Today, we’ll discuss the concept of internal terrain and how does the quality of your internal terrain affect your health.
How does the quality of your internal terrain affect your health
What Does the Concept of Terrain Mean?
The word “terrain” comes from the Latin “terrenum,” which means “produced in or from the Earth.” In essence, it refers to a type of land, a geographic area (whether organic, physiological, or anatomical) where a being develops.
When we refer to the terrain of the human body, we are talking about all the body fluids that bathe every tissue and organ, particularly human plasma and the extracellular space.
Internal Environment
The internal environment, or terrain, consists of a set of fluids that circulate and surround all cells. This internal environment is a place for the exchange of metabolites, energy and information. The composition, structure, and balance of this environment—its homeostasis—depend entirely on cellular activity. At the same time, the quality of cellular function depends on the integrity of this internal environment.
Concept of Homeostasis
Homeostasis refers to the maintenance of the internal environment so that it remains stable, regardless of external fluctuations. The concept of a stable internal environment was introduced by Claude Bernard in 1865. Homeostasis means that the body seeks its own balance and will do whatever is necessary to achieve it.
When we talk about the terrain of the human body, we refer to all the body fluids that bathe the tissues and organs.
To help you visualize it better, let’s compare extracellular fluid to seawater.
Comparison Between Marine Environment and the Internal Environment of the Human Body
We know that the marine environment is the most important ecosystem on Earth, and we could categorize it as a marine organism that also has its own homeostasis—an impressive analogy to the internal environment of the human body.
For example, inside the human body, the primary buffer is the carbonate-bicarbonate system. This cycle, linked to respiration, compensates for the constant production of acidic metabolic byproducts to maintain a slightly alkaline organic pH. This is why it is so beneficial to consume products like pHour Salts, which contain bicarbonates and carbonates.
In the marine environment, the same process occurs. However, the sea is an open system, whereas the human body is a closed system, making it more susceptible to become acidic.
Therefore, we can confidently say that our internal environment and seawater serve the same functions. They are the result of constant essential work that maintains the physical and chemical conditions necessary for life. In fact, analyses have shown that their respective compositions are nearly identical.
Why Is This So Interesting for Us?
Because understanding how the marine environment functions allows us to better understand our own internal environment. The sea is an open system that self-regulates. However, even though our bodies have all the necessary mechanisms for self-regulation, they can become imbalanced due to nutritional deficiencies, a lack of minerals and trace elements, vitamin shortages, exposure to toxic substances like hormonal disruptors, physical and emotional stress—in other words, due to our lifestyle and mindset.
Another analogy we like to use when talking about our internal environment is comparing it to a fish tank.
Imagine your body is like a fish tank with all its filters. Now you know that your body fluids are like marine plasma—the water in the tank where the fish (our cells) swim in their fluids.
The health of the fish (our cells) will directly depend on how clean and oxygenated is our environment, meaning the water that surrounds them.
If we fill the tank with more waste than it can be eliminated, overfeed the fish, provide them with artificial foods lacking in vitamins and minerals or stress them, their immunity will drop and they will likely get sick. We could say that their terrain would become compromised.
So, the solution is to keep the water clean and well-oxygenated, regularly clean the filters so that the tank—in this case, your body—can restore homeostasis and the terrain can return to balance. In this way, the fish (cells) will stay healthy and maintain a bulletproof immune system.
Don’t miss the second part of this article, where I’ll share everything we can to positively help you maintain your terrain in optimal conditions and enjoy a powerful, bulletproof immune system.
