Double Brain And Body Power

Bridge Out On Route 66: Our beautiful day and happy road trip is temporarily interrupted. Life is like that at times. What do we do when the bridge is out? How do we get to the other side?

Imagine we are on a road trip on historic U.S. Route 66. The weather is perfect. We are driving happily on the highway to a favorite destination. Suddenly, Bridge Out and Road Closed signs appear. We cannot proceed and will have to find another way to resume our journey.

To get to our goal, we need a working vehicle, road, and bridge. If we have all three, we may joyfully arrive. The body's pathways are like that, too. They are similar to a road map with many routes. There are general maps that can affect us all, and specific maps that have meaning for individuals. Some avenues are uncharted and waiting to be discovered.

In our short story, we have this:

Avenue + Bridge + Car = Destination reached

This is like:

A + B + C = D

Why is it important to know this? Because this simple idea can determine whether we reach our destinations of athletic or academic achievement, health, and life goals. It may even affect our friend, family, and business relationships. How is this possible?

Suppose we have two bright college students Alan and Ashley who aspire for good grades. Both are sincere and putting forth their best efforts. Each has a unique situation.

Alan attends computer, art, and anatomy classes. He exercises with weights and enjoys swimming. Alan has a good eye for detail and wants to work in media design for a health and sports company.

Ashley goes to her science classes, labs, and is on the gymnastics team. She is friendly and known as being a convivial hostess at events. She has been offered a job as an Assistant Coach and is considering starting her own healthy food firm.

Alan has been experiencing bouts of fatigue and his mental and physical performance is affected. The school health clinic found nothing wrong. Alan wondered what changed recently. As a student, he has been trying to save money and reduced spending on nutrition. Alan increased simple carbohydrates while decreasing his fresh raw vegetables, whole grains, protein, fat, normal multi-vitamin intake, and Vitamin C.

For Alan, this is the formula that he has found to work:

Exercise + Study + Rest + Nutrition = Performance

This is what reduced Alan's abilities:

Exercise + Study + Rest - Nutrition = Impaired performance

What may take place in Alan's body that is healthy for him:

Vegetables + Protein + Fat + Whole Grains + A, B, C, E Vitamins = Muscle + Healthy brain functioning

What changed:

Fewer Vegetables - Protein - Fat - Whole Grains - A,B,C,E Vitamins = Less muscle + Lowered brain functioning

Cholesterol from fat is a precursor to the hormones that can build muscle and enhance brain and body performance. Pregnenolone is a hormone that has its origins in cholesterol. It is important for coping with stress as are the B vitamins and Vitamin C. All of these can help the body to adapt and perform well.

Ashley does well with her basic nutrition. She has been experiencing some fatigue, occasional headache, her memory is not at its best, and her abilities are less than normal. Again, the school health clinic could not find anything unusual. As Ashley thinks about what is happening, she notices two differences from previously. Both involve her new versus former classes. In one of the science labs, the professor has been critical and negative instead of supporting. Although the teacher does not know it, it is important to associate happiness with learning or tasks.

There is always an internal molecular correlate for external environments - a physical change in the brain that happens as we are immersed in places. This can be brief or lasting. If we go from what is called simple ionic exchange, (where events are held in short-term memory) to protein synthesis, the event can remain part of us physically. It is not pop psychology where we entertainingly babble about who said what or speculate. This is the physics of how information is carried via waves and resulting physiology as the information becomes part of us. When you change the environment, you most likely change the person. Negativity uses energy that could be placed on reaching goals. Thought patterns can affect anatomy and body chemistry, may be helpful or defeating, and can enhance or reduce performance. Conversely, a positive goal-focused mentality and environment is associated with optimal brain and body functioning.

The second factor Ashley noticed was that she was exposed to formalin - a chemical used as a preserver in biology - in one of her labs. It contains formaldehyde. This is a chemical that has caused health concerns in the mobile home, furniture, and medical industries. Ashley realizes that her headaches were not just from one teacher's poor attitude, but also happened with the formaldehyde containing room and specimens. By changing lab times and acquiring a cheerful lab instructor, and wearing gloves and an organic vapor mask to filter out formaldehyde, Ashley improves.

For Ashley, this is the formula that she has found to work:

Gymnastics + Healthy lab + Rest + Nutrition = Performance

This is what affected Ashley's abilities:

Gymnastics - Healthy lab + Rest + Nutrition = Reduced performance

What may take place in Ashley's body that is healthy for her:

Detox systems are fine + Brain processes learning + Low stress (adrenals OK) + Nutrient dense foods and A, B, C, E Vitamins = Muscular ability and healthy brain functioning

What changed:

Detox systems burdened + Brain processes mix of learning and criticism + Stress increased (adrenals react) + Nutrient dense foods and A, B, C, E Vitamins = Less muscular ability and lowered brain functioning

The chemical exposure plus added stress is a double whammy. Although her good health practices can make her stronger than an average person, the unhealthy inputs have effects. Thankfully, Ashley was able to resolve the dilemma.

Now for a moment, consider the way some systems work. Both Alan and Ashley are fortunate to be insightful and figure out what is happening. If they had not pursued their own solutions, someone else may have solved things inappropriately. If they see poorly educated or uncaring persons for help, and by this I mean individuals who do not have the background or desire to understand what is truly occurring, Alan and Ashley can be misdiagnosed or misunderstood.

I once spoke with a professor from a private college who was involved in a research project on student health. He said that inappropriate psychotropic drugs were being pushed to students due to the desire for marketing and profits. He claimed that they found 25% of the largely young and basically healthy student body being prescribed these. The rate was escalating according to his data. From memory of our conversation he expressed: "You cannot tell me that these are needed. I know these students. There is something wrong, and it is not with them." He mentioned that other professors and researchers were also shocked. They wanted to halt what they felt was an unethical business practice under the guise of health. A meeting was planned with school administrators to inform them of the results.

To understand what is affecting us, the total person in the total environment must be considered. This involves the comprehension of science, cause and effect, and honest awareness. It requires taking the time to see how individuals function in given environments. There is also a need for wisdom, caring, and ethics. My belief is that the bridge is out for some systems. To drive ahead past the warning signs, or worse be chauffeured into peril by irresponsible persons, is foolhardy. As we face bridges in need of repair on the highways of life, we can choose what to do. We can search for intelligent alternate routes, or roll up our sleeves, take out our tools, and build what we need.

I wish you the best as you map out your life's journey. May you reach your goals and happy destinations.

Works Consulted

Nutritional Biochemistry

Berg, Jeremy M., John L. Tymoczko, and Lubert Stryer. Biochemistry. New York: W.H. Freeman, 2012. p. 813. (Note: Collagen structural protein synthesized in the body with inadequate Vitamin C is not stable enough).

Pauling, Linus. How to live longer and feel better. New York: Avon Books, 1987.

Sherman, H.C., Smith, S.L. The Vitamins. American Chemical Society Monograph Series. New York: The Chemical Catalog Company. 1931.

Williams, Roger J. Biochemical individuality : the basis for the genetotrophic concept. New Canaan, Ct: Keats Pub, 1998.

Williams, Roger J. The Biochemistry of B Vitamins. New York: Reinhold, 1950.

Williams, Roger J. Nutrition against disease : environmental prevention. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1981.

Toxicology: Formaldehyde and Formalin

Bilal, Muhammad, and Hafiz M.n. Iqbal. “An Insight into Toxicity and Human-Health-Related Adverse Consequences of Cosmeceuticals — A Review.” Science of The Total Environment, vol. 670, 2019, pp. 555–568., doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.261.

NTP (National Toxicology Program). "Report on Carcinogens, Fourteenth Edition."; Research Triangle Park, NC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. 2016. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/roc14

Songur, Ahmet, et al. “The Toxic Effects of Formaldehyde on the Nervous System.” Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol 203, 2009, pp. 105–118., doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1352-4_3.

Zhang, Sen, et al. “Combined Cytotoxicity of Co-Exposure to Aldehyde Mixtures on Human Bronchial Epithelial BEAS-2B Cells.” Environmental Pollution, vol. 250, 2019, pp. 650–661., doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.118.

Images

Bridge Out On Route 66 artistic photo is © Copyright 2019 Mark Cammack. All rights reserved. Parts of it are based on the following public domain works:

1950's Chevrolet Bel Air car. publicdomainpictures.net

Bridge Out sign. Kelly at clker.com

Harrison Road Camelback Through Truss Bridge. picryl.com

Hot Rod Car Drawing. wpclipart.com

Road Closed sign. publicdomainpictures.net

Route 66 Highway sign. Sara Pasquali at pixabay.com

© Copyright 2019 Mark Cammack. All rights reserved.