Alchemy - changing lead to gold? or Silica to calcium?
Essential Oil Book Club
One of my new essential oil chemistry books has a chapter on biotransformation of mineral elements. The Body Ecology or GAPS book also had mentioned it more briefly. Mind blowing news - alchemy is real, but has some limitations. It involves a quantum energy exchange of a proton and neutron - a hydrogen atom, or two other atoms joining - if the chemical valence numbers are compatible. Which atoms are transmutable is limited based on the outer valence of electrons - the math has to add up correctly.
The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple - God’s Love Manifest in Molecules, by David Stewart, PhD, DNM, 2005, Care Publications (Read online, internet archive) But at 906 pages it has a lot of reference tables about essential oils and the phytonutrients they contain, shop around if buying used. Some ebay copies are priced in the $100s, while it is under $15 elsewhere. It would be a collectible within Young Living essential oil fans. AbeBooks)
My main quibble with the 906 page book, is that David Stewart strongly believes that salicylate sensitivity has nothing to do with essential oils that are naturally what God made. That helps explain why the essential oil companies don’t talk about it at all and include mint oils in lots of products.
My body is also God-made but I do react to Birch and mint essential oils. The differing types of salicylates in plants may not all cause equal reactions though based on the Special Diet info. David Stewart dismisses the whole concept as having nothing to do with plant oils and suggests it is only synthetic chemicals that cause negative symptoms in people. That is just false. The synergy of phytonutrients within an oil might help with tolerating other phytonutrients, but individuals with metabolic problems might react to things that the average person doesn’t.
You might ask how a 906 page book on chemistry could be ‘simple’ but it really is. He takes us through basic chemistry that is needed to help understand the phytonutrient info, but he streamlines it. We don’t learn all the minutia of chemistry. He is a story teller and firmly religious. Some readers might not like his style but the book does contain very helpful data about essential oils and their healing properties in lots of Tables. The later part of the book has three chapters that get into more speculative or less known research. The topic of biotransformation is discussed in this post, and the topic of the sound frequencies of essential oils and a matching receptor will need to be in another post. How does the right agonist for a receptor find the receptor? They sing in harmony with each other. !!!!!
David Stewart was a little boy interested in chemistry and the Periodic Table. He asked for a chemistry set often enough for his parents to get him one. He produced to make a bomb in his basement which his father discovered and set off. Fortunately for his future career in chemistry his father didn’t get too mad.
A different boy, Louis Kervran, had been interested in his father’s chickens. How did their eggs have hard shells when the soil in the area was low in calcium. He watched them peck at the soil and preferentially pick out shiny bits of silica/mica. He filed that away in his childhood brain but remained curious. Later in his chemistry career he learned that the chickens were transmuting the potassium in mica into calcium. Mica also has silica which might also be a substrate for biotransformation to calcium. Potassium and calcium are only one hydrogen atom apart on the periodic table and chickens seem to have enzymes that can make the transformation happen. Chickens deprived of both calcium and mica/potassium/silica would have soft shelled eggs. —> WOW, alchemy is real, just not the way human men hoped to transform lead into gold.
As Louis studied the phenomenon more, he found that Magnesium (12 protons) plus an Oxygen (8 protons) could also be transformed into a Calcium atom (20 protons), and also that Silica (14 protons) plus Carbon (6 protons) could be transformed into a Calcium atom (20 protons). Inorganic or not bioavailable mineral sources won’t work. The silica rich herb known as Horsetail is known to help repair bone tissue - better than having a diet rich in dairy products. Diets rich in green leafy veggies can reverse osteoporosis better than high dose calcium. Cows are found to excrete more calcium than they ingest. (Ch. Biotransformation of Elements, pp 655-684)
Daisies are known to show up as weeds in soil that is low in calcium. Gardeners know to fertilize with calcium when daisies show up. Testing the daisies though shows that they are not deficient in calcium and their plant waste gradually replenishes the soil with calcium. Cool. Earthworms are also little chemical factories. The soil they excrete compared to the soil they eat has been measured to be five times richer in nitrogen, two times richer in calcium, 2.5 times richer in magnesium, seven times richer in phosphorus and eleven times richer in potassium. Double WOW.
Leaving a field to lay fallow, no new crops planted for a year, is a known method for helping to restore depleted soil. The Bible recommends leaving your fields fallow every seventh year. It is the micro-organisms in the soil that likely restore mineral balance by making the needed minerals from whichever ones are plentiful. Add some grazing cows and woot there it is, more calcium in the soil along with the cow patties.
Louis had also noticed as a child in a school with an old cast iron stove, that if the teacher stoked the fire enough for the stove to get red hot, then the students would start getting headaches and the teacher would let the stove cool off explaining that carbon monoxide had built up. Louis didn’t think this made sense. Where was the carbon monoxide coming from?
As an adult chemist in 1955, the plight of welders came to his attention. They would get carbon monoxide poisoning occasionally and die, since 1935, and the industry didn’t know why. Autopsies proved it was carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1955 Louis Kervran had the blood of a bunch of welders and found that it was elevated for all of them - just not up to the deadly level. Testing the air found no carbon monoxide. Louis had to conclude that the welders were making the carbon monoxide within their bodies. The air had oxygen but where was the carbon coming from?
A basic doctrine/rule of chemical reactions is that “Nothing is lost. Nothing is created. Everything is transformed,” and “Matter can be neither created nor destroyed.” - Lavoisier’s Law. All atoms on one side of a chemical reaction should be showing up somewhere on the other side of the chemical reaction. This had been proven to be untrue in nuclear physics and nuclear reactions. Challenging the long term premise that chemical transformation is not possible outside of a nuclear reactor was a career risk but Louis went ahead with more experiments. He still had the mica/calcium question lingering in his mind about chickens.
He learned what was making the welders sick, the welding industry changed their methodology and welders stopped dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. Alchemy was real - so why didn’t the rest of us hear about this fascinating information? Maybe too many textbooks would have to be rewritten and academics just don’t want to bother…
The chemical math - air also has Nitrogen in it. An atom of nitrogen has 7 protons, 7 electrons and 7 neutrons. In the atmosphere, nitrogen is never found as a single atom. It circulates as a pair of two Nitrogen atoms, diatomic. On the periodic table, Nitrogen is found between Carbon and Oxygen. It has one less proton and electron than oxygen and one more than carbon. What Louis Kervran discovered is that when diatomic N2 in the air is exposed to superheated iron, hotter than 400’C (752’F), it pushes the atoms of nitrogen a teensy bit closer together within the diatomic N2. It is still N2 while in the air though. Once a welder breathes in the superheated N2 however, within the warm, wet lungs, one proton and electron is transferred from one Nitrogen atom to the other and that transforms the molecule into one atom of carbon and one atom of oxygen . . . which is carbon monoxide. Again WOW, alchemy is real, why didn’t we hear about this?
Physicists don’t like biology, it seems to me, the general view is that quantum energy effects only occur in non-life settings - outer space, or in a nuclear reactor - HOT reactions, not possible within life. And yet, they also seem to be REALLY WRONG about that. It has been shown that plants use quantum energy effects within the activity of chlorophyll and transmuting solar energy into stored sugar energy.
Academic ‘silos’ are ~ when the jargon within an industry gets so thick and deep that no one else can understand what the siloed academics are talking about. Language is supposed to help communication. General ‘principles’ of science or diet or anything, can be helpful guides in general but should also be recognized as something fallible - exceptions often exist to a general rule.
I’ve been listening to a lengthy course on therapy techniques for ‘anxiety’ and sadly, magnesium has not been mentioned once. Nor histamine excess, nor pomegranate peel…that is less surprising. There is quite a bit of research showing a clear connection between magnesium deficiency and anxiety or depression.
Back to fun news - alchemy - can we make calcium from silica or magnesium or potassium too? Looks like a yes, if we use bioavailable herbs as our mineral sources. And maybe that is a standard of life rather than rare - it seems that calcium metabolism doesn’t really work within the body unless there is also adequate magnesium. Dairy cows can get really sick if they have too little magnesium and that is also true for postpartum women - increased magnesium is needed to support lactation and likely prevent postpartum depression.
Not all atoms/elements seem to be able to do the biotransformation. It seems limited to those elements most common to life.
Iron can be biotransformed into manganese as seen on old stone statues that become streaked with black marks that were found to be manganese. The stone when analyzed had no manganese, but it did have iron. Scientists had to conclude that microorganisms must be transforming the iron in the stone into manganese. And that may be happening within our bodies too, as our body stores of iron and manganese tend to be very reflective of each other - as if the body can keep them in balance by changing one into the other or vice versa.
While welders aren’t dying from carbon monoxide anymore - that industry took the lesson of biotransformation of chemicals as legitimate, the official position in biology, chemistry, Western medicine and nutrition, is that biotransformation is impossible. Lavoisier’s Law that “Nuclear transformations of elements do not exist as a biological process” is still believed or supported as truth.
An old Chinese saying applies “If a 1000 people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”
Lemmings gonna lem. (joke) Followers are going to follow the group.
Sore toe update - Cypress & Lavender have been my go-to oils.
I am a believer in the mystery and magic of life and have been enjoying 20-minute magnesium sulfate baths with 10 drops of Cypress oil and 10 drops of Lavender oil in support of my sore foot and broken toe, and back spasms too. As long as I keep the bath within the 20-22 minute time, I don’t seem to get the sulfate excess. At this point I have made other sulfur reducing changes in my supplements and foods. Accumulative totals, and how much at once, are factors in sulfur sensitivity. The body is slow at processing it for everyone and even slower for some people, so excess at once matters more than a little regularly - which we need. We do need sulfur and it likely can be a player in the biotransformation of the elements associated with life.
*Mix the oil in the dry salt so it will disperse evenly within the bath. There is a risk of a caustic skin burn from oil floating on top of the water in one spot - that depends on the type of oil too. Lavender oil can be used topically safely undiluted. Cypress should be diluted though.
I do seem to be healing. The initial limping plus too much housework, left me with an excruciating lower back ache - and that made the toe pain seem insignificant. I’ve been doing more stretching exercises and adding my Cypress/bruise relief essential oil mix to my lower back too. I also tried a couple herbal tinctures for backpain from a local herbalist which really have been helpful too. *I don’t see that she has a website.
Backpain factors: Sitting at the computer too much, plus too much dish washing seem to be ongoing factors. The short-term injury was the bad knee and foot had me bending from the waist to move a bunch of heavy stuff one day - and then I was hurting the next day. At the same time my foot injury was new, I needed to move furniture around for my mom’s care.
“Biotransformation” as used/defined in current science circles.
What does the PubMed world have to say about ‘biotransformation’? The term is used to refer to any enzymatic, chemical transformations of one molecule into another, or breaking it down into smaller atoms or molecules.
“The pathways of biotransformation are divided into phase I, phase II, and phase III. These reactions may occur simultaneously or sequentially.[1][2]
Phase I: Yields a polar, water-soluble, metabolite that is often still active. Many of the products in this phase can also become substrates for phase II.
Oxidation with cytochrome P450 (most common)
Reduction
Hydrolysis
Phase II: Yields a large polar metabolite by adding endogenous hydrophilic groups to form water-soluble inactive compounds that can be excreted by the body.
Methylation
Glucuronidation (most common)
Acetylation
Sulfation
Conjugation with glutathione
Conjugation with amino acids (glycine, taurine, and glutamic acid)
Phase III: Occurs post-phase II, where a chemical substance can undergo further metabolism and excretion. It classifies into the following superfamilies:
ATP-binding cassette (ABC)
Solute carrier (SLC) transporters
Cellular Level
The majority of biotransformation takes place within the liver in cells called hepatocytes. However, several of the enzymes for phase I, phase II, and phase III reactions can also occur in extrahepatic tissues, such as adipose, intestine, kidney, lung, and skin. The transformation process takes place as a result of the interaction between the substrate and enzymes found primarily in these cells' cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria.”
Citation: Phang-Lyn S, Llerena VA. Biochemistry, Biotransformation. [Updated 2023 Aug 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544353/
Bing AI’s summary of biotransformation-
Biotransformation is a crucial process in biochemistry and medicine. Let me explain its significance:
Purpose of Biotransformation:
Biotransformation involves the biochemical modification of chemical compounds. Living organisms, including microorganisms, plants, and animals, transform various substances into different forms.
The major purpose of biotransformation is to metabolize poorly excretable lipophilic (lipid-loving) compounds into more hydrophilic (water-loving) chemicals. These modified compounds are then readily excreted in urine and/or bile.
Without this metabolism, lipophilic xenobiotics (foreign substances) can accumulate in tissues, increasing the potential for toxicity1.
Advantages of Biotransformation:
Compared to conventional chemical production, biotransformations offer several advantages:
High Selectivity: Biotransformations can be highly selective, limiting the production of undesirable byproducts.
Environmentally Friendly: Many biotransformations occur under mild conditions (e.g., aqueous solutions) and are considered environmentally friendly (“green”).
Genetic Manipulation: Enzymes (the catalysts) can be improved through genetic manipulation.
However, biotransformations also have limitations, such as being slow and incompatible with high temperatures used in traditional chemical synthesis2.
Historical and Modern Examples:
Wine and Beer Making: These ancient practices involve biotransformations. For example, vinegar is produced by fermenting ethanol to acetic acid.
Pharmaceuticals: Billions of dollars’ worth of pharmaceuticals, including beta-lactam antibiotics (e.g., penicillin), are produced through biotransformations.
Sugar Production: High fructose corn syrup is generated by biotransformation of corn starch.
Biofuels: Fuels and lubricants can be produced from natural precursors (e.g., fats, cellulose, and sugars) through biotransformation2.
In summary, biotransformation plays a vital role in detoxification, drug metabolism, and the sustainable production of various compounds. Its impact extends across industries and contributes to our health and well-being13. If you have any more questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask! 😊
Learn more
It looks like ‘biotransformation’ is a big money business. If people found out that cows and chickens and daisies do it every day, and that we can too, then big business might lose some money . . . just a skeptical guess.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.
JD - "An old Chinese saying applies “If a 1000 people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. Lemmings gonna lem. (joke) Followers are going to follow the group."
True dat and the scamdumbic was a testament.
thanks! nice article!
I deeply believe all life is constant transformation.
Would you try homeopathy for healing your fracture and strained lower back?