Are There Crystals in the Human Body? Our Own Technology

Are there crystals in the human body? Yes, but it’s not always a good thing. Generally crystallization processes in the body are from a slow response over time to needing to “deal” with too many minerals in the wrong amounts, or migrates from other places. For examples, loose crystals in the brain give vertigo symptoms and in the digestive system give kidney stones. There are some naturally occurring crystals in the body as well, such as in the sensory hearing and pineal organs. Also, bone, teeth, and nails have crystalline structures that give them tensile strength. So let’s look at crystals in the human body and see what they do!

Piezoelectric Crystals in the Brain

For these first crystals in the brain, think of crystals as being able to communicate, indeed they exchange information in the fields they interact with. The endogenous (self-made) crystals in the sensory organs can change states depending on sensory input.

It is almost like if you put a piezoelectric signal through a golden ratio tuned acoustic or electromagnetic oscillator to change input into output.

#1. Calcite in the Cochlea

Calcite minerals are the main form of crystals in the brain. They are also in the inner ear in the cochlea, if you consider that close enough to the brain.

Calcite specifically, is the trigonal polymorph of CaCO₃ (calcium carbonate). These endogenous crystals, called otoconia, are held in the utricle of the inner ear. Generally over time the otoconia reduce in mass and become skeleton versions of the turgid crystals they were in childhood.

Microphone transducers work in a similar way as the cochlea, in taking acoustic signal and changing it to electrical signal. Crystals like calcite absorb incoming signal, modulate it, and then emit the modulated signal.

Here is a whole article on the cochlea’s magic ear snail if you wanna know more.

#2. Calcite in the Pineal Gland

The pineal gland has endogenous calcite as well as calcite concretions that tend to increase with age and environmental factors. The endogenous calcite may play a role in mediating light signals to non-image forming vision receptors like melanopsin.

There is also loose calcite in situ between the pineal gland and other brain tissue. The reason this tends to collect and impair pineal function is because the pineal gland processes so much blood compared to other organs for its size. So the blood precipitates the crystals over time if it has too much dissolved solids.

Here is a whole article on piezoelectricity in the pineal gland if you want to dive into that topic.

#3. Magnetite in the Brain

Magnetite in the brain is thought to be endogenous but also seems to increase in concentration in areas of higher pollution. The endogenous magnetite in the brain is related to memory or a non-consciously utilized sense of magnetorepcetion. For example in studies with birds the magnetite is involved with the migration patterns.

Magnetic Crystals? In YOUR brain? It’s more likely than you think.

#4. Crystals in the Brain Causing Vertigo

A fairly common type of vertigo, BPPV, involves crystals in the brain. As we saw in the cochlea, the mid-ear’s fluid reservoir has calcite crystals suspended in it. These calcite crystals in the mid-ear communicate a sense of balance to the brain. So a traumatic brain injury is usually the cause of BPPV. Even mild or moderate blows to the head can “knock loose” some of those endogenous crystals in the utricle. There are membranes that keep the crystals in place. But the trauma can damage the membrane and the crystals leak out before it heals. These crystals get dislodged from the areas they are meant to be in, so the feeling of vertigo (dizziness) ensues.

Other Crystalline Materials in Human Body Systems

Those first 4 wrap up all the crystals in the brain that I know of. The next ones tend to have the common theme of being the same material as bone. Then we will get on to see many more people have too many crystals in their bodies that are unwanted than functional ones.

#5. Piezoelectric Apatite-Collagen Matrix in Bones

Bones are made of hydroxyapatite and collagen fibers. The hydroxyapatite is similar to where we see other calcium deposits in the body such as the mid-ear and pineal gland described above. Imaging of bones at nanoscale shows a curved “finger-like” structure, that is very inter-woven. These fingerlings are clustered and layered together to create tensile strength in the matrix. At multiple scales, the micrographs showed helical and twisting motifs. Collagen itself is a helical protein, and interspersed with hydroxyapatite has them both twirling around each other.

Bone micrographs:
Reznikov, N., Bilton, M., Lari, L., Stevens, M. M., & Kröger, R. (2018). Fractal-like hierarchical organization of bone begins at the nanoscale. Science, 360(6388), eaao2189. doi:10.1126/science.aao2189 

Crystalline Structure of Collagen

Collagen makes a triple helix and is almost entirely proteins. It is the most common protein in mammals because it makes up all the connective tissue. The degree of mineralization is what makes bone versus tendon. Tendons will have less mineral content (like the hydroxyapatite) and more of the pure collagen fibers. Collagen is also prevalent in the gut, blood vessels, skin, and cornea in the eye. Glycine, C₂H₅NO₂, is the most prominent protein in collagen.

Crystalline Structure of Hydroxyapatite

Hydroxyapatite looks a lot like calcite. Chemically it is oxyhydrated calcium phosphate.

#6. Joints and Ligaments: Over-mineralization causing Pain

There is a particular type of arthritis called calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthritis (CPP). Calcium pyrophosphate is Ca₂P₂O₇ and can be hydrated with a number of water molecules too (to take on different shapes). People have calcium crystals accumulating in their cartilage over time due to essentially the same reasons as why kidney stones form. When the crystals shed from the cartilage and leak into the joint cavities, they cause pain, inflammation, and swelling. The crystals are sharp and jagged and rub against these soft tissues. Eventually this can cause lasting damage to the joints, besides constant pain. This is similar to gout, another crystal mediated joint disorder.

#7. Dentin in Teeth – Emotional Transduction and Decay

Dentin, making up the teeth under the enamel, is a cpmposite of tube-shaped structures on the microscale. The dentin is embedded in the main matrix of apatite and collagen, like the bones! The tubed nature of dentin is why there can be tooth pain where holes in the enamel form.

Many people of older traditions equate dental health with emotional health. For example, the tendency to clench the jaw in unease over time grinds teeth. There is even a system similar to palmistry or iridology in which people learn to “read” the teeth for emotional irregularities. Although there are probably no studies on this kind of thing, it is wide-spread enough of a folk belief to warrant mention. Here is a round-up of dental “meridians” if that interests you.

#8. Crystals in the Body Urinary System (This is Bad.)

Kidney stones precipitate when there is too much calcium, oxalate, cystine, or phosphate in the blood in ratio to water. These can be from excess protein, sodium, or sugar. Fat malabsorption can also lead to excess oxalate. Excess of these compounds go through the kidneys to the urine. Over the time the body can only process so much, and slowly there can be hardening stones.

Oxalates are the main culprit I see talked about with regard to calcification due to diet. This is why there are certain vegetables you should always heat-treat, ferment, or otherwise cook to get the maximal benefits (and minimal harm) from. Some people (anecdotally) go vegetarian or vegan suddenly and get kidney stones in otherwise good health, because they are eating too many greens rich with oxalate intact. Otherwise keeping an appropriate protein level for the muscle mass will keep away strain on kidneys.

#9. Crystals in the Blood (Also Bad.)

Crystals in the blood are also bad in general. The plaque on inner artery walls is considered crystalline. Certain foods can cause an excess of substances and the blood can only carry so much. Combined with lack of sufficient hydration, the excess mineralize crystallize on the walls of blood vessels. This is the arterial plaque that is responsible for starting heart problems.

#10. Cholesterol is a Crystal in the Body, and Can Harden (Bad.)

Cholesterol is C₂₇H₄₆O and in isolate it appears as white crystalline powder. It is a type of lipid (fat) and is the precursor to synthesizing vitamin D, hormones, and bile. Cholesterol quality also impacts cell to cell signaling, as they help form the receptor sites in the membranes.

There is a LOT of ways cholesterol is integral to the human body. I couldn’t possibly scratch the surface of the biology behind it. As for the crystal structure, researchers are pretty interested in mapping it. I found a few reports describing the crystal habit as similar to hexagonal ice. There are a variety of different forms cholesterol can take. The hydrogen-hydrogen bonding on its ends allow it to make complex shapes and foldings, transiently. The figures with the cholesterol models, found here and here, all show hexagonal motifs in different configurations.

To find out how all these organs are mineralized, you would need to do further research. I have not looked into that.

#11. Dehydrated Spinal Fluid Crystallizes

A sort of niche experiment, only one of its kind I could find, took place in Norway in 1935. Spinal fluid was dehydrated and found to form crystalline structure. The author compared the patterns of people with different neurological disorders.

Full set of images:
Zeiner-Henriksen, K. “Crystal-formations in the spinal fluid and their diagnostic significance.” Journal of Neurology and Psychopathology 16.62 (1935): 111.

#12. Keratin in fingernails is Crystalline

Keratin is found in so many structures of the animal kingdom. It’s the same thing making some seashells shiny (structural color), making up feathers, hooves, hair, nails, and horns. Keratin’s crystalline structure helps give it tensile strength. Keratin also forms cytoskeletal components in cells throughout the body. When isolated, it coils into a helix. Like the collagen above, the structure is directly related to its function of providing tensile strength.

Are there crystals in the Human Body that are BAD vs GOOD?

Yes. The crystals are a way to have repeating order, and sometimes this is because the body is coded for the function of those crystals to transmit information, such as in the cases of the endogenous calcite of the pineal and the cochlea. In numerous other cases though, the amorphous crystal aggregates are a result of slow calcification and plaquening of the body associated with dehydration.