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.