A recent study has underlined the principle of synergy that permeates
physiology. Researchers at Cardiff University noted that after
undergoing cosmetic surgery for reduction of wrinkles and lines
associated with smiling and laughing, patients would have increased
incidences of depression.
This
is no surprise, as the body is a system that has multiple feedback loops
and pathways that keep tight control over thousands of processes.
Generally when we are exposed to a stimulus that initiates happiness or
humorous feelings, our brain plays out a specific motor pattern to cause
our facial muscles to express a smile, or with the inclusion of many
more muscles in the body, laughter.
However, this isn’t the end
of the cascade as most people often surmise. The action of smiling or
laughing then feeds back into the brain to relay signals that we are
performing these actions. The brain then releases specific patterns of
neurotransmitters to create the actual feelings of happiness. By
paralyzing the muscles using Botox, the patients who underwent the
surgery have put a spanner in the works of the entire system; their
brains no longer receive the signals from the muscles to complete the
circuit, so the usual resultant feelings are not felt.
Many
processes in the body are two-way doors and our emotions and the
physical body are inextricably interlinked. I’m sure whenever you’ve
felt positive emotions you probably would’ve expressed this in
particular movement such as a little jig. But it also works the other
way too, movement also creates emotion. You can read a bit more about
how particular body positions can influence physiology here http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/provocative-posture.html
The fastest way to change how you feel is to move in certain ways, remember ‘Motion Creates Emotion’.
References
http://www.cf.ac.uk/news/articles/treating-laughter-lines-leaves-patients-feeling-more-depressed-10732.html
In the 2013 release of the Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and
Diet (England), the key findings were that 65 percent of men and 58
percent of women in England were Overweight (with over a 1/3 of these
men and nearly ½ of the these women classed as Obese). This has
increased from the figures published in 1993 of 58 and 49 percent of men
and women being Overweight, respectively.
Although it doesn’t make great reading, if we include the Obesity
figures, it’s even more telling. Between 1993 and 2011 the percentage of
the population who are classed as Obese has risen from 13 to 24 percent
in men and from 16 to 26 percent in women.
This situation is
reflected in other measures of our health as a nation too. I covered the
state of play as of 2007 in an article which you can find here: http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/elixir-of-life.html
As suggested in the previous pieces in this series, it is becoming
increasingly obvious that our environment is at odds with our ancestral
genome. The genes that make up our genome were ‘selected’ to be able, at
a minimum, to allow us survive, but also thrive in a particular set of
conditions. These conditions are the precise keys that fit the locks of
our amazing, but woefully under-realised genomic potential.
One
of the key features of our past was physical activity, and due to our
unique ability to utilise true bipedal movement, this allowed us to
develop in a seemingly very remarkable way; that development being the
size of our brain.
We don’t know the precise details of how our
evolution actually occurred, but from the limited fossil record that we
do have we are able to approximate a very good working model. So far it
seems that, sometime between 7-9 million years ago our common ancestor,
an ape-like species called ‘Oreo’ (Oreopiticus Bambolii) was the first
of our progenitors that was making the transition to upright posture.
This was a pivotal moment in our evolution. By initiating this change in
our anatomy Oreo and the descendents that followed which included
‘Ardi’ (Ardipithecus Ramidus ~ 4.4 million years), ‘Lucy’
(Australopithecus Afarensis ~ 3.2 million years) and another
Australopithecus Afarensis called Kadanuumuu (‘Big Man’) who co-existed
at the same time as ‘Lucy’, but had a more optimal structure for bipedal
gait, set the scene for our already increased brain size to become
larger…much larger.
The ability to stand upright gave us two
huge advantages; it freed up our hands, which allowed us to utilise them
for development of technology and to communicate more effectively,
especially over distance and time. This further increased our already
expanding brain capacity via an interplay between our emerging
intelligence and the new found ability (thanks to our liberated hands)
to harness extelligence. But that in itself is a whole other story, what
we need to address here especially in regards to the benefits that
bipedalism provided, is energetics.
To be able to grow and
maintain such a large brain requires energy, a lot of energy. Although
it is less than 2% of your entire weight, your brain uses 20% of all
your energy. To feed this brain power, the human form has made some
amazing adaptations, and it is these adaptations that we are neglecting
in current society.
Humans are not unique in all ways among the
apes, like us Chimpanzees will not only gladly eat meat, but will go
hunting for it; with the usual target being monkeys, but they have been
known to take down larger prey such as Gazelles too. However, to provide
sufficient meat, which is much more efficient means of obtaining
quality nutrition, for a family of energy hungry human brains, the
occasional snared monkey will not cut it. However, this is where we ran
into trouble, or rather ran out of it.
Compared to other
animals, humans are relatively puny, we are slower, weaker, and less
agile than the many quadrupeds. That’s okay you say, humans didn’t need
to be physically dominant as we had weapons such as spears and bows and
arrows. Well yes we did, but we didn’t have sharp stone tipped spears
until about 300-400,000 years ago, and bows and arrows a good while
later. Our ancestors were hunting a long time prior to this
technological leap.
So how did we do it? Well Oreo set us on a
path, from which we evolved a deciding specialism that enabled us to
hunt down and kill even the largest and most powerful of game; that
specialism was endurance. Whereas bipedalism reduced our ability to
produce powerful agile movements, when applied to endurance, it is a
boon. At faster speeds over shorter distances quadrupeds have a distinct
physical advantage, so it’s unlikely we could catch our prey simply by
outpacing them, and even if we did, unlike a chimpanzee who has the
strength to body-slam a gazelle, humans simply don’t have the physical
strength to over-come most larger animals. But if we pursue them for
long enough our unusual anatomy comes to the rescue.
It’s
hopefully apparent that when we move we generate heat as a by-product of
metabolism. In order to regulate temperature many animals pant to
dissipate the heat load, however at faster speeds they cannot do this as
effectively, so need to take regular breaks in order to cool down.
Humans have no need for this, as we radiate heat via our exposed bare
skin and via sweating, so although we can’t quite keep pace when the
animals are galloping we can force them to continue moving until they
overheat and become exhausted, at which time we can kill them by
stabbing them with sharp pointy sticks or clubbing them with blunt,
heavy instruments.
In addition to thermoregulation, bipedalism
is a surprisingly efficient means of locomotion. At lower speeds our
legs act as a pendulum which costs approximately a ¼ of the energy of
quadrupedalism, but it’s when we pick up the pace just a touch that our
ace card becomes apparent. At speeds above walking pace our legs act
similar to springs. Each step forward stores elastic strain energy which
is returned with remarkable efficiency upon toeing off, so much so that
although we are moving at speeds approximately double that of walking,
the energy cost is roughly the same. At higher speeds when we transition
into sprinting once again the quadrupeds have the advantage, but for
the needs of persistence hunting where humans pursue larger game in the
hottest part of the day at speeds of 4-6 mph for 3-5 hours, we have the
upper hand.
This is just one example of our evolutionary past
in which our genome was set. The genome still to this day requires these
same environmental demands in order to express itself optimally. In the
next part we’ll take a look at the types of demanding activities in
which we evolved to meet, but just for this introduction I wanted you to
begin to appreciate that our current lifestyle although culturally
stressful, has nowhere near the physical demands of our past.
How much more demanding? Well, consider the fact that our ancestors
would often travel 9-15 km per day to hunt down prey in the above manner
alternating between walking and running in the midday sun of the
increasingly arid African/ Asian continents, that’s pretty demanding.
9-15km is roughly 12,000-20,000 steps; if you’ve got a pedometer wear it
on a normal day, the average person is said to take around 5,000 steps,
see how you measure up.
Remember this is just part of the
basic numbers regarding the hunting behaviours of our ancestors. Add
onto this rudimentary and totally incomplete analysis, our other
behaviours such as foraging, shelter creation/ maintenance and other day
to day survival needs, and you can see that our genome is not receiving
anywhere near the stimulus it evolved upon.
Our genome is
phenomenal; we see glimpses of it from the elite performances of our
champion academics, athletes and artists. The majority of us though just
don’t ask it the right questions, so is it any surprise that we’re
getting the answers we are?
In the previous article I showed you how you are inextricably tied into
‘your’ genetic heritage, and that this inescapable feature absolutely
determines who you are…
Except it’s not entirely true.
From the recesses of your memory, dredge up your previous response to
the question ‘Who am I?’ In light of the knowledge from the previous
article, you may currently be thinking that you are ‘the expression of a
20,000-40,000 year old genome’. If this is the answer you have in your
mind, then you aren’t wrong. But you are also far from right too.
We, as ‘Humans’, have this pesky mental process that gives us the
illusion of separation from the rest of the Universe. So even if you’ve
advanced your mental model of yourself to incorporate the human genome,
you’d still only be appreciating a tiny fraction of the big picture.
Let’s expand our viewpoint.
You may think of yourself as a
‘human’, however, this ‘label’ doesn’t reflect the actuality of what a
‘human’ is. Within the human body there are approximately a trillion
human cells, but, you also have approximately 10 trillion bacterial
cells within you or on you. So, the actual ‘human’ component of you is
only 10%. You are 90% bacteria.
And that’s if we stop at the
cellular level. Remember Life is really an expression of information
that is manifest as physical features. As we saw in the previous article
our human information code is the ‘DNA’ patterns written into our
genome and it’s pretty vast, weighing in at just under 25,000 genes.
However, the bacteria also has a genome and since there are 10 times as
many bacterial cells as human, you may think that there would also be 10
times the amount of genomic information; nope. There are in fact about
8,000,000 bacterial genes within you or on you; that’s more than 300
times the amount compared to the human genome. So from a genomic
standpoint ‘you’ are actually more than 99% bacteria.
This
understanding of who you ‘really’ are is vital. If you approach the
situation from a parasitic point of view, we (the human element), in
opposition to common thought, seem to be the parasite in a vast
multi-cultural colony of bacteria. However, this certainly isn’t the
case. The relationship is symbiotic; that is an intricate relationship
called the microbiome that mutually benefits both organisms. And we’re
just beginning to appreciate how beneficial it is for ‘us’.
The microbiome, and the bacteria that form it, give ‘us’ life.
95% of all of your energy is processed by a structure within your cells
called the mitochondria. Although today it is viewed as an organelle; a
structure within a cell that performs a specific function, millions of
years ago it was a discrete bacteria that formed a symbiotic
relationship with the cell line (eukaryote) that includes human cells.
Mitochondria still has its own DNA and are produced from parent
mitochondria, although over the millions of years of symbiosis it has
lost its ability to be entirely self-reliant. The mitochondrion allows
us to respire aerobically (a very efficient means of processing energy)
and our human cells provide it with protection (shelter) and nutrients
(food). The mitochondria also play a huge role in the functioning of our
immune system and cellular processes, but that is way beyond the scope
of this article.
The other bacteria within the microbiome are still discrete and unmodified, but play just as vital a role.
When the microbiome becomes imbalanced; called dysbiosis, the entire
organism declines in health. New research has shown that an imbalance in
the type of bacteria found on the skin can influence whether a person
has severe acne or blemish-free skin (1). Now while this seems
superficial (I guarantee it’s not to those who suffer with acne) it
illustrates a bigger point. The beneficial bacteria provide a defence
system against external threats, and this is not just happening outside
of your body.
Within your body the beneficial bacteria play a
similar role, plus many more. Thanks in part to Edwina Curry everyone in
Britain was made aware of Salmonella and also, unfortunately, by
association scared off of eating eggs. Researchers have recently
demonstrated that the probiotic organism Lactobaccilus reuteri - a
natural resident of the human gut, produces an antimicrobial substance
known as reuterin, which may protect intestinal epithelial cells from
infection by the food borne bacterial pathogen (Salmonella).
Your blood pressure is also regulated in part by the bacteria within
your gut, and it happens in quite an amusing manner. Many blood vessels
in your body possess a receptor normally found in your nose, which is
responsible for detecting the presence (smelling) of a particular odour
(really the chemical that is a component of the odour). These
specialised receptors in your blood vessels sense small molecules which
are created by specific microbes in the intestines, and respond by
modifying blood pressure. (2)
The research within this field is
rapidly expanding and to name but a few there are implications for
obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
In addition to the influence on your physical body, the microbiome may
also influence your behaviour and even your most private thoughts. A
recent study demonstrated that mice fed with Lactobacillus rhamnosus
JB-1 showed significantly fewer stress, anxiety and depression-related
behaviours than those fed with just broth. It was also found ingestion
of the bacteria resulted in significantly lower levels of the
stress-induced hormone, corticosterone. (3) Now it’s somewhat obvious
that mice are not men, so it doesn’t always follow that the same process
will occur across species, but we do know that people with gut issues
such as colitis often also have concomitant psychological distress, and
certain psychological states such as autism also sometimes co-present
with gastrointestinal issues. So although it hasn’t been definitively
mapped, the link is certainly a route worth investigating.
Far
from the disease promoting perception that we have of bacteria in which
we are ‘advised’ to eradicate it at all costs, this could actually be
the biggest problem. Our arrogant notion of humans being a separate and
dominant species could spell our downfall. The key to our survival and
ability to flourish is to, as we have done for millennia, become more
humble and re-learn the wisdom of ancient man that not only are we ‘not’
the centre of the Universe, but we are totally dependent upon the
entirety of a balanced and harmonic biosphere. Unless we drop our
ego-driven image of ourselves and become aware of our true place within
the whole, then our stay on this amazing planet could be brutish,
painful and short.
In upcoming articles I’ll show you how our
ancestors forged this relationship and how we can re-foster this
connection so that we can begin to explore the vast potential that lies
within us.
References:
1. Sorel Fitz-Gibbon, Shuta
Tomida, Bor-Han Chiu, Lin Nguyen, Christine Du, Minghsun Liu, David
Elashoff, Marie C Erfe, Anya Loncaric, Jenny Kim, Robert L Modlin, Jeff F
Miller, Erica Sodergren, Noah Craft, George M Weinstock, Huiying Li.
Propionibacterium acnes Strain Populations in the Human Skin Microbiome
Associated with Acne. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2013; DOI:
10.1038/jid.2013.21
2. Rosemarie De Weirdt, Aurélie
Crabbé, Stefan Roos, Sabine Vollenweider, Christophe Lacroix, Jan Peter
van Pijkeren, Robert A. Britton, Shameema Sarker, Tom Van de Wiele,
Cheryl A. Nickerson. Glycerol Supplementation Enhances L. reuteri’s
Protective Effect against S. Typhimurium Colonization in a 3-D Model of
Colonic Epithelium. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (5): e37116 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037116
3. Javier A. Bravo, Paul Forsythe, Marianne V. Chew, Emily Escaravage,
Hélène M. Savignac, Timothy G. Dinan, John Bienenstock, John F. Cryan.
Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and
central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1102999108
I’m not having an existential crisis, but indulge me for a moment and ask yourself this seemingly simple question.
If you began searching your soul for the answer about your identity and
started going through an Oprah Winfrey-esque process of self discovery,
then bear with me for just a smidgeon of your time, and entertain the
idea presented below. It may ignite within you a more secure understanding of ‘whom’ you really are and your place in the Universe.
Evolutionary Principle
Essentially you are still the same as a Human from 50,000 years ago.
This single fact underlies the entire manner you need to approach diet,
physical activity and life in general. We’ll get to why in a moment, but
for now you need to understand one key point
‘Human DNA has not significantly changed in the last 50,000 years’
So in order for us to have the greatest effect (hopefully positive) on
our body and mind we need to use this concept as a basis for everything
we do, and that is what I attempt to do with all things HPC-UK.
You may have heard or even adhere to what has now become known as a
‘Paleo-‘ diet or lifestyle. At HPC-UK we definitely use some of the
ideas that have come out of that school of thought, but we also use
modern day approaches as long as they are compatible with our genetic
heritage. HPC-UK is based upon a ‘modified ancestral approach based on
the Human genome.
Why live in this Way?
To
understand why we should live in this manner we have to take a quick
look inside the very blueprint of your body. This blueprint is known as
the Human Genome which is composed of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA).
Your DNA code is made up of over 3,000,000,000 nucleic acids which
instruct the body to make more than 100,000 proteins that make up you
and me. Each protein has a precise code sequence, written in your DNA.
As well as the code in our body, every item you come into contact with
either by eating, drinking, inhaling or allowed to get onto your skin
also has a code sequence (not always a DNA sequence). The DNA code for
any particular protein in your body is expressed in response to the flux
of chemicals within the body i.e. something that enters your body,
something you do to change your chemistry or something that leaves your
body. This chemical flux determines your physiology, behaviour and even
your most intimate thoughts.
The DNA code that you have inside
you was laid down over millions of years during a time of very
particular conditions, such as physical environment, food availability
and the physical activity that was dictated by these factors. Prior to
10,000 years ago this environment was based around a hunter/ gatherer
lifestyle. Then things changed…drastically.
Approximately
10,000 years ago Humans shifted from a hunter/ gatherer lifestyle to a
lifestyle based around agriculture. This was the beginning of huge
reforms in the physical and social environment to which Humans were
exposed; an environment we are rapidly furthering today.
This
10,000 year period, however, is far too short for the DNA code to
change. Scientists call it the “genetic lag”. It takes about
20,000-50,000 years for a new environmental stimulus to change DNA to
suit. So we’re still 10,000-40,000 years short of being anywhere near
able to suit our current lifestyle; we’re still 99.9 percent the same as
50,000 years ago but our environment is not. Our modern environment is
increasingly in conflict with our genome.
As advanced as this
(genomic) knowledge is, the next advancements are already on the
horizon. This next huge step is figuring out how ‘epi-genetics’ and
‘proteomics’ all tie into the picture.
So, in light of this
brief introduction ask yourself the question again ‘Who am I?’ Already
it should be slightly different to the answer you responded with at the
beginning.
However, what I’m going to show you in future
articles is how your current perception of ‘who you are’ is both hugely
exaggerated in one sense, and totally understated in another.
It has profound implications on your health, performance and your ability to realise your immense potential.
At HPC-UK the programs are designed with a core principle ‘Nature made all of the locks and holds all of the keys’.
This seemingly simple principle sets the foundation for all of the other principles adopted; and from these principles, the methods that are used in programming both training and nutrition.
Think about your body being your home. When you enter your home every
day, do you use a battering ram to open the door? Sure, it would
definitely gain you entry, but now you would have a damaged door which
causes all kinds of subsequent problems. Or do you pick the lock in some
way? Again yes it would ‘possibly’ gain you entry, but it’s inefficient
and will probably destroy the lock in a fairly short period of time. Or
do you simply use the correct key to open the lock? Over time it
suffers from a bit of wear and tear but if you look after both the lock
and the key it will perform its job superbly lifelong.
Same
thing with your body, you can force it to do things using inappropriate
means, and it might get you where you want to go in the short term, but
it will break down just as quickly.
Or you could use a less
immediately destructive means to achieve your outcome, but it too is
inefficient, not guaranteed and ultimately destructive.
Or you could just use the right tools for the job.
Whenever you adopt an exercise or nutrition program, take a deeper
look. Is it just a method? Is that method based on a principle? If not,
be a little cautious, it may be a battering ram or a pick in disguise.
If it is based on a principle, is that principle recognised and
longstanding? If not, again be a little cautious, it may just be wearing
a slightly better disguise.
Remember the saying ‘Methods are many, Principles are few. Methods change, Principles never do’.
Sarcopenia is
the loss of mass and function of skeletal muscle that occurs with
‘usual’ ageing. Sarcopenia includes loss of muscle quantity and quality
along with the loss of motor neurons that enable muscles to contract
which together contribute to the loss of strength and especially muscle
power. There is also a reduced ability for the muscle to repair and
recover. In addition, there is a progressive increase in oxidative
stress, chronic inflammation, and associated pain and discomfort that
afflict the whole body.
Muscle plays a huge role in immunity
because muscles supply the immune system with the glutamine required to
make immune cells; so the loss of muscle also causes a loss of immune
function.
Sarcopenia also contributes to declining brain
function with age through multiple mechanisms; one simple example is the
reduction of blood flow (and thus oxygen delivery) which would normally
be assisted by muscular contractions.
Sarcopenia often goes
unrecognised, as the process is fairly slow, about a 0.5-1% loss of
muscle mass per year after the age of 25, and is often concomitantly
accompanied by fat gain which masks its appearance; so it regularly goes
on unopposed.
To allow such a pivotal player in disease and
dysfunction to develop is crazy especially when it’s relatively easy to
prevent. Part of the answer is in the image.
Stress is a serious risk factor for health that’s rooted not only in
our minds, but also in our bodies, brains and cells. Although stress is
unavoidable, we can improve stress resilience
through many means such as social connection, cultivating mindfulness
and positive psychological states, and also developing awareness of
arousal and learning to control it.
A commonly held belief is
that exercise is a stress modulator; if you’re too wired up, it calms
you down, and if you’re down, it picks you up. But exercise also has
profound effects on stress resilience outside of the exercise session
itself.
A recent study looked at this influence of exercise.
303 women (out of 372 who began) completed a study which was looking at
the link between exercise, life events e.g. job losses, bereavements
etc. and the incidents of perceived stress and depressive episodes.
Remember perceived stress is a key distinction, as a situation that
stresses one person out might not bother another at all, but perceived
stress is all that is needed for us to produce a kind of “stress soup”
in our cells that can negatively impact both our physical and
psychological well-being. You can read more about perceived stress here http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/what-is-real.html
The researchers found that life events, not surprisingly, were strongly
correlated with both perceived stress and depressive episodes. They
also found that exercise was also linked to a higher perception of
stress, but a lower depressive response. The control group (no exercise
intervention) had no such elevation in perceived stress, but had a
higher incidence of depressive episodes following a life event.
So it seems that exercise increases the perception of stress attached
to an event, this is possibly because you are more actively able to
engage in the situation, as opposed to someone who is not as ‘fit’. But
even in this heightened state of perceived stress the exercise helps to
buffer the effects of the stress so that it doesn’t overwhelm the body
and mind and thus result in depression.
Reference:
O'Dougherty M et al. Life events, perceived stress and depressive
symptoms in a physical activity intervention with young adult women.
Ment Health Phys Act. 2012 Dec 1;5(2):148-154. Epub 2012 May 30.
