Your Body Is Like a Goldfish Tank; Your Cells Are Like Fish

In many respects the steps to assuring a healthy fish tank mirrors the same issues (which we often overlook) in management of human health. If our bodies are like the delicate eco-system of a fish tank, then our tender cells and tissues are very sensitive to imbalances. Are we killing ourselves off slowly?

When we look at our bodies in this way, then what comes to mind that we might have overlooked or taken for granted in regards to taking care of ourselves? As I read about the importance of chemical balance within a goldfish tank, there are several issues that are common to both humans and fish:

Ammonia build up: fish excrete ammonia-rich waste which can poison their water. As humans we transform the ammonia we produce through our liver into urea which is held and then excreted through our urine. We both need our waste to be diluted and water saturated. We both need beneficial bacteria to help neutralize the acidity of our “tanks”. If the chemistry around us becomes too acidic, we will slowly weaken and die. Likewise, if our cellular environment becomes too alkaline, we become vulnerable to disease and death.

Fish are sensitive to chlorine in their water, as are humans. Just as we carefully remove chlorine from the water of a fish tank, we should filter out the chlorine in our drinking water before we put it into our bodies. Carbon filters work for both fish and humans. A by-product of chlorine called chloramines can be eliminated by aeration of the water. Water ionizing machines also oxygenate water but they do it by electric current (via electrolysis).

Aeration is a way of increasing the oxygen that your fish AND your cells will receive. This process allows the oxygen to diffuse into the water and helps waste gases, such as ammonia, to diffuse out. Aeration also keeps the water agitated and helps keep it from going stale. Ionization does the same thing for human cells. Ionization creates “living water”.

Tank pH:
1) pH that is too low results in acidic conditions. This can be caused from too much fish waste in the water or not enough hydration of a human body. The cells of both species begin to weaken. Routine water changes in tanks help fish, and routine drinking of water to hydrate your cells and blood, helps humans.

• Symptoms in goldfish: anorexia, excess slime, isolation, fish resting on the bottom of tank, and then finally blood streaking in the fins, and death. (known as Acidosis)
  
  
• Symptoms of acidic conditions in humans: dry skin, tumors, mental health related issues, all types of disease, and complications of infections.

2) pH too high results in alkaline conditions. Ammonia is more likely to be toxic when the pH levels are high.

• Symptoms for fish: Fish will produce excess slime, and gasp at the surface. Losses can be severe. Once this takes place (alkalosis) it is hard to reverse.
  
  
• Symptoms for human beings: Stiff joints, muscle cramps, digestive disorders, susceptibility to yeast and fungus infections, insulin stress, and weight gain.

Just as for fish, there are products available to increase your pH levels, as wells as to lower them. There are also pH tests and buffers for improving your pH balance. Like humans, goldfish thrive at a pH balance that is slightly over neutral (7.0). In humans, ideal blood pH is 7.3-7.5. For fish, it is 7.2-7.4 pH.

That doesn’t mean that we must constantly maintain that same pH level, but like a goldfish, we will become ill if we move out of our safe pH range for any length of time. We want our gastric juices to be slightly acidic in order to break down foods. But generally our blood should remain in the proper range if we want to stay healthy. Just like fish, our waste must move through us and perspire from our skin in order to remain at the proper pH.

Salt Density is largely a fish tank term and it refers to the amount of salt in the tank water. Fresh water fish will not survive in salt water for any length of time. However, adding a small amount of salt to the tank will not kill a goldfish! It can actually perk up the fish’s immune system and will kill any parasites. It is important to realize that the more water a human consumes, the more critical salt becomes to replenishing salts and minerals that are needed for interacting with brain chemistry and energy.

You may be a person who has been told not to consume salt. Although consuming salt may be a problem if your fluid levels are out of balance, is it the salt or is it your body’s deep tissue dehydration that is at the bottom of your illness? If you drink more water, dilute the bit of salt you take, could you potentially reduce your blood pressure naturally?

Often we are not attacking the root cause of a problem, like high blood pressure, when we don’t fully hydrate (fill our fish tank) first. How can your heart and blood (fish tank pumps and filters) work efficiently if there isn’t enough water? There will be more about this in a future article. In the meantime:

1. Are you monitoring your blood pressure?
2. Do you consume enough water to fully hydrate your body, blood, and organs?
3. Are you passing your body waste on a normal basis and is it clear and healthy (or dark, heavy and odorous)?
4. Do you know your blood pH? It is somewhere between 7.3 and 7.5?
5. Do you monitor your diet, drinks and stress levels to know that your pH fluctuations are not stressing your “tank” eco-system needlessly?
6. Are you relatively disease and illness free most of the time?
7. If you aren’t answering “yes” to these questions, then are you being fully accountable for your good health?
   

Resources:

• This article by Janet Hull gives more detail and some great ideas for improving your “tank”.
  
  
• I have recommended these articles previously from detoxifynow.com, they are comprehensive, controversial, and will provide the detail that I omit.