' but the point of where among these four gates my body is now being blocked.
Death, whatever the cause and whatever the path it goes through, ultimately passes through one or more of the doors of D (Deficiency), I (Inflammation), A (Acidosis), H (Hypoxia) and leads to bone calcium efflux. This is the meaning of the saying "the causes differ but the road is one."
We call these four doors the Four Gates of Death.
When the Four Gates open, the safe of the bones opens. When the safe opens, calcium leaks out. When the leaked calcium piles up, chronic disease begins.
But put the other way, if you guard the Four Gates, the safe stays closed.
This is the core message of this chapter.
3. Now We Know the "Why"
Before reading this chapter, we knew that stress is bad. We also knew that lack of exercise is harmful. Overeating, drinking, lack of sleep. We knew that all of them are not good.
But we did not know "why they are bad." We only knew vaguely that they are "not good for health."
Now we know.
The reason stress is bad is that it opens the gate called I-ST (stress inflammation) and causes bone calcium efflux. The reason lack of exercise is harmful is that it opens two gates, D-PH (physical-stimulus deficiency) and H-CR (circulatory hypoxia), at the same time. The reason overeating is dangerous is that it chronically widens the funnel through A-DT (dietary acid load) and I-MT (metabolic inflammation).
The vague warning has become a concrete pathway.
If you know this pathway, your behavior changes. The abstract resolution "I should live healthily" becomes the concrete action "Since I must block D-PH, let me walk 30 minutes today." The vague wish "I should reduce stress" becomes the strategy "Let me guard my sleep first so that the I-ST gate does not open."
The value of the DIAH Four Gates funnel theory lies here. It connected the common sense that everyone knows through a pathway that no one knew. That is why it becomes a motivation for practice. That is why it becomes a coordinate for prevention.
Let us confirm the position of this chapter again.
The DIAH-7M Aging and Chronic Disease Pathway System is composed of five stages.
[Table] The 5 Stages of the DIAH-7M Pathway System (position of this chapter)
| Stage | English | Theory Name | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ① Factor | Factor | DIAH Four Gates Funnel Theory | ◀ this chapter |
| ② Start | Start | DIAH Trigger Bone Calcium Efflux Theory | ◀ next chapter |
| ③ Lockdown | Lockdown | Calcium Absorption and Microcalcification Double Lockdown Theory | |
| ④ Manifestation | Manifestation | Calcification 7M Pathological Manifestation Theory | |
| ⑤ Result | Result | 7M Collapse of the Life System |
The DIAH Four Gates funnel theory covered in this chapter is the first, the domain of ① Factor. Stress, lack of exercise, overeating, drinking, falls, infection. We have seen how these tens of thousands of factors converge into the four gates of D, I, A, H, and how they are systematized into primary, secondary, and tertiary.
We learned what opens the bone calcium efflux gate.
In the next chapter we see how the gate opens. This is the second, the domain of ② Start.
When D (Deficiency) arises, what signal does the body send? When I (Inflammation) persists, what happens in the bones? When A (Acidosis) piles up, why is calcium mobilized? When H (Hypoxia) occurs, how does the cell respond?
And how these four signals operate the master key called PTH (parathyroid hormone) and force open the safe of the bones.
If the DIAH Four Gates funnel theory showed "why disease comes (factor)," the DIAH Trigger Bone Calcium Efflux Theory shows "how disease begins (start)."
The biochemical mechanism by which the four gates converge into a single exit, the world of the DIAH trigger, unfolds in the next chapter.
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