Article

The Vampire Network

Published by The Vampire Network on the 19th of July 2017

I, Vampire: Exploring Connections Between Vampires of Myth and Modern-Day Blood Vampires: Part II

But first, on earth as vampire sent,
Thy corpse shall from its tomb be rent,
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corpse.

LORD BYRON, The Giaour

Part II: The Blood is the Life

Consuming large quantities of blood in order to maintain and optimize health and longevity remains one of the contested requirements of Blood Vampires, even among other types of blood drinkers. Arguments against include that large amounts of blood cannot be digested and cause iron toxicity; and furthermore, that blood has no intrinsic nutritional quality but contains only energy/life force.

In our previous article we address and refute these arguments in detail. Here, we will briefly outline the main points.

Blood contains several components which are used by Blood Drinkers. Major common symptoms of starvation (blood) in Blood Vampires - pale skin, feeling cold and being cold to touch (especially extremities), fatigue, lethargy, shortness of breath, muscle pain, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, exercise intolerance, dizziness/lightheadedness, nausea, headache, “brain fog” and altered mental state (irritability, anxiety, depression) - are often a result of hypoglycemia and insufficient oxygen delivery (hypoxia) to the major organs of the body. Blood contains red blood cells (RBCs) and inside them, bound up in hemoglobin, molecular oxygen. Upon entering the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, RBCs are lysed, and the hemoglobin-oxygen complexes are taken up by enterocytes (cells which line the GI tract) where they are disassembled leaving free O2 and iron. O2 freely diffuses directly into the blood stream, while iron is bound to transferrin and shuttled directly to RBC precursors to limit the amount of free iron in the circulation (1).

Perhaps the most enduring myth surrounding blood drinking in general is that which proclaims that large amounts of blood will make the individual sick and lead to iron toxicity. Baring any undetected pre-existing medical condition, this is false. 100 mL of human blood contains a total of 40-50 mg of iron, most of it sequestered in hemoglobin (only 1 mg per 100 mL as free iron) (1). The upper safety limit for iron intake is 45 mg/day (2). Thus, if a blood drinker consumes 100 mL of blood daily, his/her iron intake will still be within the safe daily allowance. Furthermore, many Blood Vampires have GI disorders which severely diminish their capacity to absorb iron. Thus, they are are known to safely digest at least 100 mL of blood daily, and some thrive on diets which include considerably more.

Blood is rich in calories (for example, it contains more calories per volume than beer). As such, it is a staple source of nutrition in many cultures across the world, especially in times of famine (3). Sources of calories include glucose (primary), lipids and protein (4). In addition, blood contains electrolytes, vitamins and minerals essential to normal function of the body.

Thus, oral intake of blood results in oxygen, glucose and iron delivery, as well as delivery of important vitamins (eg. vitamin B12, vitamin D) and minerals (eg. Mg2+) in which Blood Vampires tend to be deficient to their circulation. This translates into obvious beneficial physiological effects. Symptoms of hypoxia and hypoglycemia are resolved. Blood Vampires change visibly in appearance; losing their characteristic pallor. Measurable and significant increase in core body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure have been measured in vampires following blood ingestion. Also, most Blood Vampires report an increase in energy levels, mental capacity (including improved memory and comprehension) and exercise capacity, speed and strength. Thus, it is clear that today’s vampires derive measurable and significant physiological benefits from blood consumption.

In myth, blood consumption also maintained the youthful appearance of the vampires of legend. Modern day Blood Vampires who claim that their youth is similarly due to regular blood consumption are often dismissed and ridiculed, even within the greater vampire community itself. However, anti-aging properties of blood have recently been confirmed by mainstream science, and new mechanisms which explain this property are being revealed nearly daily. Jesse Karmazin and his company Ambrosia now sell blood of young human donors for $8,000 per 2L of plasma with the promise to reverse consequences of aging. This claim is based on parabiosis experiments in which young mice shared their circulatory systems with old mice. Strikingly, multiple cells from young mice functioned less well, while the same cells from the old mice showed molecular and functional evidence for rejuvenation. More recently, these experiments have been extended by the finding that injecting plasma from young mice is sufficient to enhance cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in aged mice, and identification of two factors responsible for these effects, growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and C-C motif chemokine 11 (CCL11) (5). GDF11 has also been shown to restore skeletal muscle strength in aged animals (5).

Acceptance of a largely blood-based diet as something that is as realistic and optimal is hampered by the majority of today’s blood drinkers who consume only small quantities of blood for a variety of reasons and their insistence that their experience is the only authentic experience. Continual propagation of this modern day vampire myth is detrimental to those Blood Vampires whose health and wellbeing depend on regular intake of large quantities of blood.

Part III

Part I

References