Metabolic Disorder and the Human Soul

  

    According to many indigenous cultures the human soul is situated, biologically in the small intestine. This real estate gave religious leaders an important position in the diets of their congregation. Practices like halal and kosher are guidelines to keeping food and livestock healthy and free of disease. Autoimmune illness and histamine intolerance affect the small intestine as well as the Enteric, or Intrinsic Nervous System (ENS) which affects all aspects of digestion as well affecting the Central and Peripheral Nervous System (CNS, PNS). Autoimmune illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and lupus as well as Crohn's disease and Hashimoto's’ thyroiditis can be comorbid with conditions like Metabolic Syndrome and mental illnesses namely schizophrenia, depression and psychotic depression. Neurogastrointestinal health care and research is a budding frontier in Western healthcare. This new perspective on digestive health and its relation to psychological health has come to the forefront of modern medicine, bringing us full circle to Hippocratic maximum of; “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”   

    In the article "Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Patients with Depressive Disorder…” Sandeep Grover and his cohort detail a study from a population of institutionalized patients who displayed symptoms of Metabolic Disorder (MS). MS is a collection of disorders and gastrointestinal inflammation and nervous system irritation and inflammation that increases the likelihood of death from; heart disease, diabetes, stroke and inflammation based mental illness. Sandeep Grover’s article was published by the Asian Journal of Psychiatry (2017) and delves into the correlation between MS and schizophrenia. The study researched a sample of one hundred and fifty-two patients found that there was a forty four percent (44%) likelihood that a patient who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, and struggled with a depressive disorder, would also display symptoms of schizophrenia.  These findings are based on the controlled study and did not include environmental or genetic factors that might increase the likelihood of comorbid psychological and dietary distress.  

The inflammatory response that contributes to nervous system irritation and membrane damage is due to an interaction between the body's response to allergens and histamines which act as a central part of our body’s immune response. Histamine act as irritants that cause icy eyes or runny noses when we experience allergens due to pollination. This irritation causes us to wipe away mucus or cough up phlegm. Histamine also acts as a neurotransmitter that communicates between the nervous systems and the skin via a mucous membrane, the immune system and gastrointestinal system. Histamines are grouped in with neurotransmitters such as serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine. This group is known as “Small Molecule Neurotransmitter Substances”.  Histamines are active while an individual is awake and affect levels of wakefulness and attention therein activating the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the foremost part of the anterior brain that affects cognition and thinking as well as the interpretation of belief systems and morality. Histamine also plays an important part in regulating sleep cycles and in a regular and healthy libido.  

A buildup of histamines cause an inflammatory response in the body’s interstitial tissue and in the bloodstream which not only affects the entire body via fascia (connective tissue between the muscle and skin that also encompases all organs including the brain) but also affects the digestive system as blood is a major factor in the digestive process. This exposure to the same irritants that affect our sinuses on heavy pollen index days, irritates the gut lining and probiotic destroying the function of fundamental digestive processes. This is one way that histamine intolerance contributes to Metabolic Syndrome. Foods rich in histamines include alcohol, fermented foods, and so called; “frankenfoods” that would include, foods that contain synthetic ingredients such as gluten and GMOs, as well as High Fructose Corn Syrup.  

In the first ever study of its kind, author Benjamin Perry and his companion attempted to deduce if there was any correlation between diabetes and schizo-affective disorder. The approach of the study was to look into the inflammatory aspects of each disease and find data that would support the presence of the mental illness within diabetes patients. Eleven observational studies were collected and analyzed. Ten of the eleven (90%) observational studies showed that the patients showed symptoms of schizophrenia.    

The two observational studies seem to show that there is an affiliation between abdominal and intestinal illness and inflammation that could possibly have an effect on the patient's three nervous systems (CNS, PNS, & ENS) and psychological health. Inturn these collaborative symptoms manifest the conditions for syndromes such as Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and diseases such as diabetes and as mentioned earlier, there is a high comorbidity between diabetes and depression and psychosis.   

Food and drinks that contain a large amount of histamine activating preservatives and synthetic polymers wreak havoc on the body and the mind, but what about the human soul that so many cultures placed in the center of this heavily contested dominus? In Plato’s Dialogues, Socrates claimed that there was only one thing he claimed to actually know; that the human soul is reborn through the ages and it contains the sum total of all our previous knowledge. Socrates claimed that all knowledge is something remembered not something unknown to us and reliant on a teacher to instruct us. To Socrates the human soul is literal consciousness made manifest in this mundane world and the basis of all human Reason or thought. Common food and medical ingredients have been found to be dangerous for the general digestive and neurological health of the modern Western individual. This health risk places the very root of the human mind in danger, as the conscious soul is poisoned and spoiled in its intestinal abode.   

Citation  

Grover, Sandeep. "Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Patients with Depressive Disorder Admitted to a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit: A Comparison with Healthy Controls." Asian Journal of Psychiatry (2017): 139-44. Web. 2017. 

Perry, Benjamin I., et al. "Associated Illness Severity in Schizophrenia and Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review." Psychiatry Research, vol. 256, 01 Oct. 2017, pp. 102-110. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.06.027.