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Physiological Illness

A thought:

Perhaps “mental illness” is the red herring in the room. Perhaps the ROOT cause of all illnesses (mental, depression, anxiety) is rooted in the human physiology — (sleep deprivation, too many stimulants and depressants in ones body, bacterial infections, lack of movement and sun exposure, weakened immune system, poor nutrition).

Let me explore these ideas with you:

What is skitzo-phrenia?

Skitzophrenia:

schizophrenia: split mind.

First of all, the notion of schizophrenia is a modern one. 1908 (only ~120 years old).

Greek: ‘skhízō‘ (split, cleaved, divided). ‘Phren‘ as mind. Interesting note that the seat of the mind (in the past) wasn’t seen as your head and brain, but more of your stomach, midriff, and lower chest. This is where the notion of ‘following your gut’ comes from (in the past, we believed in the mind and soul being in our stomach and chest/breast/heart, not our brain). I wonder if 5,000 years from now we will discover that in fact, our mind and soul isn’t just in our brain, but evenly distributed from our toes to our foreheads?

Funny thought:

Perhaps to strengthen your mind, strengthen your abs and stomach?


Why do I bring up the notion of schizophrenia?

The reason:

My father has full-blown mental illness.

And what is the *cause* of his mental illness? I believe it is physiological. He was quite possibly the most unhealthy guy. Never left the house. Never exercised. He was the apex ‘skinny fat‘ type of guy. Also, heavy smoker. Also, very poor diet. Also, far too much caffeine consumption (I think he drank 30 cups of black coffee a day, with lots of sugar and cream). Probably had diabetes.

Also my dad I think had some underlying illnesses (biological). For example I recall memories of my mom administering a douche to him. Also, he might have had some sort of other diseases like syphilis or something (not certain on this). But the main point:

My dad was ill from a physiological perspective.

Which makes me wonder:

His mental illness was probably caused by his poor diet, lifestyle, and underlying diseases or illnesses he already had.

Alzheimer’s as type 3 diabetes

Why are so many modern people getting Alzheimer’s disease? I do not believe it is simply because people are ‘living far longer than they used to in the past’. I see it as a physiological disease (type 3 diabetes as Na Zhao et al has identified a *link*. Download PDF).

A summary of the article: [my notes of interest in bold]

Diabetes and impaired brain insulin signaling are linked to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The association between diabetes and AD-associated amyloid pathology is stronger among carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 gene allele, the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset AD. Here we report that apoE4 impairs neuronal insulin signaling in human apoE-targeted replacement (TR) mice in an age-dependent manner. High-fat diet (HFD) accelerates these effects in apoE4-TR mice at middle age. In primary neurons, apoE4 interacts with insulin receptor and impairs its trafficking by trapping it in the endosomes, leading to impaired insulin signaling and insulin-stimulated mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis. In aging brains, the increased apoE4 aggregation and compromised endosomal function further exacerbate the inhibitory effects of apoE4 on insulin signaling and related functions. Together, our study provides novel mechanistic insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of apoE4 and insulin resistance in AD.

The basic gist:

Alzheimer’s might be caused by problems in insulin-signaling in the body.

Nobody wants to believe that lifestyle is the cause of diseases

This is my evil eye and personal suspicion:

I believe that nobody wants to believe that lifestyle choices are the CAUSE of physiological and mental illness.

Why not? Because … we all wanna eat our cake and have it too. We don’t want to quit sugar, disavow sweets, or any hedonistic pleasures.

Strong body, strong mind.

If you wanna become stronger in the mind, start with the body. Physiology.