The Brain

 Connor Holyoak

Biol 4500

Curated Paper 2

The Brain

The brain is a highly complex network of neuron cell bodies and axons which interact with each other in order to relay information and instruction for the rest of our body. A single neuron may be involved with a specific function in the body. Neurons are involved with sensory function, motor function, and integration. This means that there are neurons responsible for all our senses including touch, smell, sight, pain, pressure, and temperature. These neurons usually travel from the area of sensation to the brain or spinal cord where they relay their gathered information to integral neurons using chemical signals. These integral neurons are responsible for processing the information that comes through in order to provide actions to react with the given stimulus. They then send their signals to motor neurons in order to react to the stimulus. The fascinating part of this process is how quickly the brain is able to receive and process information. All of this takes place in a small fraction of a second. Because of the complexity of the brain and its functions, there are many ways that its processes can become altered. 

The brain is subject to unwanted changes due to the environment, genetics, and mutations. These can result in a wide variety of symptoms and defects based on the area of damage or alteration. There are several disorders such as Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and parkinsons disease that have relatively misunderstood causes but all result in defects in the brain that cause a lack of motor function or can alter emotions. Although these diseases are all similar in symptoms, the anatomy of the diseases are very different. Multiple sclerosis involves the demyelination of schwann cells in the spinal cord. Huntington’s disease is caused by a mutation in our genome. It is difficult to locate and treat these diseases because they alter the genome. 

There are also diseases that have a clear cause like traumatic brain injuries. After a traumatic event the brain can sustain damage which leads to various symptoms depending on the area and severity of the damage. Damage to the frontal lobe might affect higher thought and movement while damage to the temporal lobe might affect memory and sensory information. There are other brain diseases that can affect mood or personality like obsessive compulsive disorder or anxiety. It is more difficult to trace the cause of these diseases because they are usually caused by an alteration in the genome. These can alter the brain’s emotions in various ways. Obsessive compulsive disorder will cause an obsession over a single thought. Depression and anxiety will often cause sadness that exceeds the normal sadness in a situation. Anxiety can build when these emotions run high. There are even diseases like multiple personality disorder that can cause the individual to express the personalities of more than one individual. These disorders can be very dangerous to the individual and even at times to others around them. I could go on for hours discussing other known brain disorders with various symptoms, however, the important subject here is how the brain should function and how small changes can affect it. 

Again we need to touch on the idea of ayurveda. The brain has an extremely complex control over the chemicals that surround it and the chemicals that are passed between neurons. In fact the function of neurons is directly related to the chemicals that they interact with. They use changes in pH due to channel openings in order to release neurotransmitters in order to signal the next neuron to open its ion channels. This process is complex but very controlled. A change in pH could cause the neuron to remain on or off indefinitely. A change in the genetic makeup of a neuron could be equally devastating to the neuron. It could result in a completely useless cell, unable to receive or transmit signals to other neurons. And these changes can be passed on to other cells which could result in a high number of useless cells. It is very important therefore, for our brain to regulate the balance that keeps our cells functioning properly.

The brain and what can affect it

 Catherine Valeo 

Biology of Disease 

Dr. Karpel 

6/21/22 

The Brain And What Affects It

The human body is made up of many intricate systems that all work together to make it possible for people to function properly, and when these systems do function right, ideally live long active lives.  Each part of the body is important for carrying out various internal and external tasks, but perhaps the most important of these parts is the brain, the control center of the body.  We want to do what we can to keep our brains healthy and functioning to the fullest capacity we can, but while the brain is incredibly important, it is also very delicate.  There are a lot of things that can put the brain at risk, including head trauma, drug use, missing out on sleep, and daily habits that we may not even realize relate to our brains, which then puts them at risk.  Because the brain is so delicate, but crucial to living, there has been a lot of research and funding put into keeping the brain functioning at tip top conditioning, and understanding what reasons it might not be.

One of the most common occurrences that affect human brains are traumatic brain injuries, or, TBI’s.  A TBI is an injury to the brain that affects its function, these can be caused by a bump to the head or some kind of penetrating injury.  TBI’s are broken down into three classes, moderate, mild, and severe.  What may come as a surprise is that a concussion is considered a TBI, even though concussions are fairly common (Get the facts, CDC).  In fact, TBI’s are “a leading cause of death among children and young adults in the United States.  Each year an estimated 1.5 million Americans sustain a TBI” (Report to congress, CDC).  Of these 1.5 million, 50,000 of them will die due to their injuries, and up to 90,000 will experience long term disability stemming from the injury.  TBI’s can be caused by a number of things, most commonly including motor vehicle accidents, but they are also common in contact sports, and can be caused by something as seemingly simple as a fall. 

TBI’s are costly, especially if they are long term TBI’s.  In a study comparing the costs of a TBI between New Zealand and the US between 2010 and 2011,  it was found that a mild TBI cost the person roughly 5,500$ in one year alone.  However, moderate to severe cases in the US cost the person up to over 65,000$ in one year.  The researchers estimated that the total lifetime cost of all TBI survivors in 2010 was 146.4 million, but they projected that by 2020 that cost would reach 177.1 million in the US.  While for some, 5,500$ may not seem like much, that number is a lot for others, and when spread out over an entire lifetime, plus inflation/changing costs, these factors have likely just made that number go up.  Having a mild TBI could be detrimental to someone’s health and their finances.  That’s not even taking into account the cost of a moderate to severe TBI, which is significantly more costly and ultimately a cost that may be inaccessible for many people.    

Beyond TBI’s, there are many things that can affect the brain, for example, autism.  Autism is a common neurological development disorder which affects 1 in 44 children in the U.S. (Autism speaks), and impacts interactions and behaviors.  Autism can be diagnosed as early as 18 month, but the older the child gets, the more reliable the test results are.  There has been a lot of research done on autism, but less research on the development of autism in the adolescent brain.  However, a study done by Eric Courchesne found that during the first two years of autistic children’s lives, they experience considerable overgrowth in the brain, then between the ages of 2 and 4 brain development either slows down or stops entirely.  This hypergrowth then sudden slowing may disrupt brain signaling, playing into the development of autism (Courchesne, E., 2004).  Autism has considerable economic costs as well, it’s estimated that the medical costs of a child with autism are up to 6.2 times greater than those without, and by 2025, care for adults with autism will be a 461 billion dollar industry (Autism Speaks).  

Autism is congenital, and TBI’s often happen by chance, but there are certain intentional behaviors that put the brain at risk of harm, like drug use.  When the word drug comes up, your mind might automatically jump to things like cocaine or heroin, but one of the most common, accessible, and addictive drugs is alcohol.  Alcohol is especially damaging to the adolescent brain.  When people are growing up, their brains are growing too, this includes building architecture, changes in neurochemistry occuring, and tissue composition changing.  Alcohol, a drink made from sugar fermentation, disrupts all of these processes.  It particularly affects the prefrontal lobe, making for more impulsive decisions, and hinders neuromaturation, including brain volume, structure, and neurochemistry.  Those with early substance abuse problems, which is common in adolescents because of an encouraged binge drinking behavior, are more likely to continue use into adulthood.  Adolescents are also more at risk for behaviors like aggressivity, dangerous driving, and are likely to abuse more substances.  Cognitively, adolescents who drink are more prone to dimunitions in attention span, visuospatial function, memory recall and general learning of both verbal and nonverbal information (Bava, S., Tapert, S. F., 2010).  

While alcohol use has heavy cognitive and developmental costs, it also comes with financial cost.  There are a lot of factors that go into the financial cost of alcohol, including law enforcement involvement in situations pertaining to alcohol, doctor visits, vehicle crashes, and workplace productivity.  In 2010 the cost was a quarter trillion dollars for the U.S., and even in a state with strict alcohol laws, like Utah, the yearly cost was about 1.7 billion dollars.  This average national cost averages out to roughly 807$ per person spent in one year on alcohol, with binge drinking making up for 77% of that cost (Excessive Drinking, CDC). 

It is important to care for our brains, and that can be done by limiting or avoiding substances that will hurt them, like alcohol, but also by making sure to take care of our bodies as well.  One thing that I think is particularly interesting is the effects that eating disorders can have on the brain.  Anorexia nervosa, for example, has clear effects.  There was an experiment where two groups were faced with both verbal and nonverval tasks.  One group was composed of participants with anorexia, the other was composed of participants who did not.  The researchers found a clear distinction between the two groups, in that the participants struggling with anorexia had considerable latencies in reaction and recall when faced with both the verbal and non verbal tasks, but the other participant group did not.  They concluded that anorexia nervosa was negatively impacting cognitive function, and it was causing long term impacts as well.  The participants with anorexia nervosa were brought back after they had been in treatment, and were deemed to be a healthy weight and retested.  However, when tested, they were still displaying similar recall latencies, indicating that the effects of their condition on the brain were long term, even though their bodies were considered recovered (B, S. J., et al., 1997). 

As I said at the beginning, the brain is a powerful control center, but ultimately it is also very delicate.  Great care should be taken in making sure that the brain stays safe.  For congenital conditions that affect the brain there should be continued research going into the development of these conditions, and what can be done to help cognitive function in those cases.  Treating the body with care will also protect the brain, like not picking up alcohol habits or other drug habits knowing that they can cause harm, or not putting ourselves into dangerous situations unnecessarily.  Our bodies are a machine, damage or change to one part can seriously affect another.  So in our day to day lives, it is important that we think about our actions and how certain behaviors, while appealing in the moment, may have more serious effects than we realize.

Sources 

“Alcohol and Depression.” Alcohol Rehab Guide, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/dual-diagnosis/alcohol-and-depression/#:~:text=Abuse%20And%20Depression-,Individuals%20who%20suffer%20from%20depression%20are%20more%20likely%20to%20abuse,feelings%20of%20sadness%20and%20hopelessness. 

“Autism Statistics and Facts.” Autism Speaks, https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-statistics-asd#:~:text=Autism%20Prevalence,)%2C%20according%20to%202018%20data.&text=Boys%20are%20four%20times%20more,diagnosed%20with%20autism%20than%20girls. 

Bava, Sunita, and Susan F. Tapert. "Adolescent brain development and the risk for alcohol and other drug problems." Neuropsychology review 20.4 (2010): 398-413

Bradley, Susan J., et al. "Assessment of brain function in adolescent anorexia nervosa before and after weight gain." Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 19.1 (1997): 20-33.

Courchesne, Eric. "Brain development in autism: early overgrowth followed by premature arrest of growth." Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews 10.2 (2004): 106-111.

“Excessive Drinking Is Draining the U.S. Economy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Apr. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/features/excessive-drinking.html. 

“Get the Facts about TBI.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Mar. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html#:~:text=TBI%20is%20a%20major%20cause%20of%20death%20and%20disability&text=There%20were%20over%2064%2C000%20TBI,the%20United%20States%20in%202020.&text=That's%20about%20176%20TBI%2Drelated,of%20people%20of%20all%20ages. 

“Report to Congress: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Jan. 2016, https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/tbi_report_to_congress.html#:~:text=Traumatic%20brain%20injury%20(TBI)%20is,people%20are%20hospitalized%20and%20survive. 

Te Ao, Braden, et al. "Cost of traumatic brain injury in New Zealand: evidence from a population-based study." Neurology 83.18 (2014): 1645-1652.

  

Connection between the Brain and Drugs

The brain, it is a very complex and fascinating organ where there are many different concepts that we have yet to discover. There are countless functions that are related back to the brain. Our nervous system also splits off into two different groups: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. This is how our cells communicate with each other based on the body’s conditions and needs in order to maintain its balance for homeostasis again. It's very interesting to see how different parts of the brain all have a specific function. I find the brain intriguing to learn about as well because each structure has its own unique purpose that makes sense to it and every human function is found within the brain so it truly is the control center from decision making, and personality to even your breathing rhythm. There are even specialized disciplines that are geared toward the study of the brain aspects such as psychology, etc. It is also very different for everyone on how they comprehend different things and gain skills through their best learning techniques. However, it is good that there are the basics of how each section of the brain does have a normal type of function that is similar for everyone. It's just based on a deeper understanding level that brings in perspectives so that is what separates people from one another because we will take information differently. 

    Along with the amazing functions of the brain, there are complications that are way more intense as well. There are a variety of brain diseases that can be categorized into neurological, personality, developmental, prions, etc, and many other types. These are all pretty serious varying on each person and how it affects them and how they manage it as well along with any other type of disease as well. It can affect many areas of people whether it expresses the type of disease genetically or in physical characteristics. Prions are a very interesting one though because it is about proteins that are from eating infected meat products and that cause the brain to fold abnormally and that leads to different diseases. That raises a question though of why certain things can be consumed and why. It is very important to understand human nutrition and each food component/makeup because from there you can study the structure and the components that make up certain types of food and why it's good or bad. In addition to diseases, I find that diseases and conditions such as dementia are kind of weird because they don’t appear or take effect until a certain age so it would be cool to learn about how our body keeps that specific gene that gets triggered at the right time and gets passed down in generations. Through the questions and misconceptions, scientists are constantly working and researching to learn and explore more about the brain in order to grow and adapt the new knowledge to the complications we face.

    With the complex pathways within our bodies, it is also important to understand which way those things will flow. This is because everything is interconnected in our body since one thing relies on other factors in order to carry out the necessary tasks that we need. With each pathway, it can become inhibited or excited and other responses are based on what our body has as a resource to utilize and carry out the functions in our body. So there are ways to alter these types of pathways in our favor through the introduction of drugs. Drugs are small molecules/compounds that are able to target specific goals that we desire to be carried out in order to ease our pain, suffering, and symptoms of a particular disease or illness. Drugs are also consumed in many different ways such as medications, pills, inhaling, and injections intravenously which all affect how fast drugs will reach the bloodstream and will show how the drug interferes and influences a person’s behavior, thoughts, and response. By altering different components of a molecule or compound, we are able to have the opposite effect of what it would have usually done by the body. 

    So the compounds, molecules, and other elements' properties, there are ways to classify and look at different things of the chemistry within it. This is because different responses are caused just based on the structure itself. So ways that it can be classified as cis/trans, E/Z, meso, R/S, enantiomers, diastereomers, and even more specifically: anomers and epimers, etc. These are solely just based on which functional groups of priority are positioned where and have a different type of reaction within it if it were this type of conformation. It is that certain specific types of elements that make up compounds or molecules will also play a big role in how they will react with other elements. So it is important to study the conformation and structure of different compounds in order to predict how they would react in our bodies with the chemicals already present there. 

    Through many studies, there have been scans and results of how people have responded to certain types of drugs. So that was interesting but needs to be more regulation and types of enforcement to keep people who do not have medical reasons for different types of drugs. Each prescription is made specifically for that person and their needs so it is hard to give one medication to cure all. There have been natural products of drug discovery which is an interesting read. It is because there are different alternative ways that use a holistic approach to healing. There is a lot more to be explored and to be studied as well because humans will react to different things differently and there are just many variables that create complexity to the problem. So there will need to be more development and studies to show how the future of the pharmacological world will improve and innovate to adapt to the world we live in.

Intricate Workings of the Brain

 

The Brain

          Two lobes of wrinkled mass that is the main tool humans used in order to get to the top of the food chain. It requires a certain amount of sugar, and if it does not get that certain amount of sugar then it will lapse into basically conservation mode making it hard to think. The brain is the most intricate tool that humans have ever been able to find, but it is extremely vulnerable. When damaged it swells to reduce damage that has been caused. Before modern medicine was created this swelling would more likely than not contribute to the death of the individual. When these brain injuries happen with the majority of them being caused by motor accidents, it can lead to a strong change in the personality of the person. Genetics play an important role as well because when it comes to explaining certain disorders people suffer such as autism or borderline personality disorders have certain genes that increase potential side effects.

            These personality changes can range from either having a stronger disposition to anger and rage, or it could be that the person will laugh at the most inappropriate times as if all social cues have been lost to them. According to one of the papers brain injuries can be expected to effect up to 80 percent of people, and they will experience some change in their personality. This change could be minor or major but some change will show itself most likely. When we look at ways to treat these types of disorder, and it seems like a good course of action is first establishing the behavior that has change. After this has been discovered, tell the patient what is believed to happened due to the incident. This will allow them to become aware of the behavior, and it will allow them attempts to stop or mitigate it. One reason that TBI or traumatic brain injury has come to light in the recent years is mostly because of professional football players that have suffered concussions through their career of high school, college, and the NFL. These repeated concussions have caused multiple injuries to the brain of a decades. These stacking slams will cause the brain to heal differently each time. One of the papers we read talked about the evolution of concussion protocol over the past decades. It has gotten significantly better compared to the early 90’s of concussion protocol in an attempt to let the brain fully heal before getting back on the field. For example, just this last year a known Denver Broncos super star Demaryius Thomson died of a seizure in his home. It was confirmed post-mortem that he was suffering from Stage 2 CTE which could have either been the reason that he suffered from the seizure that led to his death. Many more examples of players confirmed after death to have suffered from CTE, and this begs the question of are these players in total control of their actions. A lot of former players show increased signs of aggression and violence after the league that gets them in trouble with the law. I am not excusing their behavior because some of the cases are domestic abuse and extreme cases of battery, but I do believe that an awareness of these players suffering from a greater likely hood of personality change should come to light.

            Genetics play a significant role in the development of certain diseases. When we look at borderline personality disorders, we can see that like one of the papers mentioned said that the hippocampus is affected by stress. Some people have disposition to dealing with stress badly which could increase the amount effected. These genes can lead to a increase amount of affected brain disorders, but the brain is also malleable. It can be shaped and formed at an early age and into the early twenties. This means that environment plays just as large a part in is these diseases such a personality disorders can take root with the changing of the brain.  Genetics and environment are two sides of the same coin when it comes to development of the brain, and it leads us to believe that some people have greater risks to develop a disease if it runs in their blood line. For example, Dementia and Alzheimer’s are two diseases that have been linked to the genetic linage. People that have parents or grandparents with Alzheimer’s are more likely to develop the disease. I believe that this is cause most of genes passed from mothers and fathers are the baseline for creating proteins and running systems. For example, most people that develop Alzheimer’s have things called plaque which are a protein needed for neurons function. However, plaque is caused by the over production of this protein leading to people developing lesion on the brain limiting neuron function. This means that the genetic code given to you through your parents cross matching could potentially carry the same code that over makes this protein.

    Nature vs Nurture is a very important concept when it comes to the brain and it's development. This means that even though genetically you are built to be a certain way, the way you are raised can change the very genetic makeup of a human. When puppies are raised during their childhood, and a mother licks these puppies and cleans them, it will lead to those puppies developing a greater maternal and paternal attitude later in life. When the brain is first developing between birth and the first 3 years of a human life, it creates more synapses than it needs. However, synapses that are used constantly are strengthen and those that are left alone wither and die. This means that those first couple years are so important to have a base line of those brain connections that will be carried into adult life.

    In conclusion, the brain is probably one of the most complicated things on earth. Humans have used it to become the strongest species on the earth, and using it to shape the very environment that is around us. This complicated organ the rules the very being of us has been is so powerfully built, but it is at the very mercy of the surroundings. The power of disease and genetics play a huge role in the brain, but even greater than that it has been shown how someone grows up has just as large an impact on it. All of these things have a large impact on the development of the brain, and exactly how disease might affect a person. 

References

Dowling, John E. The great brain debate: nature or nurture?. Vol. 15. Princeton University Press, 2011.

Gable, Sara. “Nature, Nurture and Early Brain Development.” University of Missouri Extension, University of Missouri, https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/gh6115.

Weaver, Ian CG. "Integrating early life experience, gene expression, brain development, and emergent phenotypes: unraveling the thread of nature via nurture." Advances in Genetics 86 (2014): 277-307.

What is Ayurveda

What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that originated in India centuries ago. The name Ayurveda comes from ayur meaning life and veda meaning science. In India it is believed to be equivalent to modern Western medicine, however, in other places, it is believed to be pseudoscientific. Providers in India who practice Ayurveda undergo similar certifying processes as doctors in the United States. Ayurveda is used to treat a plethora of conditions. It can be used to remedy common conditions such as acne, allergies, nausea, hemorrhoids, stress, and fatigue. In addition, Ayurveda is utilized to treat more severe conditions including diabetes, febrile seizures, and arthritis. 

In Western medicine, it would be unusual for one thing to be able to solve so many problems. Ayurveda achieves this because it is not a drug but rather a lifestyle. It is based on the principles that 1) disease arises from imbalances in a person's consciousness and 2) the body contains three doshas: pitta, vata, and kapha. A person is believed to be dominated by one or two doshas and which dosha is pertinent determines their particular path of treatment. A shift in lifestyle is encouraged in order to restore the balance between the body, the mind, and the environment. This most common change is an adjustment to one's diet. Other treatments include meditation, yoga, and herbal remedies. 

Ayurveda is not a common medical practice in the United States. This is because limited studies have been conducted and in those done, it has been shown that some herbal remedies contain toxic levels of heavy metals. This practice has not been proven to be safe or unsafe. However, if wanted, some products can be obtained as dietary supplements since they are less regulated. It is recommended to speak to a medical provider prior to trying Ayurveda as it may alter the effectiveness of medications. Herbal cocktails utilized for Ayurveda have the potential to either increase or decrease the effectiveness of any prescribed drugs. This could be life threatening in some cases. 

So why does this matter? It has been proven time and time again that there are significant connections between parts of the body. If the lower part of your spine is misaligned, for example, it causes a domino effect, throwing off the balance of the rest of your body. This is because the human body is a complicated system, and homeostasis must be maintained, or the system fails to function as intended. The human mind must remain in a healthy state in order for the body to also remain healthy. This is why yoga and other exercises are often used in combination with herbs when practicing Ayurveda. Other holistic approaches to healthcare have also arisen and I believe they would cease to exist if bodily systems were not intertwined.  

Diabetes is a condition which impacts millions of people around the world. It arises when a person cannot properly regulate their insulin production. This imbalance, which begins in the pancreas, can affect every other organ in the body. Not only does diabetes have a physical impact, but it has an ecological impact. Ayurveda has been used as a treatment  for diabetes. The idea is that restricting certain foods in your diet can allow you to prevent spikes in your blood glucose levels. I believe Ayurveda would be a more effective treatment for type 2 diabetes than type 1 diabetes. This is because for many type 2 diabetes patients, the imbalance of the physiological systems stems from poor diet, lack of exercise, and high blood pressure. All of these factors can be reversed through proper planning and execution.

The Link Between Diabetes, Our Gut Microbiome, & Ayurveda

 Ayurveda was created in India around 3,000 years ago and focuses on the connection between our body, mind, spirit, and environment. Some people might dismiss this ancient concept because they think it’s outdated, but I absolutely think that there is a connection between our body, mind, spirit, and our environment. Our environment (current events, relationships with other organisms and humans, stress, chemicals, location) can have an impact on the cells in our body and impact our physical, spiritual, and mental health. How we choose to react to external events will shape our environment and our body’s well-being. The way that we treat our own body (exercise, diet, setting healthy boundaries, healthy relationships, pursuing interests and passions) will have an impact on our physical health, emotional well-being, mental health, and spirit. The environment that we live in and the choices that we make as we react to the world around us will impact our body’s health. I often think about the saying “what goes around comes around.” What you put into the world will ultimately have an impact on you. What you put into your body will have an impact on your cells. Your cells will respond to the environment that they are in and that can have an impact on how you physically and emotionally feel.  It’s a continuous cycle that involves factors that can be in our control or out of our control. 

When something is disrupted in a cell’s environment, our body’s well being could be jeopardized and become diseased. For example, if we experience a lot of chronic stress from school and work, it could cause our body and mind to become unbalanced and unhealthy. We might be getting less sleep and eating poorly. We aren’t getting enough exercise and taking time to recharge and rest. Our immune system could become compromised and we might be more likely to get sick. We could develop high blood pressure and potentially experience long term cardiovascular health consequences. Our mental health could deteriorate and we might feel depressed or anxious. We begin to neglect things that are important to us like our relationships or our spirituality. Disease doesn’t just affect our body; it affects our mind and spirit too. 

I would argue that Ayurveda ties into the field of epigenetics. Epigenetics focuses on how our environment and behavior influences what genes in our cells are expressed or “turned on.” If a “bad” gene is turned on in our cells because of a factor in our environment, then this can lead to disease. While Ayurveda is an ancient and holistic idea and epigenetics is a scientific field of study, I think that they intertwine and both concepts explore the connection between body and environment. I have decided to explore this topic for my capstone thesis.

One topic that interested me in this module is the link between Type II diabetes, our intestinal microbiome, and our overall health. I took time to read a handful of published academic articles that explore the link between a western diet, T2DM, and our gut microbiota. 

One group of researchers (Rodrigues et al. 2021) found that different species of bacteria that live in our intestines can have a major impact on our physical health by potentially increasing our risks of developing obesity and diabetes. There are good and bad bacteria species that live in our gut. Lactobacillus bacteria species such as L. johnsonii and L. gasseri are considered good bacteria because there is evidence that they improve our body’s glucose metabolism. Romboustia bacteria species such as R. ilaelis and R. gnavus are thought to be harmful and worsen our body’s glucose metabolism. Additionally, R. gnavus is thought to help cause obesity and R. ilaelis has been linked to a decreased function in pancreatic beta cells. If pancreatic beta cells aren’t functioning, that can increase our risk of developing Type II Diabetes Mellitus. The “Western Diet” is high in refined sugars and fats. Individuals who frequently eat foods that are associated with the western diet, especially in first world countries such as the United States, may be at a higher risk of disrupting and changing their microbiome. People may have an increased chance of having fewer good gut bacteria and an increase in bad gut bacteria. This change in the gut microbiome, called dysbiosis, could be contributing to why many folks have obesity and glucose intolerance in the United States and ultimately end up developing Type 2 diabetes.

I read another published article (Chen et al. 2021) that found that people with T2DM have gut microbiota that have more microbiome species diversity than people without T2DM. Additionally, they found 12 groups of gut bacteria that were associated with T2DM (including the Romboustia bacteria species). Our gut microbiome changes based on what we eat. A lifetime of eating foods that are dense in calories and highly processed could have detrimental effects on the microbes living inside of us.

I also found one last article (Adeshirlarijaney & Gewirtz, 2020) that discusses how to fix gut dysbiosis in T2DM patients. One treatment option is fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), which can help replace an unhealthy gut microbiome with a new one that is balanced. If a diabetes patient receives a FMT from a healthy individual, they might be able to lose weight and gain back glucose intolerance. Their T2DM could become more manageable with this treatment. Some other treatments mentioned in this article include probiotics that contain several Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria species. Introducing these probiotics to the gut could also help to increase “good” bacteria concentrations. This article also mentions other treatments such as prescribed medications, herbal agents, and dietary fiber intake. 

It’s amazing to think that our cell’s ability (or inability) to remove excess glucose from our bloodstream could be linked to little indivisible microorganisms that live in our intestines. This really ties into the idea of Ayurveda. The connection between our body and our gut bacteria has the potential to keep us healthy or increase our risk of obesity and diabetes. The bacteria respond to the environment that we provide for them in our gut; how we choose to eat and live our lives could negatively or positively impact these microorganisms. In return, those microorganisms can have an impact on our bodies. It’s a two way connection. What you put into your body positively or negatively affects what happens to you and the bacteria living in your gut.

The Connection Between Disease and Imbalance

  What is Ayurveda exactly? Ayurveda is a natural system of medicine originating in India and translating to the knowledge of life. This term is based on the idea of balance throughout our bodily systems, our minds, and our consciousness. It classifies diseases according to where they originate physically, psychologically, and spiritually. The purpose of Ayurveda is to protect the health of the healthy and alleviate the disorders in diseased people by helping them find their individual balance in their own bodies. 

Ayurveda classifies balance through three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata deals with movement in the lower abdomen and the mind. If the Vata is disturbed it can cause fear, depression, and nervousness. Pitta deals with energy, mainly in the middle of the body. Excess Pitta can create feelings of anger, hate, and jealousy. Kapha deals with cohesion, lubrication, and structure in the chest and upper torso. If the Kapha dosha is aggravated it can cause feelings of possessiveness, greed, and attachment. In some practices, humans are classified according to their doshas, and which of them dominates creating an imbalance in the body. This can show susceptibility to certain illnesses. Different imbalances in these doshas can be caused by many things like diet, changing or different environments, emotions, and other experiences a person might encounter. 

The balance of the doshas is not only centered on humans dealing with balance, but it also functions with all living organisms. Think about intaking something that’s already out of balance and just imagine how that can affect everything inside of you. If one system in your body is out of balance, take for example your digestive system, it not only affects your digestion and ability to absorb nutrients, but problems with those lead to other problems like mental health, problems with skin, and could cause issues with your gut microbiome. In order to be healthy, people need balance in all aspects of their lives. For this reason, people are starting to take a closer look at these medicinal practices and how finding imbalances can be the key to dealing with illnesses and diseases and finding the root causes of them.

I believe the Ayurveda concept makes complete sense when dealing with how disease prevails in humans and other animals. All the systems of the body have to work in harmony in order to keep us healthy and strong so it would be extremely beneficial to look into how imbalance affects how our body works. Not only would it be great to explore how those imbalances create these diseases we are seeing, but also how we can learn to treat just those specific portions of the body or disease to bring back that balance we need while not disrupting any other systems through side effects or anything else that would create another change in the body that’s not particularly necessary. 

Metabolism refers to the bodily process of extracting energy from food. The cell’s metabolism is all of the chemical reactions that collectively take place inside of a cell. The end product, or intermediate product, of metabolism, are metabolites that maintain balance by the metabolic pathways staying tightly regulated. Everything you ingest is being metabolized and is converted into energy by combining with oxygen in the body. In order for the body to maintain this cycle, it needs balance within the systems.

Diabetes messes with the metabolism by affecting the body's processes and preventing the body from storing energy that it gets from the food we intake. This happens because the reduced insulin levels create high blood glucose levels that can lead to serious consequences. Diabetes connects to the microbiome and other systems of the body. One imbalance of the hormones, like beta-cell damage, can cause many different issues in the body like increased lipolysis, decreased peripheral muscle uptake, and increased glucose production. With everything in the body being connected, it’s no surprise that it’s not only the pancreas that regulates glucose levels. Your liver can also produce glucose and the organs work together. Glucose released from the metabolism after being fed is dietary glucose and the release of that causes hepatic glucose to be inhibited.

Like many other diseases, diabetes comes with other complications if not properly treated. Damage to the blood vessels in the eyes, also known as diabetic retinopathy, is caused by high blood sugar and can cause blurry vision or can completely stop blood flow by damaging the retina. Kidneys are also overworked causing nephropathy which is the deterioration of kidney function and can lead to end-stage renal disease. Peripheral nervous system nerves can be damaged by decreased blood flow and high blood sugar causing pain and numbness, this is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Narrowing of the blood vessels also occurs because the high amount of glucose in the blood decreases the elasticity of blood vessels which can lead to a lack of blood flow to the extremities. Diabetes also increases your risk of having a stroke, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease. 

Along with all of the biological factors of diabetes, there are also economic and societal impacts placed on individuals with the disease. Many people consider it a pandemic and the World Health Organization estimates that it will be the 7th leading cause of death by the time we get to 2030. The cost to take care of the disease in the United States has also risen by 41%. Your wallet not only gets dented from regulating the disease itself but also from the additional bills you have to pay that come from complications arising from the disease requiring hospital stays, new medications, or procedures. 

When there is an imbalance in one area of your life, it affects another area, and another, and so on. We are affected by disease not only in our bodies, but in our daily lives. In the activities we do, how we spend our money, how we live. Your whole life could change one day because you find out your beta cells are damaged. You change what you eat, the activities you do, how you save and spend your money, all to get yourself back in balance because of one little change. We as people make these changes because we know we need to keep that balance in order to stay healthy and happy. We may not know how to keep that balance but that’s what we figure out on the way to finding it and that is why Ayurveda is so important.