Sign in

The Body Electric

Contact Author By David Suzuki October 2007 issue of Skin Inc. magazine


Fill out my online form.


Are people electric? The idea that human beings have electrical current running through their bodies most likely is not something you think about very often. However, every living function, whether it is conscious or unconscious, physical or mental, is powered by low levels of electrical current. When you think about it a little more, it starts to make sense. Perception of pain, muscle contraction and movement, nerve function, glandular secretions, healing and regeneration, and brain activity are all electrically driven functions of the body.1
       Think about the heart, the most apparently dominant component of the human body. The heart is a muscle driven by low levels of electrical current and can be monitored and measured with an ECG/EKG, or electrocardiogram, device.2 When the electrical signals become too weak or inconsistent as people age, its possible to stimulate the life-giving beat with small surges of electrical current from a device known as a pacemaker.

The mind electric
       The brain is a super highway of electrical signals, processing and delivering millions of messages to the entire infrastructure of the human body every second.3 At any given time, the human brain produces enough electrical current to power a 15–20 watt light bulb. Commonly measured and observed, the electrical activity of the brain can be monitored by way of an electroencephalogram, or an EEG, which is similar in concept to that of an ECG.2 Breaks and deviations in neurotransmission or electrical passageways represent physical conditions such as paralysis, Bell’s palsy and epilepsy,4 while psychological conditions include everything from Tourette’s syndrome to autism.
       The Oprah Winfrey Show recently presented a program with a guest who suffered from severe Tourette’s syndrome and was able to control all of his involuntary functions with the help a of a low-level electrical stimulation device internally implanted in his body. As the device was turned on and the correct frequency was dialed in, his involuntary movements stopped as quickly as a light is activated from a switch.

Human conduit
       But can humans emit enough electrical current to affect another living organism, and can another living organism affect humans? Many people, regardless of their belief in energy transfer, can attest to a person or group of people “draining” their energy. The fact of the matter is that humans can absorb and emit electrical current, which can have more of an effect than you may imagine. In some cases, it could change the path of one’s day and possibly even one’s life.

Static electricity
       Although you may be thinking all this is a bit too mystical to buy into and may not believe there is merit in shaking off bad energy after a service, few can deny the fact that people can attract and carry a current of static electricity, sometimes even resulting in a small explosion when something metal is touched. The release of a static charge can be so intense it can actually ignite the fumes of a poorly ventilated gas pump, which is why it is advisable to touch the side of your vehicle before beginning to put gas into your car.
       Carrying a charge of static electricity is so common that responsible electronic manufactures require their technicians to wear a grounding strap on their wrist connected to a grounding pole. This ensures the charge of current that may be temporarily residing with them does not arbitrarily move to the electronics and cause damage or malfunctions.

Faith healers
       And what about faith healers? Is there really something to their natural energy such that they can actually affect another human body? The answer, again, is yes. As humans are all genetically different, so is the electrical system of every human body. Each person has a specific electrical fingerprint that defines their electrical structure. Some people are genetically predisposed with substantially higher levels of current or different current than most people, both of which can be measured. As an injury generally disrupts and creates a break in the natural current flow of the body, a touch by the hand of an appropriately charged individual may be enough to patch or bridge the disrupted current flow and return the body to homeostasis, allowing the natural healing process to begin.

Are all living creatures electric?
       Like humans, all living creatures are electric beings and in many cases use their electroreception to guide them directionally and instinctually—an electric sense. For example, the electroreception of the great white shark allows up to 8 Hz of frequency to be detected from opposite sides of the ocean. This intense ability to sense electrical current is also why researchers believe the great white is difficult to keep alive in captivity for more than 16 days, as the frequencies from electric devices such as radios, lights, filters, pumps and so on are simply too intense for them at such close ranges.5

       Ever feel like a person gives you a good or bad vibe, even though you may have only just met the individual briefly? Scientists believe this is the human sense of electroreception; another sense that humans actually possess, but do not normally trust, as people have become increasingly dependent on the logic of the brain through the evolution of sophistication. Although it is not typical for humans to depend on this sense or even admit that it exists, there are some who have learned to utilize this gut feeling and trust it above logic. Mothers are notorious for this, and when it is seen in action, it is seldom questioned.
        Animals also have this sense. The friendliest dog, for example, can potentially pick out a person with bad vibes from a crowd of dozens in an instant. And animals also have a way of knowing when the energy fields of the earth are changing, which is relative to natural disasters and severe weather changes.

Signature frequency
       Every living thing is comprised of different frequencies that make up specific bioelectric fields. The great white utilizes its electroreception to detect specific food sources out of a vast ocean of possible meals, sensing the signature frequency of prey. As it makes the first strike and wounds its prey, instinctually its eyes roll tailward in their sockets as the shark senses possible danger. The wounded prey, on the other hand, leaks current, creating an electric field of frequencies nearly three times greater than that of the uninjured prey.5 This change in the bioelectric field is known as current of injury, or COI, and it serves as a homing beacon for the great white. It allows the shark to immediately disseminate its meal amongst the school, with or without the use of its eyes.

Current of injury
       The phenomenon of COI exists in all beings, as living tissue has multiple direct current surface potentials that combine forces to create a steady bioelectric field. An injury or trauma in the body causes a localized shift and disruption in current flow. When the human body senses this disruption in the form of damage or trauma, specifically in the epidermis, it immediately sends an electrical signal via the neuroaxis to the cranium within two seconds of the trauma occurring. The logic of the mind then releases electrical signals, which, in turn, begin the process of stimulating biological repair, regeneration and renewal in an attempt to achieve its goal of returning the body to homeostasis.6,7
       Current of injury was first theorized by Italian physician and physicist Luigi Galvani in 1786 and was harshly ridiculed by his peers at the time. Nearly 200 years later, in 1980, Galvani’s theory was confirmed by Illingsworth and Barker, who studied children with accidental finger amputation at the Pediatric Accident and Emergency Department of Children’s Hospital in Sheffield, Great Britain.
       Illingsworth and Barker found the current of injury peaked at 22 µA (micro amperes) cm-2 at the point of amputation after eight days, and then slowly decreased thereafter, regardless of whether regeneration had completely occurred or not.8 Scientists believe that, although COI initiates the repair process consistently, the speed and effectiveness of its regenerative ability largely depend upon the energy available consistently to facilitate complete repair.9

ATP—Energy of life
       People are consistently absorbing energy from the environment, including light energy and the intake of oxygen, as well as from the food they consume. The body utilizes these outside sources of energy to create its own form of power via the mitochondria of each cell, known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is known as the energy of life or molecular currency, as it is responsible to power the cells. The cells, in turn, generate a measurable level of electrical current that allows all functions and basis of life, including current of injury and regeneration.10,11

The decrease of ATP synthesis
       As the cells success, or lack thereof, is dependent on ATP, the reproduction or synthesis of ATP is then crucial for a healthy cell and a healthy body, including skin, muscle tone, repair and regeneration. To a certain degree, one could consider the body’s ability to maintain its youthful integrity completely dependent on the level of ATP that was able to be generated consistently to power the essential cellular functions of life effectively. Some scientists consider the process of aging a slow trauma that consistently puts forth a form of COI or a constant request for more energy to maintain peak performance. This constant request and reaction becomes weaker and weaker as time goes on.12

Stimulating ATP synthesis
       Specific artificial sources of energy can also be utilized by the body to create a higher rate of ATP synthesis, including light-activated rejuvenation, microcurrent and oxygen-infusion systems.13 Although it sounds fairly simple, creating reactions within the body is unique to each person, as everyone is very frequency-specific.

Microcurrent and ATP
       The body is very sensitive to the level of intensity of outside energy that is being applied. For example, with the use of microcurrent, studies indicate that the most dominant levels of ATP synthesis—300–500% increase in ATP—occurred when using values less than 400 µA, 14,15 which follows the Arnold Shultz law that states small doses stimulate cell activity, larger doses hinder it, and still larger doses destroy it.
       Low levels of microcurrent with specific frequencies are very interesting in that the body can actually utilize these small amounts of currents in lieu of its own, allowing for maximum cellular function while simultaneously allowing the body to take a breather. Additionally, strategically designed microcurrent devices and accessories allow the practitioner to apply the energy directly to the area where the effect is desired, opposed to relying on the brain to send the appropriate stimulation to the area for regenerative purposes.
       Higher levels of µA, on the other hand, simply do not work and actually hinder and diminish ATP synthesis altogether, which, in turn, has an adverse effect on every part of the body and its cellular functions. This occurs as the body perceives higher levels of electrical current as an invader and spends most of its energy, or ATP, defending against the invader.

The frequency-specific body
  You can think of your body a bit like a radio receiver—101.5 receives one station, 101.7 another, and 102 yet another. Although all of the radio frequencies exist at one time simultaneously, only one can be received and utilized based upon the specifics of the receiver.
       As noted earlier, each person is very frequency-specific and therefore affected by different specific sequences of frequencies combined with lower levels of µA. Having said this, some medical device manufactures utilize proprietary frequency-sequencing technology that canvasses a wide array of frequencies in a short period of time, allowing maximum potential results. Attempting to gain a positive result from aimless low levels of electrical current without specific frequency sequences is simply not effective and would be similar to trying to receive 101.5 on a radio that only allowed 101 and 102 radio frequencies to be received.

Light energy and ATP

Oxygen infusion and ATP

Going electric

1. (Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
(Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
(Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
4. (Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
(Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
(Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
7.  RA Charman, Bioelectricity and Electrotherapy—Towards A New Paradigm?, Part 3: Bioelectric Potentials and Tissue Currents, Physiotherapy, 79 (10) 643–654
(Oct 1990)
8. (Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
9. (Accessed Jul 9, 2007)
10. (Accessed Jul 5, 2007)
11. (Accessed Jul 5, 2007)
12. (Accessed Jul 5, 2007)
13.  PJ Carley and SF Wainapel, Electrotherapy for Acceleration of Wound Healing: Low Intensity Direct Current, Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 66 443–445 (Jul 1985)
14.  N Cheng, et al., The Effects of Electric Currents on ATP Generation, Protein Synthesis, and Membrane Transport in Rat Skin, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 171 264–272, (Nov–Dec 1982)
(Accessed Jul 26, 2007)
(Accessed Jul 5, 2007)


Related Content