Throughout the last few weeks of this course, I have learned that human health is much more complicated and interconnected than I thought. Before taking this class, I often thought about diseases as individual problems. For example, I thought of diabetes mostly as a problem involving high blood sugar and insulin because thats all i saw from people i knew growing up. I thought metabolism was simply whether someone had a “fast” or “slow” metabolism, and I mostly thought of bacteria as something that could make people sick. As we continued learning about Ayurveda, the microbiome, metabolism, diabetes, sleep, exercise, and environmental factors, my understanding of health became much broader and became more interesting. I got to see that the human body is not a collection of separate systems working independently. Instead, our biological systems constantly communicate with one another, while our environment, lifestyle, socioeconomic situation, and mental health can also influence our overall health. There are so many facters that can change how our systems work and how our body reacts to certain situations.
One of the topics that first changed the way I thought about health was Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient medical tradition that started in India and is still practiced today. Unlike medicine that we know of that focuses on diagnosing and treating diseases in a scientific way, Ayurveda takes a more holistic approach. It focuses on connecting the mind, body, and environment and keeping these different areas in balance. After doing research about Ayurveda, I found the idea that different parts of the body and our environment are connected interesting. Although not all ideas of Ayurveda have been scientifically proven, I was able to find general connections between some Ayurvedic concepts and ideas that are also being studied in modern science.
Ayurveda focuses on whole-body healing and includes physical, mental, and emotional health. It encourages practices such as yoga, meditation, mindful eating, getting enough sleep, spending time with yourself and others, and managing your work-life balance. I think this approach is very important because the mind is such a powerful part of the body. If we are stressed or overwhelmed, there is a good chance that our brain can make us feel sick physically. For example, when I am extremely stressed about an exam, I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. I may get a headache, feel overwhelmed, or have an upset stomach. This made me think about how important it is to have balance in life because this is such a small scale what about big life alter concepts.
This idea of balance is something I can connect to my own life because I am a biology major and also on the gymnastics team. I have had to learn how to adjust my schedule, find time to study, learn difficult material, travel, take care of my body and mind, and work around practices and weight training. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. There are times when it feels like there are not enough hours in the day. Because of this, I have learned that finding balance is not just an idea It is something that I have had to practice in my own life. I have learned that sleep, exercise, school, relationships, and mental health all need attention. We did an exercise
You know when you start learning about something then it seems to show up everywhere thats how i feel about Ayurveda as a student athlete i am so blessed to have so many resources available for me. We have a wonderful staff that helps us condition, take care of our bodies, and most importantly our minds, gymnastics is a hard physical sport no doubt about it but after so many years doing it the capability is not the hard part its the mental side of things thats where i want to bring up an idea that our sports psychologist showed us. She gave us a piece of paper with one big circle on it inside were nine different lines each line was a rating 1-10 this was used as a rating system the circle was then divided into six categories connecting,moving, fueling/hydrating, sleeping, breathing, communicating with nature and faith. Once you rate your self in each of those categories we were told to connect the dots and we were supposed to look at our wheel that we made with our ratings. My wheel let me tell you that thing would be lucky to roll this was a cool exercise because it opened my eyes to what i need to work on to have balance in my life.
This idea of individual differences connects to what we learned later about the microbiome. Before learning about the microbiome, I mostly thought bacteria were bad thats kinda what was hinted at in microbiology. I associated bacteria with germs, sickness, and infection. It was surprising to learn that many microorganisms living inside and on our bodies are actually important for keeping us healthy somtimes even alive. Every person can have a different collection of microorganisms, which means that our bodies are even more individual than I realized. The gut microbiome can affect much more than digestion. Research has shown connections between the gut, immune system, metabolism, inflammation, and even the brain.
This does not mean that everything in Ayurveda has been scientifically proven. I think it is important to recognize the difference between traditional beliefs and scientific evidence. However, I think it is interesting that some traditional ideas can be examined through modern science. This gave me a new perspective because instead of immediately deciding that something is either completely right or completely wrong, I learned that we can ask questions and investigate how different ideas might connect which is something we have learned to do throughout our major.
Another connection I made was between the microbiome and the brain. We learned about the gut-brain axis, which describes the communication between the gut and brain through several pathways, including the nervous system, immune system, hormones, and substances produced by microorganisms. I found this interesting because it suggests that physical and mental health are not completely separate which would connect back to the idea that all systems work with eachother rather then seperatly. I have noticed in my own life that stress can affect how I feel physically whether my stomach hurts or i give myself headaches.
One of my biggest examples is whenever I compete in gymnastics. No matter how much water I drink or how many times I go to the bathroom before my routine, I never fail to get that nervous feeling before I compete. Learning about the gut-brain connection gave me a possible biological explanation for why emotions and physical symptoms can sometimes seem connected. It also made me more aware of how important it may be to take care of my overall health instead of focusing on just one part of my body. Which i said like before we are kinda trained to do we have a psychologist, weights coach, athletic trainer, and nutrieniest. I am so grateful to have these resource but what about people who do not have direct contact with resources like that… i will get into that later in this paper.
Changes in the gut microbiome have been associated with digestion, metabolism, inflammation, and the immune system. This made me realize that things such as diet, stress, antibiotics, sleep, and lifestyle may have effects that go beyond what we immediately see. Another major topic that changed my understanding was metabolism. Before this class, I thought you either had a fast metabolism or a slow metabolism. I did not realize that there were so many different metabolic disorders or that metabolic pathways were so important. Learning about metabolic pathways was a turning point for me because I began to understand how many chemical reactions are involved in creating and using energy in the body.
This also gave me a better understanding of diabetes. Before learning about metabolism, I mostly thought diabetes was caused by high sugar levels. I did not realize how involved metabolic pathways were. When these processes become disrupted, problems can occur with how the body produces, stores, and uses energy. I learned what happens when the body is missing insulin or when the body does not respond properly to insulin. When there is not enough effective insulin, glucose cannot enter cells properly and remains in the bloodstream. The body can then begin using stored fat for energy. Seeing this as a chemical and biological process gave me a much better understanding of what diabetes actually is.
We also learned that diabetes is affected by much more than genetics and diet. I never really thought about how environmental factors could affect diabetes. I used to think someone either inherited it or developed it because of their diet. I did not think deeply about why some people's diets may not be as healthy as others. Family income, location, availability of grocery stores, transportation, work schedules, and access to healthcare can all affect a person's ability to make healthy choices. Which is what i mentioned earlier about having aviavil resources for peoples needs.
There is also a connection between income and diabetes. Fast food can be cheaper, faster, and more convenient than healthier food. For someone who is busy or does not have much money, it can be an easy meal. If someone does not have enough time to prepare a healthy meal, they may also have less time to exercise. This creates a cycle where time, money, food, and physical activity can all affect health. Making it harder to get resources necessary for a healthy life style.
Where someone lives can also make a difference. People living in rural areas may not have close access to major hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, or healthy food. The personal cost of diabetes can include prescription medications, insulin, glucose-monitoring supplies, medical appointments, and treatment for complications. There are also indirect costs such as missing work or school, reduced productivity, transportation to medical appointments, and the time family members spend helping someone manage the disease. These costs can be especially difficult for people who have limited income or access to healthcare.
My personal experiences with people who have diabetes made these lessons much more meaningful. I have had several people in my life who have suffered or struggled with diabetes. One of my elementary school teachers had a very severe case. I remember that she always had a substitute on call because her health could change very quickly. There was one time before class when she had to leave because she fainted from low blood sugar. Later in the school year, she was taken out of the classroom and was gone for about two months. When I came back after summer break and she returned, we found out that she had received a pancreas and kidney transplant. She is now very well known in our town and helps other people who battle diabetes.
I also remember a girl I did gymnastics with in middle school who had diabetes. She wore a monitor and was always aware of what she ate. When we were at a water park one day, she took a syringe out of her backpack and injected insulin into her thigh. I had never noticed her doing this before, but once I saw it, it was hard to forget. At that age, I did not really think about how difficult it must have been for her to manage diabetes while also going to school and practicing gymnastics for many hours each week. Now that I understand more about diabetes, I have a much greater appreciation for what she was dealing with.
I also think about my grandma when I consider how complicated health can be. My grandma does not have great health, but it is not because she has unhealthy habits. Sometimes people are dealt unfortunate cards that are outside of their control. This helped me understand why it is not fair to assume that every person who develops a disease simply made bad choices. Genetics, environment, access to healthcare, age, stress, and many other factors can influence health.
Another important connection I made was between sleep, metabolism, and diabetes. Not getting enough sleep can affect the way the body responds to insulin. Sleep loss can contribute to insulin resistance and can also affect hormones that control hunger and fullness. This can influence eating habits and potentially increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Before this class, I would not have connected something as simple as sleep to diabetes. Now I understand that something that seems unrelated can actually influence metabolic health. That is why i am using lack of sleep as my topic for my paper this semester.
This connection also relates back to Ayurveda and the idea of balance. Ayurveda encourages sleep, stress management, healthy eating, physical activity, and balance between different parts of life. Modern research on metabolism and diabetes also shows that sleep, diet, stress, and physical activity can influence health. Again, this does not prove all Ayurvedic ideas, but it shows how different areas of knowledge can overlap and create new questions.
When I put all of these topics together, I started to see diabetes from a much broader perspective. It is not simply a problem involving blood sugar, and it is not only one person's health problem. Diabetes is connected to biology, metabolism, sleep, exercise, diet, the microbiome, mental health, families, communities, healthcare, economics, and even government spending. Everything is interconnected and works together if one thing starts to have a problem
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