There are a myriad of cells in the blood. The red blood cells ( RBCs ) give the red colour ( due to oxygenated hemoglobin ) and transport the oxygen as they squeeze their way through the smallest capillaries, which sometimes allow only a single line of RBCs to pass through. The white blood cells ( WBCs ) are much less in number, but are the defenders of the body. They are the backbone of the body’s immune system and do their jobs either by engulfing invaders, destroying abnormal cells or releasing antibodies against these. The third cell-type is the platelets. These are involved in the blood’s clotting mechanism which, together with various other components, must be maintained at a delicate balance so that blood does not clot too easily or too slowly. There are other cells with other specialized functions.
Most of you probably have had some form of blood tests done. A full blood count ( FBC ) report would give you the RBC counts, size, hemoglobin content, etc. that would tell you if you are healthy or have any of the many types of anemia. The WBC report would tell you if you have sufficient numbers of the different WBCs, or too many in the case of infection, allergy, parasite infestation and other situations which increase the counts of one or more of the WBC-types, or even grossly excessive in the case of some forms of leukemias. The peripheral blood film ( PBF ) report would include comments on the morphology ( shape, size, colour and any abnormal features ) of the red and white blood cells.
You may also have had tests done on your blood to check for the health of your kidneys, liver and other organs through the levels of the various electrolytes, proteins, by-products, or enzymes which indicate the health of these organs.
A lipid profile – giving the detailed breakdown of your total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol ( “good” ), LDL-cholesterol ( “bad” ), Total/ HDL-cholesterol ratio, and triglycerides – would give an idea of how your body handles fat, and also your risk of having blocked arteries. For more information on your cardiac risks, some cardiologists suggest testing for homocysteine, C-reactive protein, as well as fibrinogen levels.
A blood glucose reading indicates your body’s handling of sugars/carbohydrates. An abnormal reading ( within certain criteria ) is diagnostic of diabetes. An HbA1c test tells how your body handled glucose in the preceding 2-3 months, and the test for insulin will reveal whether your body has become resistant to this very important hormone.
There are blood tests for most of the known hormones. Low human growth hormone ( HGH ) may indicate that you are aging too fast, and you may want to do some things to correct this. Low levels of sex hormones may be responsible for low libido, poor fertility, andropause or menopause. Both high and low levels of thyroid hormones, with or without goiters ( enlargement of the thyroid glands ), are common and many people are on treatment for both conditions.
Testing for antibodies in the blood tells us about previous ( or even recent ) infections, or whether vaccinations taken were effective. These include checking for antibodies against several types of hepatitis virus, dengue virus, rubella virus, and many types of viruses, bacteria, and even certain parasites.
Tumour markers allow us to be more pro-active in the search for early evidence of cancer, or if cancer is already there, to help monitor its progress, and the effectiveness of treatment.
You can even check for levels of free-radicals, though a simpler and less expensive urine test is also available.
These are some of the tests that can be done on the blood, and there many hundreds more not mentioned. Some will become necessary as you grow older, and your risk of getting certain diseases become significant. Some will be recommended only under special circumstances.
The blood can also be looked under the microscope ( as in PBF ) and some problems are easier detected in this way. Parasites like the malarial plasmodium can be seen in the blood, as are some other parasites.
So blood is indeed the River of Life, as it not only sustains the body by supplying the life-giving elements to all the cells, but the state of our life itself is very much reflected in the blood.
The most abundant component of blood is its plasma, which is 95% water, in which most of the contents are either dissolved or emulsified ( in suspension ). The second component is the cells.
LIVE BLOOD ANALYSIS
There are other components which become increasingly prominent as our diets and lifestyles become more unhealthy.
Some of these can be directly seen when fresh, untreated and unstained blood is put under very-high magnification microscopes. This test is called Live Blood Analysis ( LBA ), and it opens up a whole new world to the evaluation of health.
LBA allows us to see what is in the blood after a meal, and what happens after all the absorbed foods are supposed to be cleared away. For many of us who eat much cooked food and a minimum amount of fresh raw foods, and don’t even chew our foods properly, poor digestion will lead to excess fats, sugars and proteins. These can be seen floating in the blood as small globules, and as small or large plaques and crystals.
A very common feature seen in LBA is plasma stickiness due to poor protein digestion. This leads to RBCs sticking together, sometimes in stacks, which render the RBCs unable to deliver oxygen efficiently as their surface area is important for oxygen exchange to occur.
Another common feature is poor digestion of carbohydrate/sugars leading to the presence of many sugar crystals, or plaques ( some of which are large ) . Excess sugar is invariably accompanied by the presence of fungal strands and yeast buds, which can be seen in between the blood cells. You will be shocked to know that over 90% of us now have fungus or yeast in our Blood!
Fat is easily seen after a meal because the small globules float in the blood. These should disappear within two hours. However, excessive fat intake, especially associated with high free-radicals ( which oxidize and harden the fat ) and high fibrinogen content ( often due to liver stress, and also cause stickiness ), may lead to clumping together of fat into large plaques which can get deposited on blood vessel walls.
Those who have abundant fat plaques, especially with platelets and fibrin aggregating around them, are more likely to have actual plaques lining their blood vessels as these floating “mature” plaques may have come off those vascular plaques.
Some plaques have chemicals and carcinogens stuck to them. They are often seen in those who are exposed to chemicals at home or work.
When certain contents are too concentrated, they crystallize. A common sight in LBA is uric acid crystals, which may be very large. No wonder many people end up with uric acid kidney stones, or gouty deposits in their joints. Doing LBA can predict your likelihood of getting such problems much earlier.
Various abnormal blood cells are seen due to free-radical damage, toxins and nutritional deficiencies. These are not usually diagnosed in conventional blood tests unless they are more severe.
Finally, even bacteria can be seen moving about ( some are inside sick or dying blood cells ). You will be surprised to see these lurking in your blood even when you feel healthy!
BUILD UP YOUR QI
Since blood is so important for life and health, you should build up its qi to help all the cells do their functions properly. Coupled with a healthy diet, and lifestyle, you should be able to maintain a healthy live blood when looked under the microscope, and have a healthy mind and body in real life.
The health improvements after practising Qigong can be fast. An elderly gentleman with long-standing Parkinson’s Disease told me that he was able to walk without his walking stick again only after 2 weeks of learning Qigong. You should try it too.
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