It's All Connected

 

The first day of class was not what I expected at all. I think part of that is because as STEM students, we are used to having to memorize facts, and processes, and molecules, and, and, and. We are then expected to regurgitate all the information we’ve amassed. I feel that only advanced students are able to recognize connections and apply the concepts in other areas. And I think that is what I am going to like about this class. I often wonder why there aren’t more collaborative efforts between departments. Maybe I just haven’t seen it, and if that’s the case, GREAT. That means we are working as a team, across disciplines, to answer life’s great mysteries. But if my observations are correct, we are doing ourselves a disservice.

I’ve been thinking about research and what that would look like for me as a professional in the not-so-distant future. I know I’m interested in disease and the mechanisms behind it, not just treating symptoms. That’s one the reasons I decided not to go to medical school. I still want to earn my PhD, but that dream is on hold now, too. I think I need to spend some time in the lab. It’s my favorite place to be on campus. I know a lot of students find it tedious or boring or so much extra work for a single credit. But I love it. I love learning how to use every piece of equipment. I love learning how to read the results. I love learning how to analyze the data and what it actually means. And I think that’s why I want to pursue research. I want to know what causes illness and how to prevent it. I want to look in a microscope and recognize what I’m looking at. I want to be part of a team that makes a difference. Maybe I won’t ever make a crazy break-through. But I want to at least be there when it happens.

One of my friends mentioned a vaccine that is being developed for melanoma. I’m interested in learning more about it. How would a vaccine like that work? What is the vaccine targeting? If it is successful, could it serve as a template for other kinds of cancer vaccines? I also wonder how this research might be applied in other fields and diseases. I’m excited to read the paper, I hope she will share the link with me.

My daughter is sick and it feels relevant to this class. She woke up this morning and told me that one of her classmates coughed in her face. Which is disgusting, but age appropriate since they are in first grade. Still gross, and my kid is still sick. I really hope she gets better soon, otherwise it’s going to be a very long weekend.

I think the concept of ayurveda is applicable in many aspects of life. Which I think is the point. While it can be tricky to include the spiritual aspect of the “mind-body-spirit” balance into regular academic discussion, I really think it is still necessary. Mainly because I think that “spiritual” doesn’t have to mean religious. I think that part of being spiritual is doing things that are fulfilling to the soul. And that things that are fulfilling to the soul are often fulfilling to the psyche. While activities that are beneficial to the body aren’t always directly fulfilling to the soul and to the psyche, a lot of research indicates that it helps anyway. I always think about how much I hate initiating a work out, or a task, even though I know I will feel better after. Once the task is complete, I am always glad I did it. I’m always glad I went on the hike, or to the gym. I feel the accomplishment of the physical exertion. I’m always glad I deep cleaned. I feel like my space is a reflection of my mind, and if my space is in chaos, it is often because my mind is, too. And if my space is orderly and clean, I feel relief.

I think part of what makes ayurveda so applicable is that it considers balance above all else. I think this makes so much sense. If you are having a bad day(mind) and you wallow(spirit) you might drink alcohol or eat too much junk food(body). In which case you’re going to be unbalanced in every way. But if you’re having a bad day, and you choose to counter that with social support, and maybe a nice walk, it might move you out of that unbalanced negative state back to stasis. Which is what the body wants. Homeostasis is the body trying to remain at stable levels. We sweat to cool our bodies when they are too hot. We shiver to warm our bodies when they are too cold. We laugh when something is funny, and sometimes it feels like we literally cannot hold the joy in. We cry when we are sad, and there is something so freeing about letting the pain go with the tears. We scream when we are angry, and it feels so cathartic to release the rage pent up inside. All of this reminds me of balance, and ayurveda, and how it’s all connected. How we’re all connected. It also reminds me that our bodies are their own ecosystems, and when one niche is hurt, the rest of our body suffers. Like how being dehydrated leads to headaches. Or how low blood sugar and make you dizzy, or shaky, or even faint. Like how a minor cut can lead to infection if left untreated, or if it was made with something particularly dirty. How our bodies try to return to stasis even then, with fevers to kill the bacteria. I also think that someone in perfect physical health but without strong social support will ultimately not live a happy life. They might not be ill as often, and they might have the ideal body, but without people who truly care about them, what’s the point? All this to say: I think it’s important to move enough, drink enough water, and laugh as often as possible.

I’ve been thinking about diabetes and its role within my family history. I realized today that my dad got diagnosed shortly after he turned 30 and I am now 34. I’ve been monitoring my health, particularly my blood sugar levels, since my daughter was born since I developed gestational diabetes at that time. I think that maybe I should make an appointment to see where my health is at in that regard.

I drove to Las Vegas a few weeks ago to visit my sister-in-law. As I was taking the exit to her house, I saw a sign posted to the stop light offering “Cash 4 Diabetic Supplies”. This took me by surprise, and then I felt angry. I also felt suspicious of why people would be offering this and if anyone actually took this offer seriously. I was surprised by the sheer audacity of the advertisement to blatantly exploit people who already were potentially struggling to afford their supplies in the first place. It reminds me of the cases that have been prevalent in the news about people dying because they were rationing their insulin. One thought I often have is that pharmaceutical companies have way too much power. They decide the prices of life-saving drugs without much oversight. This feels unethical and predatory. Especially when the cost of making a drug is negligible compared to the exponential profits these companies are seeing. It’s not fair and it feels pretty evil. You shouldn’t have to be rich to not die of a treatable illness.

I am really excited about the microbiome section. I talk about whole foods and how we can’ t function properly without a varied diet to my daughter all the time (mainly at dinner time when she only wants to eat the rice and not everything else on her plate). I tell her about how our brain needs glucose, how our muscles need protein, how fiber is important for our intestines. I tell her these things because I want her to have a better relationship with food than I did growing up. I don’t want her to go on a stupid diet to fit into a stupid dress for the stupid prom. I want her to focus on feeling good, both inside and out. I want her to be able to focus in school because she had a balanced breakfast, and I want her to have the energy to play outside because she had a satisfying lunch. I want her to be able to rest because she had a nice dinner that her body isn’t going to struggle to digest. I don’t want her to feel guilty for having a sweet treat, and I want her to learn to eat intuitively. Something that I’ve noticed as she has gotten older, is her ability to say no to treats. Even when it is something she really enjoys, if she’s full, she can say no and save it for later. I was never able to do that as a kid. I think part of that is that I grew up with a scarcity mindset. If I didn’t have it now, it was hard to say when it would be available again. I also grew up in a household in which you always had to clear your plate at dinner before you could be excused. That’s not something I enforce and I think it’s a good move.

I recently heard a story from a friend who worked in a hospital in a hospice unit. The whole story is kind of irrelevant, but I remember specifically that one of her patients had C.diff. And now every time I’ve had to learn about the microbiome in or microbes in general, I wonder how that patient is doing. I wonder if they eventually opted for a fecal transfer to re-inoculate her microbiome with diverse bacteria, or if she just had to do several rounds of very strong antibiotics. I wonder if she eats a lot of yogurt now, or if she struggles with IBS/IBD. I also think about how this could easily be any of us. And I’m really glad it hasn’t been me or my family.

One topic that always catches my attention is women’s health. In lecture we talked about how there was new evidence showing that the womb was not sterile. I think about pregnancy and related research often, this is what I want to focus on “when I grow up”. It reminded me of how I felt after my daughter stopped breastfeeding. I felt like she was sick all the time. I couldn’t tell if it was just from daycare, or if her immune system was less supported since she wasn’t getting my antibodies anymore. It’s definitely anecdotal, but it feels relevant. She had also been at that daycare for more than a year at that point so it reinforced my idea that she was simply not getting as much immune support from me at that point. The following year, she got strep throat twice in as many months and tonsilitis soon after. That summer she had a tonsillectomy. She rarely gets sick anymore and I’m very grateful for that.

We talked about allergies in class and I remembered a study talking about childhood exposure to pets and how it was hypothesized that it could help prevent more severe allergies in adulthood. So far, and again this is completely anecdotal, my daughter hasn’t shown signs of allergies. Except to amoxicillin. That was an adventure to find out. She broke out in a full body rash and I thought she had ring worm. I’m glad it wasn’t ring worm but now I worry about her having a more severe reaction in the future if she ever accidentally gets prescribed amoxicillin again. She’s well aware of her allergy, though. It’s the funniest thing to hear a 7 year old talk about her amoxicillin allergy.

The paper about the connection between the enteric microbiota and the brain was really interesting. I am also taking Immunology this semester and similar papers have also been brought up in class. It makes me curious about what types of therapies will be available to people struggling with mental health in the future. I do personally feel like you feel better when you eat better, but the greater socioeconomic struggle to afford food also needs to be addressed. I saw someone talk about “food swamps” recently. It’s like a food desert, in the sense that there is not easy, walkable access to fresh food and groceries. The things available in these places are fast food, gambling, alcohol, and nicotine. It’s no wonder people living in these places are more prone to alcoholism, gambling addictions, and obesity. Not to mention the crippling debt that comes with this lifestyle. Everything is connected.

Curated Paper 1

 Ayurveda is known as the “Science of Life,” where Ayus means “life” and Veda means “knowledge” or “science.” It uses principles of nature to help understand the body and how different parts of the body respond to the surrounding environment. It is an interesting concept, indeed, but one that many people, especially medical professionals, may dismiss because of its more “hippy” nature. However, after learning more about metabolism, diabetes, and the human microbiome, I have started to see how some of the broader ideas behind Ayurveda may relate to what we understand about the human body through modern science.

Modern medicine relies heavily on scientific research to better understand the body and its biological systems. Ayurveda offers a different perspective by focusing on the individual, the body as a whole, and the environment surrounding them. Rather than looking at one specific symptom, it considers how factors such as diet, sleep, stress, social interactions, and environmental conditions may influence a person's overall health. Although not every principle of Ayurveda has been scientifically proven, I think its broader approach raises an interesting question: Could changes in our environment and daily habits create imbalances within our biological systems that eventually contribute to disease?

This question became especially interesting when we began discussing metabolism. Metabolism includes the chemical reactions that allow our bodies to convert nutrients into energy or use them to build and maintain cells. Glucose is especially important because it serves as a major source of energy for many cells. One of the most important hormones involved in glucose metabolism is insulin, which helps certain tissues take up glucose and signals the body to store nutrients when energy is plentiful. Between meals, hormones such as glucagon help maintain blood glucose levels. Together, these systems help maintain homeostasis, or the balance necessary for the body to function properly.

Diabetes provides an excellent example of what can happen when these regulatory systems become disrupted. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys the pancreatic beta cells responsible for producing insulin. In type 2 diabetes, cells become less responsive to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance. In both cases, normal glucose

regulation becomes disrupted. Although diabetes is often associated with high blood sugar, its effects extend much further because insulin influences carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism. Over time, these disruptions can contribute to complications involving the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves.

This is where I began connecting Ayurveda and metabolism. Ayurveda emphasizes maintaining balance through different aspects of daily living, while modern biology explains how the body maintains balance through specific physiological processes. Although these explanations are not necessarily the same, they share an interesting underlying concept. Factors such as sleep, stress, nutrition, and physical activity can influence metabolic regulation. This does not mean that diabetes is simply caused by poor lifestyle choices, especially considering the genetic and other biological factors involved. However, it suggests that understanding a person's environment and daily habits can be important when studying metabolic health.

Another topic that strengthened this connection was the human microbiome. The microbiome consists of trillions of microorganisms living in places such as our digestive system, skin, and mouth. What makes the microbiome fascinating is that everyone's microbial community can be different. Factors such as diet, environment, medications, and lifestyle can influence which microorganisms are present. The gut microbiome is especially interesting because these microorganisms help break down certain components of food, produce useful compounds, and interact with the immune system. Research surrounding the gut-brain axis also suggests that processes occurring in our digestive system may influence other parts of the body.

When I connected this information to Ayurveda, I began thinking about how much importance Ayurveda places on digestion, diet, and the surrounding environment. Although Ayurveda developed long before scientists understood microorganisms, its emphasis on digestion and overall health is interesting when compared with modern microbiome research. The microbiome provides a biological system that scientists can actually

measure and study to better understand how diet and environmental factors influence health.

One new idea I developed from connecting these topics is that the microbiome may represent an important link between our external environment and internal metabolism. For example, the foods we eat can influence microorganisms living within our digestive system. These microorganisms can then influence how certain nutrients are processed and how the body responds through metabolic and immune pathways. Researchers have also identified associations between differences in the gut microbiome and conditions such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, these associations do not necessarily mean that microbiome changes directly cause diabetes.

Combining these ideas made me think about the hypothesis of imbalance differently. Initially, I understood imbalance primarily as something occurring within an individual biological system, such as glucose regulation. However, learning about the microbiome suggests that biological systems are not always independent of one another. An environmental change may influence the microbiome, which may then influence metabolism or immune activity. Rather than thinking about imbalance as one isolated problem, I began viewing it as a possible interaction between several connected processes.

I also think this idea could be developed into a testable scientific hypothesis. For example, researchers could investigate whether changes in dietary patterns influence the gut microbiome and whether those changes are associated with measurable differences in insulin sensitivity or blood glucose regulation. By measuring microbial composition and metabolic markers over time, researchers could better understand whether changes in the microbiome contribute to metabolic improvements or simply occur alongside them. This would allow us to investigate some of the broader ideas behind Ayurveda using modern scientific methods.

Another important connection I made involves the effects of diabetes beyond the human body. Although diabetes involves disruptions in glucose regulation, its consequences can

extend into families, communities, healthcare systems, and even the national economy. According to an American Diabetes Association analysis, people with diagnosed diabetes had average annual medical expenditures of approximately $19,736 in 2022, with about $12,022 attributed specifically to diabetes. The organization also estimated that diagnosed diabetes cost the United States approximately $412.9 billion in 2022, including direct medical expenses and indirect costs such as reduced productivity and missed work.

What I find interesting about these numbers is how they demonstrate another level of interconnectedness. A disruption in glucose metabolism can affect a person's health, increasing their need for medical care. These medical needs can create financial challenges for individuals and families. When millions of people experience similar challenges, the effects extend into hospitals, employers, and government resources. In other words, an imbalance occurring at the cellular level can eventually contribute to challenges at the societal level. This was not something I initially considered when learning about metabolism, but it became one of the more interesting connections I made throughout these topics.

This also made me think about how health and the environment can influence each other in both directions. We often discuss how a person's environment influences their health, but chronic health conditions can also change a person's environment. For example, someone managing diabetes may experience financial stress or difficulty accessing healthcare, which may then influence their ability to manage their condition. This creates a potential feedback loop in which health and environmental conditions continue influencing one another. I think this expands the hypothesis of imbalance beyond the body itself.

Overall, learning about Ayurveda, metabolism, diabetes, and the microbiome has changed how I think about health. Ayurveda introduces the idea that our bodies and surrounding environments are interconnected. Metabolism demonstrates the importance of internal regulation, while diabetes shows what can happen when certain regulatory systems are disrupted. The microbiome provides another example of how different biological systems interact with one another. The most important idea I have taken away is that health is

not simply determined by whether one part of the body is functioning correctly, but by how multiple systems interact and respond to changing conditions. Although not every aspect of Ayurveda is scientifically supported, I think combining its broader perspective with modern scientific research can help us better understand disease and the importance of looking at the body as a whole.

Curated Paper 1 - Alexis Garcia

Curated Paper

Throughout our capstone class, I have learned that the human body is much more connected than I originally realized. Before we began studying the microbiome, metabolism, and the concept of ayurveda, it was easy to think about the body as separate parts that work independently to complete their own jobs. However, these topics have helped me understand that the body depends on many processes working together to maintain overall health. The digestive system influences how nutrients are absorbed, hormones are regulated and used, how microorganisms interact with our bodies, and lifestyle factors can influence all of these processes. The digestive system influences how nutrients are absorbed, hormones help regulate how those nutrients are used, microorganisms interact with our bodies, and lifestyle factors can influence all of these processes. Learning about these connections has changed how I think about health and disease. Although approaches like Ayurveda assess health differently than traditional Western medicine, I believe that some of its foundational ideas, particularly the importance of balance and treating the whole person, connect with what I have been learning throughout my courses so far. By bringing together what I have learned about these foundational capstone concepts, I have developed an appreciation for the complexity of human health and the importance of disease detection and disease prevention. 

The concept of Ayurveda can be described in both a simple and a complex manner. Simply put, it is the study of life, but in a more complex sense, it is a whole body system of medicine that began in India more than 3,000 years ago and focuses on the aspects of one's full health and well being. The body and the universe are connected, and if one thing in life is not in balance then it will affect another. Ayurveda uses nutrition, natural remedies, and lifestyle changes to promote health and well-being. Although not all Ayurvedic practices have strong scientific evidence that promote their effectiveness, I believe that many of its foundational principles are important cornerstones of modern medicine. When we think of the body in parts, we may miss symptoms or connections that could help lead to a diagnosis because we assume they are unrelated. For example, many women experience back pain during their menstrual cycle. Although the reproductive organs are not located in the back, changes occurring in one part of the body can affect how another part feels. This demonstrates why it is important to consider the body as a whole rather than looking at each symptom separately.

One of the most interesting examples of this interconnectedness is the human microbiome. I found it fascinating to learn just how many types of microorganisms live on and in the human body. One of my favorite things that we have discussed throughout the first section of our capstone class is how much the things that we touch and ingest can influence our bodies microorganisms, and how heavily our birth can influence our microbiome throughout the entirety of our lives. The microbiome is made up of communities of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, that interact with our bodies in different ways. These microorganisms can help break down certain components of food, contribute to normal immune function, and produce substances that influence other biological processes. The microbiome is also affected by factors such as environment, age, and medication use. This is extremely interesting to me because I did not realize how much our microbiome can differ from people, even including our own family members. This means that our health is not determined by our own human cells, but also our interactions with the microorganisms that live with us.

This concept connects to ayurveda, because both encourage us to consider how different factors influence the body's overall health and well being. Ayurveda emphasizes balance, while 

microbiome research examines how microorganisms interact with human cells and the body’s biological processes. Although these are not the same direct connection, they both raise an interesting question about how relationships within our bodies influence our health. An imbalance of the microbiome has been associated with different health problems, although researchers are still working to understand which changes contribute to disease and which occur because of it. I think it is an important distinction because it demonstrates that even when we discover a connection between two things, we still do scientific research to understand how and why that connection works.

The Microbiome also provides the connection between nutrition and metabolism. The food we eat does more than just provide energy for our daily lives, it also supplies nutrients that microorganisms in our digestive system can use. These nutrients can potentially influence the substances that they produce, and how they interact with our bodies. At the same time, our digestive system is breaking down food into nutrients that can be used for energy. This leads us to the concept of metabolism, which includes the chemical processes that allow us to function and maintain our bodies. Learning about metabolic pathways has helped me understand how many different processes are involved in something that can seem as simple as maintaining our blood sugar.

The body has to keep blood glucose levels within an appropriate range so that glucose is available for energy while excess glucose can be stored for later use. Insulin plays a major role in this process because it helps regulate how cells use glucose. After we eat carbohydrates, they are broken down into simple sugars, including glucose, which enters the bloodstream. The pancreas then responds by releasing insulin, which helps glucose into certain cells and supports its storage for later use. When these processes stop working properly, blood glucose regulation becomes disrupted and can lead to diabetes.

Diabetes is a much more complicated disease and simply having high blood sugar and giving yourself an insulin shot. In type one diabetes, the immune system destroys the pancreatic cells, responsible for producing insulin. Meanwhile, type two diabetes involves an overall insulin resistance. If not adequately managed, both conditions can affect multiple organs, including the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. This demonstrates how disrupting one of the body’s biological processes can have consequences throughout the entire system. 

 This provides a  direct connection to homeostasis, which is the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment. Diabetes shows what happens when blood glucose regulation is disrupted, connecting to ayurveda and its emphasis on balance. Researchers have also found associations between the gut microbiome and metabolic conditions, including type two diabetes, although more research is needed to understand these relationships. Diet and physical activity can influence both metabolic health and the microbiome. This demonstrates how different factors work altogether to keep us healthy.

Learning more about diabetes has also made me think about the financial and personal challenges that come with having a chronic disease. Treatment, medications, and complications can place significant burdens on patients, families, and the healthcare system. This reinforces the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and access to healthcare for all. Although ayurveda emphasizes nutrition in lifestyle, its treatments must still be evaluated for safety and effectiveness. I believe, combining a holistic perspective, like ayurveda, with scientific evidence, like western medicine, can help healthcare professionals better understand patients and how to support their long-term health.

 Overall, these topics have shown me that the microbiome, metabolism, hormones, and lifestyle all interact in ways that influence health and disease. As someone who is interested in pursuing a career and medicine, I want to understand not only how diseases develop, but how they affect the rest of the body in a person's daily life. I plan on listening to and learning from my patients, considering their experiences and symptoms while using scientific evidence to guide their care. These connections can help us better, understand disease, improve treatment, and support prevention.

Ayurveda and Modern Biology: Exploring Balance, Homeostasis and Metabolic Health

Ayurvedic medicine is one of the world’s oldest medical systems. This holistic approach to medicine originated in India over 3000 years ago. The word Ayurveda means “the science of life” and is based on the idea that each person has interconnected life forces that influence health and well-being. Ayurveda focuses on the balance between body, mind, and spirit. The idea of this ancient practice is to maintain balance in the body, mind, and spirit through prevention of disease, herbal remedies, and the correction of imbalances in the body’s energies. 

    Ayurveda teaches that balance is the natural order and imbalance is disorder. According to Ayurvedic philosophy, three vital energies, known as doshas, influence a person's health and wellbeing. The three doshas are vata, pitta, and kapha. Vata is associated with the flow of movement in the body and mind. Pitta is responsible for digestion, hormones, and metabolism. Kapha holds everything together and is associated with structure, stability, and endurance. Ayurveda teaches that each person has a unique balance of these doshas, and maintaining that balance helps support the body’s natural defense systems and resist disease. 

In Ayurveda, treatment is individualized based on the individual’s unique balance of the doshas. Practitioners evaluate these doshas along with overall health, lifestyle, and symptoms before recommending therapies. Rather than focusing on treating illness after it occurs, prevention of disease is emphasized by maintaining balance and supporting the body’s natural ability to stay healthy. Treatment commonly includes dietary changes, herbal medicines, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and lifestyle routines modifications tailored to the individual.

In modern biology, a useful comparison to Ayurveda is homeostasis within the body. Homeostasis is the process by which the body maintains stable internal conditions despite changes in the internal or external environment. When normal conditions are disrupted, the body triggers physiological responses to restore balance and medications or other therapeutic interventions can support this process. Although Ayurveda and modern Western medicine use different approaches to understanding health, both recognize that maintaining balance within the body is essential. Modern biology provides scientific explanations for many physiological systems involved in maintaining homeostasis, including metabolism, hormone regulation, the gut microbiome.

The biological concept of homeostasis is a core principle in modern biology and is essential for survival. These processes include negative and positive feedback mechanisms. Negative feedback tries to counteract or reverse the unwanted changes from the environment to restore balance. It does this through regulating blood pressure, body temperatures, fluid levels, and oxygen levels. In contrast, positive feedback strengthens a response until a specific outcome is achieved. Examples of this are labor and delivery, blood clotting, and some immune responses. Multiple body systems work together to maintain homeostasis. The nervous system utilizes the parasympathetic system to relax the body and the sympathetic system to trigger the “flight-or-fight” response when the body is in danger. The respiratory and the cardiovascular systems assist in maintaining oxygen levels and transporting throughout the body, respectively. The endocrine system produces hormones that act as slow-acting chemical messengers to initiate or stop certain processes. These are just a few examples of what systems contribute to homeostasis. Understanding homeostasis demonstrates how interconnected the systems of the body are. Tying the concept of homeostasis to Ayurveda, shows the similarities that there are between balancing the body. Even though they are different concepts, both emphasize the importance of maintaining internal stability to support health and wellbeing.

While Ayurveda emphasizes maintaining balance within the body, modern biology helps explain how processes like metabolism contribute to this balance and how disruptions can affect overall health. Metabolism consists of chemical reactions that allow the body to obtain and use energy, build and repair tissue, and maintain essential functions. By exploring different metabolic pathways, we can better understand how the body maintains balance and how disruptions in these processes contribute to disease. To maintain balance and homeostasis, different metabolic processes function at different rates because the body uses energy differently throughout the day and with different activities. 

  Metabolic disorders are any condition that affects how the body uses energy to function. These disorders can be acquired or inherited. A common acquired metabolic disorder is Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). T2DM represents a loss of metabolic homeostasis and is characterized by hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance, inadequate insulin production, or excessive glucagon secretion. Having too much sugar in the body is a factor in the progression of T2DM and can cause complications. The main thing that is affected is the function and mass of pancreatic beta cells. 

  Pancreatic beta cells are the sole physiological source of insulin. In T2DM, chronic insulin resistance increases the demand on these pancreatic beta cells which eventually leads to losing mass and secretory competence. In healthy beta cells, when blood glucose levels rise, glucose will enter the beta cell and break down to produce ATP in the mitochondria. As ATP levels increase, it causes a change in the cell to allow calcium to enter. The presence of calcium then triggers the release of insulin. The more glucose in the bloodstream, the more ATP produced, and the more insulin released. If the mitochondria in the cell are damaged or do not work properly, the beta cells cannot release insulin in response to increased levels of glucose, causing an imbalance and hyperglycemia.

This example of metabolic disruption demonstrates how the body can be affected and how it tries to maintain metabolic homeostasis. It is important to have proper metabolic regulation in maintaining overall health. However, metabolism is only one part of the body’s complex internal environment. There are different body systems and factors that contribute to the maintenance and balance of homeostasis which includes the gut microbiome that plays a role in digestion, metabolism, and immune function.

The importance of a healthy gut microbiome is a concept where modern biology and Ayurvedic medicine overlap. In Ayurvedic medicine, the dosha, Pitta, is associated with digestion, hormones, and metabolism. Ayurveda emphasizes that proper digestion is central to overall health and the accumulation of undigested or improperly digested food contributes to illness. Because of this, diet plays an important role in Ayurvedic approaches to treatment. In modern biology, it is recognized that the gut microbiome is important for metabolism, immunity and communication with the gut and brain. The gut microbiome consists of a diverse community of microorganisms that live in the digestive tract and interact with the body. These microorganisms assist in stimulation and regulation of the immune system, breaking down of food, and synthesizing certain vitamins and amino acids. A balanced and diverse gut microbiome is critical for maintaining health and balance. A good diet and lifestyle helps promote a healthy gut microbiome. Foods high in fiber, plant-based proteins, prebiotic foods, limited added sugars, fermented foods will help support a healthy balance of gut bacteria. Healthy lifestyle choices like exercise and good-quality sleep also help with the diversity of the microbiome. These connections highlight how both modern biological research and Ayurvedic medicine promote a healthy gut microbiome.

Although Ayurveda and modern biology approach health from different perspectives, both emphasize the importance of maintaining balance within the body. Ayurveda focuses on restoring balance through individualized treatments, which include diet, herbal medicine, and healthy lifestyle habits, while modern biology explains these effects through concepts such as homeostasis, metabolism, and the microbiome. Although more scientific research is needed to better understand Ayurvedic practices, the core principles are consistent with modern recommendations for a healthy life. By integrating traditional knowledge with modern scientific understanding, researchers can gain better understanding on how to promote health and prevent disease. 

A look between metabolism, microbiome and Ayurveda

Throughout the last month many different topics have been explored in class, mainly we have talked about Ayurveda, metabolism and the microbiome. All of these topic felt as its own module until I started seeing how they just build onto each other. Ayurveda is mostly an holistic idea where we can see balance and connection in the mind and body axis. Further research about it, lead me to found out that Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine that comes from India, it’s meant to approach health and disease while looking at the body as a whole rather than treating each part separately. The most interesting part is that the main idea is centered around health depending on keeping a balance within the individual, and that the environment and lifestyle can affect it. This leads to the idea that instead of treating everyone the same way, it is expected that we all have our differences and will respond in different ways towards health and diseases. Looking forward to my future after graduation, I am planning to attend medical school and become a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). It was particularly interesting to find a deep connection between the idea of Ayurveda and the principles of osteopathic medicine. Both emphasize the importance of looking at the person as a whole, and encourage us to think how different parts of the body interact, and how those relationships can influence health. This also brings me back to anatomy, throughout my course I have seen multiple times how hard it is to separate each body system, because they all end up interacting and affecting one another. As an anatomy TA, I always suggest the new students, to not treat each lab separately, but rather let them build on one another, because of how connected everything tends to be. I don’t necessarily believe that every explanation or treatment from Ayurveda is scientifically proven, but I think it’s really valuable to recognize the broader idea of not focusing only where symptoms appear, but rather on what leads there. The idea of interconnection between the different things of the body became more relevant as we started talking about metabolism, and got a first impression on how complex it is. While Ayurveda was able to introduce the importance of looking at health from different and broader prospectives, talking about metabolism gave me a concrete connection from a biological and cellular level. Before discussing this topic, I had always thought about metabolism as how fast or slow someone’s burn calories, but I had never tried or thought about making that deeper research to discover all the reactions and processes involved in it. It has been fascinating to learn about the thousands of reactions that happen in our bodies and inside our cells everyday. Mainly, we looked at two types of metabolic pathways: anabolic and catabolic, and we looked more into each to understand the differences between the two. Essentially anabolic pathways require energy to build larger molecules, while catabolic pathways break things down and release usable energy by the body. If I think about everyday life, I can relate catabolic processes to digestion, where the nutrients we consume get processed and broken down  to help provide energy, while others might be stored or used to build other molecules. We also mentioned many pathways like glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. The most interesting thing is how different each pathway is, and the many different roles they perform. Our metabolism is made up of so many pathways reaction, that when something goes wrong in one pathway, it can end up affecting many others. One of the most significant example of how disruptions can affect the entire body is diabetes. In simple words, diabetes occurs when the body is unable to properly control and regulate blood glucose levels. This definition is, of course, a simplification of what diabetes actually is. There are many types of diabetes, each with different causes and effects, and they all affect millions of people every day in several ways. Many organs are actually involved in keeping blood glucose at a normal range, for example, when we are fasting, the liver can release glucose into the bloodstream, while after eating, glucose becomes available through digestion and absorption of food. Other organs and systems involved in glucose regulation include the pancreas, muscles, kidneys, brain, intestines, and immune system, as well as the microbiome. This is the main reason why it is such a complicated disease, because it involves many pathways and loosing regulation on one side can have effects on the all body. This brings me back to the idea of Ayurveda and anatomy, which demonstrates why understanding a disease requires looking at many systems rather than focusing on one in specific. It was interesting to have many people in class share their story about diabetes and its different forms. I wasn’t really aware of gestational diabetes, and how it can just develop during pregnancy and go away after giving birth. I really loved the part where we opened our conversation outside biology, and looked at how these diseases impact society and the economy. These aspects are often overlooked, but things like education, transportation, workplace, healthcare, or just the environment that we live in can influence our physical activity, and our possibilities of an overall healthy lifestyle. One of the major challenges behind diabetes is physical inactivity in most people, and non healthy behaviors, but social and environmental factors can also make the prevention and management more difficult. The economic cost of diabetes was one of the biggest surprises, as someone who comes from a country with mostly free healthcare, it is really hard to imagine that while dealing with any kind of disease, you also have to worry about how you are going to afford the treatments that are going to keep you alive. The paper provided to us, estimated that diagnosed diabetes cost the US $412.9 billion in 2022, while people with diagnosed diabetes had in average about 20 thousand dollars of annual medical expense. It was really hard realizing how economy is such a big part of someone’s health, and I had never considered diabetes, or any other disease, under this prospective. If we look at everything together, diabetes also affects your life and your family, because it can have long term consequences on your daily life activities, financial stability, and overall quality of life. Another topic that increased my understanding about the complexity of our bodies was the microbiome, this added another perspective to how different biological processes interact and influence our health. First of all, I feel like I have always been thinking about bacteria in our body too simply, without realizing how complex and organized these microbial communities are. In the lecture we talked about how the microbiome is this big community of microorganisms living in and on our bodies, and that many are actually beneficial for us. I feel like it’s really easy nowadays to associate bacteria with something negative, because we always think about infections or antibiotics or something bad in general, and we tend to forget how there are many bacteria that are really important for our bodies. These organisms help us digest food, protect us from some other harmful microorganisms in the body, interact with the immune system, and produce molecules that our cells can use. In some ways, it is almost like an additional organ, but it’s alive and it’s frequently changing with our diet, the environment, and our habits. One of the things that surprised me the most was learning how even choosing the way we deliver a baby can end up influencing its microbiome in early development. There are many things that can affect, starting from delivery, our microbiomes. If we go in order, the baby’s first exposure, the way the baby is fed, the mother’s microbiome, the environment, and the baby’s diet can all influence its development. This continues also into adolescence, and adulthood, every decision or change in our life can affect our microbiome. During this conversation in class, we talked about how traveling to other countries can expose us to different microorganisms through water and food, and ultimately affect our microbiomes. Another connection I made was between the microbiome and what I have been learning in biochemistry. Microbiomes actually expand what our bodies can metabolize, because our enzymes can’t digest everything we eat, and some bacterial enzyme can ferment fibers and produce short chain fatty acid that our bodies can use.  This relates back to our discussion about anabolic and catabolic pathways, because microorganisms can contribute to the metabolic process happening in our bodies. Throughout the whole discussion diet felt like one of the most relevant factors, as it can directly affect our microbiome. It is really important to have a diet with a lot of variety, that includes plants, fruits, vegetables and fiber rich foods, which can support microbial communities.. It was really surprising to see how many aspects of health are connected to the microbiome, so sleep, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, brain development, and many more things all take part and are linked to our microbiomes. Honestly, this topic made me go back to one of our first discussions about Ayurveda. During that discussion, we talked about the importance of balance and the relationship how between the mind and body axis, and this is probably one of the best examples to explain how different aspects of health can be interconnected. Thinking about factors such as diet, daily routine, stress as one whole thing instead of different systems, is critical when thinking about maintaining a healthy microbiome, and a balanced lifestyle. If we keep imbalance in our life, our microbiome will be affected as well, which can lead to inflammations and diseases, later on, and ultimately it might have an effect on our metabolism, and more in general in our bodies. Looking back at everything that has been discussed, the main take away is how interconnected our health is between many different factors. Ayurveda introduced the more general idea of looking at the person as a whole, metabolism helped me understand how many different reactions and pathways work together inside our bodies, and the microbiome added another layer of complexity, by showing how many different decisions and lifestyle can ultimately influence the microorganisms community in us.

Curated Paper 1 - Jace Rowley

 Throughout my undergraduate studies and learning experiences the human body has been presented as a fascinating combination of complex cellular interactions, chemical reactions that lead to function, and an immune system that is capable of identifying harmful bacterial and viral infections and fighting against them. While these things are vital to understanding health and the protection from diseases these lectures sometimes miss on the fact that all of these functions and networks are all interconnected. This gap was filled when I explored the idea of Ayurveda, which is an ancient holistic framework that allows one to view organisms not as organs and bodily fluids, but rather as a dynamic network that depends on other parts to function properly. A proper balance of Ayurveda allows the human body to function properly, but this is thrown off when there are imbalances or disruptions of the harmony of these systems, or as taught in ayurveda these doshas. Some of these disruptions in the body’s doshas cause a whole host of issues pertaining to overall health. This principle of harmony is mirrored by our modern, western understanding of physiology and is exemplified in our cellular metabolism and the human microbiome. In these systems, the breakdown of fuel and microbial diversity can be affected by these imbalances that Ayurveda warns against. When our metabolic pathways become overwhelmed by excess fuel and our internal ecosystems are disrupted, balance collapses and gives rise to complications that will have lasting effects. By pairing a holistic and relationship based model with modern medicine it will expand the possibility to better understand and even sometimes treat root causes of these imbalances rather than just managing downstream symptoms.

Charaka, an ancient physician and scholar accredited to being one of the founders of Ayurveda taught, “Life is the combination of body, senses, mind and reincarnating soul. Ayurveda is the most sacred science of life, beneficial to humans both in this world and the world beyond.” A holistic approach on the interconnectedness of our bodies, minds and physical senses dictates the limits of the health of that same body and mind. In Ayurveda each system of our bodies is described as a dosha, an energy, these energies when working properly flow into the system and create a balance. But when one doshas becomes out of balance, it tips the metaphorical scale and throws off the entire system. Ayurveda searches for a way to return these doshas to balance and to restore the overall health and harmony of the system. These can be obtained through regular exercise, a balanced and healthy diet, the betterment of mental health and uses of natural herbs and meditation. While this might not cure the downstream effects of these imbalances Ayurveda teaches that it can help stop the causes of these diseases. Two core principles that are heavily affected by imbalances in the body are Agni and Ama. Agni is the body’s metabolic fire driven by digestion and contributes to the absorption of nutrients and physical vitality. Ama is the toxic metabolic residue that accumulates when the Agni falters which leads to problems in the microbiome and in our metabolic pathways.

 The body fueling itself and the dosha of Agni comes from our metabolism and its pathways. Metabolism is the chemical and physical processes in living cells that will convert food and drink into the energy bodies need to sustain life. There is an apparent flux of fuel in the metabolism that stems from the catabolic breakdown and anabolic synthesis; this is a mirror of the Ayurvedic concept of Agni, the fire that digests food and turns it into energy. When the catabolic and anabolic pathways work together and there is a balance it allows the fuel to move smoothly through our cells. Sometimes when the cells don’t need more nutrition but it keeps being produced, it leads to congestion and the body enters a state of overflow where cells are saturated and lose their capacity to remove byproducts. This is when Ama is present and a backup of toxic material doesn’t allow the metabolism to function as normal. An example of this build up is seen in Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease or MASLD. When someone develops MASLD, adipose tissue develops a resistance and continuously leaks fatty acid into the bloodstream. While this happens, there are high levels of glucose and insulin circulating in the system that will eventually signal the liver to synthesize even more fat cells which leads to hepatic overload and lipotoxicity. In Ayurveda this uncontrolled storage and overnutrition smothers the Agni and throws the entire body out of balance.

When this damage occurs it leads to consequences of the lack of metabolic breakdown. One of the most damaging conditions to patients when metabolism is hindered is diabetes, and not only physically. According to a 2022 report by the American Diabetes Association, the total economic burden of diabetes per year is estimated to be 412.9 billion dollars. When broken down, the study claims that 306.6 billion stemmed from direct medical expenses which means that almost one in every four dollars spent in the country goes to the care of someone with diabetes. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes face nearly twenty thousand dollars a year in medical expenses. The real catch is that these dollars go to management of downstream symptoms without actually treating the root cause of the issues developing. Ayurvedic therapies, if implemented early, could actually treat the cause of these diseases. Restoring metabolic balance requires consistent daily movement, unrefined whole food, and routine fasting to clear cellular waste, and rekindle the Agni. 

Along with the metabolic flux, the human body is also an interconnected habitat for microbiomes that influence overall health. The human body is covered and lined with microbiomes, they make us who we are. Our skin, oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, along with other microbiomes dictate how our bodies react to our diets and interaction with our environments. One example is our mouths, these microbiomes have a rich oral flora that regulates acidity, breaks down food via amylase and protects hard tissues structures. However diets that are not in good balance, that contain sugars and lots of acidity, disrupt the microbiome and poor unhealthy bacteria will begin to outcompete beneficial commensal bacteria. This can be treated with modern remedies, but our microbiome is vital to our health and is a life long process. 

Even as we begin our lives we begin to start developing a microbiome, this starts as early as the womb and through which process a baby is delivered. A baseline is established early and carried into our adulthood. Newborns that are delivered vaginally are able to use the maternal bacteria to begin creating their microbiomes, while babies who are born via Cesarean section acquire a differing version of bacteria to jump start their microbiomes. After birth this process continues based upon whether or not a child is breastfed or formula fed. A breastfed infant will receive certain oligosaccharides that cannot be exactly replicated by synthetic formulas, which will lead to a development of differentiating microbiomes.  This early microbial education aligns with the hygiene hypothesis that investigates the idea that immune competence requires direct environmental exposure to a diverse collection of harmless microbes. Shielding a child from ordinary dirt and microbial challenges deprives the developing immune system of necessary training, which could lead to dysregulation of immune disorders.

Arguably one of the most important microbiomes for our health and ayurvedic balance is the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is in constant conversation with the metabolism and a connection with the mind. This affects energy shaping and the storage of tissues. Animal studies have shown evidence of this connection. A study involving mice and a fecal transplant showed that skinny and healthy mice, when implanted with feces of obese mice, began to change their calorie extraction and increased adipose tissue storage without any change in diet. Gut microbiomes are vital to more than we think but they are susceptible to modern intervention more than most of these microbiomes. Overuse of antibiotics and frequent regimens can wipe out the healthy bacterial communities and even permanently remove bacteria that has been developing our entire lives. This disruption has even been linked to increased adiposity and altered caloric output.

Bringing these systems together shows that human health is an interconnected network where cellular biochemistry, a microbial ecology, and lifestyle influence one another. The microbiomes, a healthy metabolism and other bodily functions serve as the biological engines of an ayurvedic balance. Working together they drive nutrient breakdown, metabolic flux, and control fueling and protect the body from imbalances which lead to diseases. Recognition and implementing practices of Ayurveda like consumption of whole foods, regular exercise, and mindful thought practices can protect lifelong microbial flora and metabolic pathways. Modern medicine excels at pinpointing molecular mechanisms and Ayurveda provides the perspective that is needed to see how relationships can govern long term health. Pairing a holistic model with modern medicine expands the possibilities to understand and treat root causes and best help entire populations to avoid diseases.