Professor's Breakthrough on Human Combustion Theory - SOTT

[happyliza]

"Alcohol is not normally present in our tissues, but there is one flammable constituent in the body that can greatly increase in concentration."

The body creates acetone, which is highly flammable.

He added: "A range of conditions can produce ketosis, in which acetone is formed, including alcoholism, fat-free dieting, diabetes and even teething.

"So we marinated pork tissue in acetone, rather than ethanol.

"This was used to make scale models of humans, which we clothed and set alight.

"They burned to ash within half an hour.

"For the first time a feasible cause of human combustion has been experimentally demonstrated."

Intriguing
My question is: What is the implication here as far as our Paleo diet is concerned? If we are so highly flammable, supposedly, should we not be taking extra precautions if that is at all possible?

Could this be the alchemical process of creating 'The Fire Within?

 

[Laura]

My question is: What is the implication here as far as our Paleo diet is concerned? If we are so highly flammable, supposedly, should we not be taking extra precautions if that is at all possible?

Could this be the alchemical process of creating 'The Fire Within?

I don't think there is an implication since such cases, assuming this theory is descriptive, obviously have other features including ignition from within which would probably be some sort of failure or glitch in the system.

 

[clerck de bonk]

The body creates acetone, which is highly flammable.

He added: "A range of conditions can produce ketosis, in which acetone is formed, including alcoholism, fat-free dieting, diabetes and even teething.

:) Is that even wrong?

 

[Laura]

The body creates acetone, which is highly flammable.

He added: "A range of conditions can produce ketosis, in which acetone is formed, including alcoholism, fat-free dieting, diabetes and even teething.

:) Is that even wrong?

Good catch. I tell ya, the world gets dumber and dumber every day.

 

[mcb]

...Good catch. I tell ya, the world gets dumber and dumber every day.

Thanks to so many low-fat brains, I still suspect.

 

[Catalyst]

From what I have read, you must eat fat or protien and reduce / elimate carbs for a short period before you would begin ketosis.. Catch??

 

[mcb]

From what I have read, you must eat fat or protien and reduce / elimate carbs for a short period before you would begin ketosis.. Catch??

Yes, but if I understand this article correctly, what this professor has discovered is that if you "marinate" something in acetone and then set it on fire, it burns. Perhaps we could try getting started with ketosis by marinating ourselves in ketones (my favorite is methyl ethyl ketone). Just don't smoke while doing it. For that matter, don't even breathe.

If the prof had come up with a hypothesis about how a living organism could saturate itself with acetone, that would be more interesting to me. Acetone is one of the three ketone body products of ketogenesis. It is the brain's alternative fuel. Once produced, however, it must either be used or excreted -- there is no reverse pathway back to its precursors. When that happens the effect may be noticeable, but it is not a fire hazard.

I just wonder if there could be a pathological state, something along the lines of ketoacidosis but different, that could set the stage for spontaneous combustion. I know that my mother, who was not a diabetic but who had major kidney problems, sometimes experienced what she called "acidosis," and appeared as if she had been drinking. I have never figured out what that was all about, and I wonder what other states there could be.

 

[Laura]

I just wonder if there could be a pathological state, something along the lines of ketoacidosis but different, that could set the stage for spontaneous combustion. I know that my mother, who was not a diabetic but who had major kidney problems, sometimes experienced what she called "acidosis," and appeared as if she had been drinking. I have never figured out what that was all about, and I wonder what other states there could be.

Sounds reasonable to me. It might be a serious breakdown in the energy conversion process somewhere along the way, also involving other features. Obviously, an ignition system has to come into play since many SHC cases talk about flames coming from INSIDE, specifically, a blue flame that cannot be extinguished.

 

[Z...]

Well we are all going to die one way or another, I'd rather combust instantaneously then die slowly from carbohydrate consumption ;)

Joking aside, this theory in my opinion is simply impossible, you can never saturate all tissues in acetone or other ketones in a living organism, it simply is not possible, then there is the question of ignition.
I think spontaneous human combustion is facilitated by processes that are still outside of the realm of known physics.
Was it on some other thread : Don't trust someone just because they are called professor.

 

[mcb]

I just wonder if there could be a pathological state, something along the lines of ketoacidosis but different, that could set the stage for spontaneous combustion. I know that my mother, who was not a diabetic but who had major kidney problems, sometimes experienced what she called "acidosis," and appeared as if she had been drinking. I have never figured out what that was all about, and I wonder what other states there could be.

Sounds reasonable to me. It might be a serious breakdown in the energy conversion process somewhere along the way, also involving other features. Obviously, an ignition system has to come into play since many SHC cases talk about flames coming from INSIDE, specifically, a blue flame that cannot be extinguished.

Interesting. I haven't read about SHC in quite some time and didn't realize that. Such a blue flame could represent the release of both O2 and a combustible. In the presence of enough O2 it might not take much to set it off. For no particular reason, electrical activity comes to mind.

 

[mcb]

Well we are all going to die one way or another, I'd rather combust instantaneously then die slowly from carbohydrate consumption ;)

Joking aside, this theory in my opinion is simply impossible, you can never saturate all tissues in acetone or other ketones in a living organism, it simply is not possible, then there is the question of ignition.
I think spontaneous human combustion is facilitated by processes that are still outside of the realm of known physics.
Was it on some other thread : Don't trust someone just because they are called professor.

I just did a Google search and it would seem that there might be a relationship between acetone exposure and apoptosis. The mitochondria even incorporate an apoptosis "trigger" -- the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mtPTP). Imagine a system-wide acetone release followed by system-wide apoptosis. I am not saying that happens; I am just saying that what can happen is not limited by our imaginations.

We are highly energetic organisms, seemingly operating in defiance of entropy, and if the mechanisms that make that possible were to break down all at once, I can imagine all sorts of bizzarre things happening.

 

[Laura]

I just did a Google search and it would seem that there might be a relationship between acetone exposure and apoptosis. The mitochondria even incorporate an apoptosis "trigger" -- the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mtPTP). Imagine a system-wide acetone release followed by system-wide apoptosis. I am not saying that happens; I am just saying that what can happen is not limited by our imaginations.

We are highly energetic organisms, seemingly operating in defiance of entropy, and if the mechanisms that make that possible were to break down all at once, I can imagine all sorts of bizzarre things happening.

Yes, the apoptosis of damaged and mutated mtDNA is discussed in the ketogenic diet thread.

 

[happyliza]

Thanks for the answers peeps.