This piece continues from the previous installment of Stones in the Body: More Frightening Than Cancer (Yoon Jong-won). The body, figures, and citations follow the manuscript as written.
The Walking Sea
When you analyze the composition of the body's fluids, a startling fact is revealed. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium. Measure the ratios of these ions. They are almost identical to the composition of the primordial sea.
Imagine 500 million years ago. Our ancestor was a fish that lived in the sea. One day a brave fish came up onto land. It left the sea.
But did it really leave the sea? No. It did not abandon the sea and come. It came up carrying the sea inside its body. It came out onto the land carrying seawater in a vessel called skin.
The blood flowing through your body right now, the fluid that fills the space between cell and cell, this is the very descendant of the sea of 500 million years ago. We are the walking sea. Our 37 trillion cells are fish that live in that inner sea.
Calcium is the memory of the sea. The composition of the sea of 500 million years ago still flows through our bodies.
But in this inner sea a strange paradox occurs. As we age, calcium becomes deficient, and yet places arise where calcium overflows instead.
The Calcium Paradox: If It Is Deficient, Why Does It Overflow
Professor Takuo Fujita of Japan is a scholar who studied bone all his life. He discovered a strange paradox and named it the "calcium paradox."
Examine the bones of a patient with osteoporosis. Calcium is deficient. The bones are brittle and crumbly. But examine the blood vessels of the same patient. Calcium is piled on thick. The vessel walls have hardened stiff.
Is this not strange? In the bones there is a crisis because calcium is deficient, and in the blood vessels there is a crisis because calcium overflows. The place where it is deficient and the place where it overflows exist simultaneously in the same body. Why does such a thing happen?
Let me explain the reason. If the calcium concentration in the blood drops even a little, the brain declares a state of emergency. This is because if the calcium concentration drops, the heart can stop. The brain immediately commands that calcium be brought at once.
Where will it be brought from? The bones. The bones are the storehouse of calcium. A hormone comes out of the parathyroid gland and commands that the bones be dissolved. The calcium stored in the bones pours out into the blood. This is an emergency prescription. Rather than have the heart stop right now, it is better to dissolve a little of the bone.
The problem is what comes next. Where does the calcium mobilized in this way go? It drifts through the blood without regulation. Then it clings to a damaged vessel wall. It hardens like cement. This is vascular calcification.
To summarize, it is like this. The calcium we eat has its absorbed amount regulated in the small intestine. Only as much as is needed comes in. But the calcium forced out of the bones does not pass through a regulatory pathway. The cause of calcification is not the calcium we eat. It is the calcium that came out of the bones because of deficiency.
Calcium is an emergency medicine. It is a medicine used in urgent times, but it has side effects.
The Human Six-Stage Cycle
Now let us organize the human lifetime from the perspective of calcium.
[Table 3-1] The Human Cycle of Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death and the Six-Stage Cycle of the Calcium Code
| Stage | Category | Biological Phenomenon | Role of the Calcium Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birth | Fertilization and differentiation | [Switch ON] At the moment of fertilization a calcium wave must occur in the egg for cell division to begin |
| 2 | Growth | Skeletal formation | [Construction Material] With the ingested calcium the bones (pillars) are erected and the neural network is connected |
| 3 | Reproduction | Reproduction and prime | [Trigger] Sperm motility, egg maturation, uterine contraction and other core triggers of the transmission of life |
| 4 | Decline | DIAH activation | [The Beginning of the Paradox] The DIAH four gates open, bone calcium leaks out, and the emergency medicine turns into "calcification poison" |
| 5 | Death | Calcification 7M | [Blockade and Collapse] By the 7M mechanisms the life system physically ceases operation |
| 6 | Return | Return to nature | [Return of Materials] The calcium of the bones returns to the soil, and the calcium of the body fluids returns to the water, becoming the material of another life |
Look at the table. In the first half of life (birth to reproduction), calcium is a blessing. It is an absolute good that creates and raises life. But in the second half of life (decline to death), calcium turns into a judge. Depending on how we lived, it pulls the DIAH trigger and makes the body harden. And after death (return), calcium enters once more into the cycle loop of the vast living organism that is the Earth.
The Theory of the Calcium Execution Code: DNA Designs, Calcium Executes
Ever since James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, we have called DNA the blueprint of life. In DNA the method of making proteins is recorded, when the cell must divide is encoded, and in what order development must proceed is written down.
But nothing happens by the blueprint alone. No matter how precisely an architectural blueprint is drawn, someone must lay the bricks, weave the rebar, and pour the concrete for the building to rise. The blueprint tells us what must be made, but what actually makes it is not the blueprint.
In life, what is that executor? If DNA is the design code of life, calcium is the execution code that actually carries out that design. From the moment the fertilized egg awakens to the moment the heart stops its last beat, calcium executes every decisive moment of life.
DNA designs "what to make and how," and calcium executes "when to activate it."
Basic Function of Life Maintenance 1. Heartbeat: 3 Billion Calcium Switches Over a Lifetime
The heart beats about 100,000 times a day. That is 36 million times a year, and if you live 80 years, about 3 billion times. Every single one of these 3 billion beats operates by calcium.
DNA designs the heart. It makes the cardiac muscle cells, arranges the ryanodine receptors, installs the SERCA pumps, and assembles the contractile proteins in advance. To compare it to a car, it is a state in which the engine block, the pistons, and the fuel injection system are all assembled. But if you do not turn the ignition key, the engine will not run.
With every beat, calcium turns the ignition key. When the electrical signal arrives, the calcium channels of the cell membrane open, and a small amount of calcium flows in. This stimulates the ryanodine receptors of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and a large amount of calcium is released. This is called "calcium-induced calcium release (CICR)."
When the released calcium binds to troponin C, the actin-myosin interaction occurs and the cardiac muscle contracts. When contraction ends, the SERCA pump sends the calcium back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Relaxation occurs. This process repeats 60 to 100 times a minute, about 100,000 times a day, and 2.5 billion to 3 billion times over a lifetime.
Calcium is the ignition key of the heart. What makes the heart designed by DNA beat every moment is calcium.
2. Muscle Contraction: Calcium Moves the Robot Arm
Skeletal muscle works on the same principle. The actin and myosin filaments are arranged, troponin and tropomyosin are positioned, and the sarcoplasmic reticulum is installed. To compare it to a robot arm, it is a state in which the motor, the gears, and the joints are all assembled. But without a command to operate, the robot arm does not move.
When the brain commands it to move, calcium operates the robot arm. The signal is transmitted through the motor nerve, acetylcholine is released at the neuromuscular junction, and the muscle cell membrane is depolarized. When calcium is released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and binds to troponin C, the actin-myosin interaction occurs and the muscle contracts.
Every movement of walking, running, grasping, and throwing is executed in this way. No matter how perfect the blueprint, calcium must give the command for the muscle to move.
3. Respiration and the Autonomic Nervous System: Calcium Steps on the Pedal
Respiration is the same. There is the diaphragm, the intercostal muscles are positioned, and the respiratory center is programmed into the brainstem. To compare it to a pump, all the parts of the pump are assembled. But if you do not pump, the air will not come in.
With every breath, calcium does the pumping. A signal goes out from the respiratory center of the brainstem, an action potential is transmitted along the phrenic nerve, calcium flows into the diaphragm muscle cells, and the muscle contracts. This is 12 to 20 times a minute, about 20,000 times a day, and hundreds of millions of times over a lifetime.
The autonomic nervous system is the same. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are installed. To compare it to a car, they are the accelerator and the brake pedal. In a crisis situation, calcium steps on the accelerator. When the sympathetic nerve is activated, calcium flows into the nerve endings, norepinephrine is released, the heart rate goes up, and blood pressure rises. When the crisis passes, calcium steps on the brake.
In every moment of breathing, making the heart beat, and responding to a crisis, calcium steps on the pedal.
4. Blood Pressure Regulation: Calcium Operates the Valve
If we compare vascular smooth muscle to a plumbing system, the pipes and valves are installed. But if you do not operate the valves, the water pressure is not regulated.
At every moment, calcium operates the valve. When calcium flows into the vascular smooth muscle cells, the muscle contracts, the blood vessel narrows, and blood pressure goes up. When calcium is removed by the pump, the muscle relaxes, the blood vessel widens, and blood pressure goes down. What actually raises and lowers blood pressure is calcium.
5. Body Temperature Regulation: Calcium Runs the Air Conditioner
If we compare the body temperature regulation system to an air conditioner, the cooler, the heater, the ventilator, and the temperature sensor are all installed. But if you do not run the system, the indoor temperature is not regulated.
When it is hot, calcium runs the cooling system. When calcium flows into the sweat gland cells, sweat is secreted, and when calcium exits from the smooth muscle of the skin's blood vessels, the vessels dilate and heat is released. When it is cold, calcium runs the heating system. When repeated calcium signals are transmitted to the skeletal muscle, shivering occurs and heat is produced.
[Table 4-1] Basic Functions of Life Maintenance: DNA Design vs Calcium Execution
| Function | What DNA Designed | What Calcium Executes | Analogy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heartbeat | Cardiac muscle cells, ryanodine receptors, SERCA | Repeated contraction/relaxation by CICR | Ignition key of the engine |
| Respiration | Diaphragm, intercostal muscles, respiratory center | Air intake/exhaust by muscle contraction | Pumping |
| Autonomic nervous system | Sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system | Release of norepinephrine/acetylcholine | Accelerator and brake |
| Blood pressure | Vascular smooth muscle, calcium channels/pumps | Vascular contraction/relaxation | Valve operation |
| Body temperature | Sweat glands, skin blood vessels, shivering reflex | Sweat secretion, vasodilation/vasoconstriction, shivering | Air conditioning system |
Nutrition and Metabolism
For the heart to beat and for us to breathe, energy is needed. To obtain energy, food must be digested.
1. Digestion: Calcium Turns the Conveyor Belt
Let us compare the digestive system to a conveyor belt. The smooth muscle of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines is the belt, and the parietal cells that secrete gastric acid and the pancreatic cells that secrete digestive enzymes are the sorting devices. All the parts are installed, but if you do not turn the belt, the goods do not move.
When food comes in, calcium turns the conveyor belt. When calcium flows in turn into the smooth muscle of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, peristalsis occurs and the food moves downward. When calcium flows into the parietal cells of the stomach, gastric acid is secreted. When calcium flows into the acinar cells of the pancreas, digestive enzymes are secreted. Calcium executes every process of digestion.
2. Swallowing: A Precise Sequence That Happens Within 8 Seconds
If we compare swallowing to an elevator, the box, the cable, and the motor are installed. But if you do not press the button, the elevator does not move.
When you swallow food, calcium presses the button. Calcium flows into the tongue muscles and pushes the food toward the pharynx, calcium flows into the pharyngeal muscles and passes the food into the esophagus, and calcium flows in sequence into the esophageal muscles and sends the food down to the stomach. This precise sequence happens within about 8 seconds.
3. Saliva Secretion: 1.5 Liters of Lubricant a Day
If we compare the salivary glands to a faucet, the water pipe, the valve, and the tap are installed. But if you do not turn the tap, the water does not come out.
When you smell food or see food, calcium turns the faucet. When the autonomic nerve signal reaches the salivary glands, calcium flows into the cells and saliva is secreted. One to 1.5 liters of saliva a day is made in this way.
4. Urination: Calcium Opens the Drain Valve
If we compare the urination system to a drainage system, the water tank, the drainpipe, and the valve are installed. But if you do not open the valve, the water does not drain.
When the bladder fills, calcium opens the drain valve. When the urination reflex begins, calcium flows into the detrusor muscle and the bladder contracts, and as calcium exits from the sphincter, the sphincter relaxes and urine is discharged.
5. Enzyme Activation: Calcium Turns On the Power
Many enzymes finally "awaken from sleep" and begin their proper role only when calcium binds to them. This is true of enzymes that switch on and off inside the cell, like CaMK, PKC, and calpain, and also, in many cases, of enzymes like amylase and lipase that actually do the work in the digestive process, where the door of the reaction opens only when calcium attaches.
If we compare it to a machine in a factory, no matter how precisely the equipment is installed, if the power does not come on the belt stands still and the motor is silent, and the sensors, unable to read a signal, stand there as mere lumps of metal. The cell too is the same: even though "machines" called proteins hold their places, if calcium does not momentarily rise when a signal comes in, those machines cannot carry out actual work.
That is why calcium can be interpreted as operating not as a simple nutrient but like a "power cable" and an "operation button" that is the very first thing plugged in whenever a cell begins its work.
When a signal arrives at a cell, that signal, like an operation command from a central control room, creates a change in calcium concentration, and calcium rushes to where it is needed and attaches to the binding site of the enzyme, changing the enzyme's shape and bringing about activation. As a result, the enzyme carries out actual work such as phosphorylation, cleaving proteins, or switching metabolic flow.
In other words, "a signal has come" means an order sheet has been handed down, "calcium rises" means the power for execution has been switched on, and "the enzyme is activated" means the machine has begun to run. That is why the expression that calcium is the power switch of the enzyme is precise, and the rhythm of this switch turning on and off can be seen as ultimately creating the beat of the phenomenon of life.
6. Hormone Secretion: Calcium Gives the Order to Start Delivery
A hormone is an "order sheet" that transmits instructions to the whole body, like insulin or the sex hormones, and just because this order sheet has been made does not mean it automatically goes out; only after it is packaged inside the cell and then sent to the outside by the method called exocytosis does its effect finally begin.
It is just as, even if the goods are ready in the warehouse, if the delivery does not depart the recipient receives nothing. At this point calcium is not a supporting actor merely watching from the side, but plays the role of the execution button that stamps the signal "begin delivery now." When the calcium concentration momentarily rises near the cell membrane, the secretory vesicle approaches the membrane, and as membrane meets membrane and opens, a hormone like insulin is pushed out to the outside "delivery box and all."
To put it a little more simply, the hormone is the "instruction sheet" inside the delivery box, exocytosis is the final motion of the delivery driver setting the box down in front of the door, and calcium is the "order to start delivery" that makes that final motion possible. That is why, if calcium wavers, secretion can be delayed or thrown off even when the hormone has been made in sufficient quantity, and conversely, if the calcium signal turns on too frequently, secretion is repeated more than necessary and the rhythm can break.
In the end, the body's hormone system moves not by "what was made" alone but is decided by "when, how much, and with what timing it was delivered," and the stamp that marks that timing is precisely calcium. Calcium can be interpreted as the execution key that presses the delivery button of hormone secretion and actually makes the command "arrive" throughout the whole body.
[Table 4-2] Nutrition and Metabolism: DNA Design vs Calcium Execution
| Function | What DNA Designed | What Calcium Executes | Analogy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digestion | Gastrointestinal smooth muscle, secretory cells | Peristalsis, gastric acid/enzyme secretion | Conveyor belt |
| Swallowing | Tongue/pharynx/esophagus muscles | Sequential muscle contraction (8 seconds) | Elevator button |
| Saliva secretion | Salivary glands, secretory cells | Triggering of saliva secretion (1 to 1.5L/day) | Faucet |
| Urination | Detrusor muscle, sphincter | Bladder contraction, sphincter relaxation | Drain valve |
| Enzymes | CaMK, PKC, calpain, etc. | Enzyme activation | Power of the machine |
| Hormones | Insulin, sex hormones, etc. | Secretion by exocytosis | Delivery dispatch order |
Sensation and Cognition
Merely maintaining the body is not enough. The world must be perceived.
1. Brain Activity: Data Transmission Across 100 Trillion Synapses
The brain has 86 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses. To compare it to the internet, it is like fiber-optic cables, routers, and servers installed all over the world. But if data packets are not transmitted, the internet does not work.
At every moment, calcium transmits the data packets. When the action potential reaches the synaptic terminal, the calcium channels open, calcium flows in, synaptotagmin is activated, and neurotransmitters are released. This process happens at every moment in 100 trillion synapses, and all our thoughts, emotions, and memories are made. What makes the brain work is calcium.
2. Sensation: Calcium Makes Us Feel the World
You are reading these letters right now. A signal is being transmitted from your eyes to your brain. You are understanding the meaning of the letters. In all of this process, calcium is at work.
First, vision. In the eye, 120 million rod cells and 6 million cone cells are arranged. To compare it to a camera, it is a state in which the lens, the sensor, and the image processing chip are all in place. When light strikes the retina, calcium presses the shutter. At the photoreceptor synapse, calcium channels mediate neurotransmitter release and the visual information is passed on to the next stage.
Hearing is the same. In the cochlea, 16,000 hair cells are arranged. When sound comes in, the sound waves shake the cilia of the hair cells, the mechanosensitive channels open, and calcium flows in. This calcium triggers neurotransmitter release and the signal is transmitted to the auditory nerve.
What about taste? On the tongue there are about 10,000 taste buds. When food touches the tongue, the taste substance binds to the receptor, the intracellular signal pathway is activated, and calcium flows into the cytoplasm so that neurotransmitters are released.
Smell works on the same principle. In the olfactory epithelium of the nose there are about 400 different kinds of olfactory receptors. When an odor molecule binds to an olfactory receptor, the signal transduction pathway is activated, and calcium flows in so that an action potential is generated.
The sensation of the skin is no different. The Meissner corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, Merkel disks, and Ruffini endings are arranged. When pressure is applied to the skin, the mechanical stimulus deforms the sensory receptors, the ion channels open, and ions including calcium flow in so that a nerve signal is generated.
What about keeping balance? In the vestibular organ of the inner ear there are three semicircular canals and two otolith organs. When the body tilts or rotates, the movement of the lymph fluid bends the cilia of the hair cells, and calcium flows in so that neurotransmitters are released.
Finally, pain. Nociceptors are distributed throughout the whole body. When tissue is damaged, substances released from the damaged site activate the nociceptors, the ion channels open, and ions including calcium flow in so that the pain signal is transmitted to the brain.
In every moment of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, keeping balance, and feeling pain, calcium transmits the signal.
[Table 4-3] Sensation and Cognition: DNA Design vs Calcium Execution
| Sense | What DNA Designed | What Calcium Executes | Analogy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain/thought | 86 billion neurons, 100 trillion synapses | Neurotransmitter release | Internet data transmission |
| Vision | Rod/cone cells, retina, optic nerve | Phototransduction, signal transmission | Camera shutter |
| Hearing | 16,000 hair cells, auditory nerve | Neurotransmitter release | Microphone signal transmission |
| Taste | 10,000 taste buds, taste receptors | Neurotransmitter release | Transmission of a taster's evaluation |
| Smell | 400 kinds of olfactory receptors | Generation of action potential | Gas detection alarm |
| Touch | Meissner/Pacinian corpuscles, etc. | Generation of nerve signal | Touchscreen |
| Balance | Semicircular canals, otolith organs | Neurotransmitter release | Gyroscope |
| Pain | Nociceptors, pain nerves | Generation of action potential | Fire alarm |
Movement and Response
If the world has been felt, now it must be responded to.
1. Skeletal Muscle Contraction: Calcium Moves the Robot Arm
If we compare skeletal muscle to a robot arm, the motor, the gears, and the joints are all assembled, and it looks like a finished product with even the bolts tightened firmly according to the blueprint.
Inside the muscle, the actin and myosin filaments are precisely arranged, and troponin and tropomyosin hold their places like "safety devices," so that when there is no signal they lock the movement to keep the force from leaking.
But no matter how perfect the robot arm, if the command to operate does not come down, it merely stays still in place, and the muscle too, by the mere fact that its structure is in place, cannot move a single step. That is why it becomes much clearer to understand that "movement" is not a miracle the muscle creates on its own, but an "execution process" that converts the command into actual force when the command arrives.
When the brain commands "move," from that moment calcium becomes the power switch that actually operates the robot arm. The electrical signal comes down through the motor nerve, acetylcholine is released at the neuromuscular junction, and when that acetylcholine knocks on the receptors of the muscle cell membrane, the muscle cell membrane depolarizes and the door of "now ready to contract" opens.
This signal spreads along the cell membrane and is transmitted deep into the muscle, and at last the sarcoplasmic reticulum releases all at once the calcium it had stored, making the contraction begin as though pressing the "operate!" button in the control room inside the robot arm.
When the released calcium binds to troponin C, the position of tropomyosin changes so that the binding sites of actin are exposed, and at that moment the myosin heads grab and pull the actin, so that the actin-myosin interaction, that is, cross-bridge formation, is repeated and the muscle actually shortens.
In this way every movement of walking, running, grasping, throwing, and holding a posture is executed in the sequence of "the calcium signal opens the door, and the filaments actually do the work."
2. Speaking: Calcium Plays the Instrument
If we compare the vocal system to a musical instrument, the vocal cords are the strings, the oral cavity is the resonating chamber, and the tongue and lips are the keys. All the parts are ready, but if you do not play, no music comes out.
When you speak, calcium plays the instrument. A language command goes out from Broca's area, calcium flows into the vocal cord muscles and the vocal cords vibrate, calcium flows into the tongue muscles and the tongue moves, and calcium flows into the lip muscles and the lips change shape.
To speak a single word, dozens of muscles must coordinate at precise timing. What conducts that coordination is calcium.
Protection and Defense
Merely moving is not enough. The body must be protected from external threats.