Could a sliver of brain tissue that weighs less than a nickel hold the secret to your health?

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Dr. G

Your brain makes up 2-3% of your body weight, yet it is the master controller of every function your body has.

“The nervous system is the master system, the system that controls all other systems of the body”

Grey’s Anatomy

The Hypo-what:
It is amazing to think that 2% of your body, could play such a commanding role in your life, experience, performance and health. What is also amazing is that 1% of that 2% which is your brain, is responsible for most of the brain’s ability to do what it does. That area is called the “Hypothalamus”. So 1% of the 2% (thinner and lighter than a nickel) is responsible for nearly every aspect of long term health and well being.

What does the Hypothalamus do and why do I care?
The Hypothalamus regulates the internal environment of the body so that there is an appropriate response to what is happening in the external environment. The environment in which you choose to live. How could this little are buried so deep in the center of the brain, completely walled off from any environmental changes, possibly control so much.

The hypothalamus controls a wide range of functions. It directs the stress responses of the autonomic nervous system (also known as the “fight or flight” response, or “protection and defense” physiology). The hypothalamus monitors blood glucose (sugar) levels, and the body’s water content to regulate appetite for food or drink, it controls blood pressure and blood delivery requirements to different organs and systems. The hypothalamus will dictate breathing rate and rhythm, digestion, temperature control (sweating and shivering). The hypothalamus regulates sleep, sexual behavior and of course the immune function. If you’ve been reading the articles on this website you’ll quickly realize that is just about everything when it comes to chronic or long term health concerns.

The brain connects to all of your trillions of cells via the nerve system and humeral (blood & lymph vessel) system. Information about your internal and external environment is the main reason for this “web” of interconnectedness the brain has. The information allows the brain to control bodily and mental functions in a way that is most appropriate to for you to exist and thrive in your environment. The brain reacts to changes in your physical, chemical, mental and emotional environment and can even anticipate changes before they happen. The hypothalamus is a primary area of integration for all of these functions.

These are both conscious and unconscious processes, mostly unconscious related to your environmental changes.

• Changes in blood sugar
• Changes in gastrointestinal content
• Changes in oxygen and CO2 in the air and in your blood
• Changes in the behavior of people around you
• Changes in temperature
• Changes in your emotions
• Changes in the emotions of the people around you
• Changes in your energy production
• Changes in your anticipated energy needs
• Changes in the time of day
• Changes in the season
• Changes in geography
• Changes in your electromagnetic field
• Changes in the type and availability of calories and nutrition.
• Changes in the presence of microbes (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.)
• Changes in DNA mutation and individual cellular health and demands.

This very limited list could go on and on, but I believe that you get the idea. The fact is that most illnesses result when one or more of these systems break down, are overwhelmed or they simply are unable to meet the demands required.

The size and weight of a nickel
How could this small tissue, buried so deep in the brain, completely walled off and protected from any changes in its own environment be so responsible of all adaptations to a changing external environment. Remember the brain is completely encased in bone, floating in a suspension of cerebrospinal fluid, at a steady temperature of 98.6 degrees and an unchanging PH just over 7.3. Yet below you will see that this little organ will detect even the most subtle, slightest changes. The reason is that the brain and hypothalamus are at the center of a web of interconnections that inform the brain and hypothalamus of every aspect of the world around us.

It’s not all about food
In the world of functional medicine so much responsibility for our state of health is placed on the role of diet. A well educated functional medicine practitioner could explain every aspect of your health and illness based on nutrition, food sensitivities, micronutrients & macronutrients and leaky gut. The fact is we have to realize that is only part of the story.

The rest of the story lies in our daily choices that impacts the hypothalamus. That impact can be adaptive (makes us stronger) or destructive ( exceeding the adaptive capabilities of the hypothalamus and makes us sicker). The more we are in an environment that is genetically appropriate, the more adaptive and healthier our hypothalamus and brain responses are resulting optimal function.

Your Hypothalamus Needs a Workout
Every part and system of the body should be used in order to give the organs and systems of the body a “workout”. It’s a simple concept to understand when we say “if you don’t use it you lose it” when we are talking about our muscles, the idea of “atrophy”, wasting of muscles that are not used. But this concept is true of nearly all of our bodily systems, especially in the brain. To give the hypothalamus a “workout” it needs messages from the environment that it recognizes and adapts to.

The problem is we have created a modern environment that requires very little need for adaptation that we are designed to experience. With technology and wealth, we have created an artificial world where:

• It’s always 72 degrees thanks to modern heating and air conditioning in our homes, cars, public transportation, schools, workplaces etc.
• The presence of a full spectrum of visible light (artificial suns if you will forgive the analogy). I am not saying i’d like to go back to pre- Edison times where all of our light was from sun and fire. But we have to recognize the fact that the increased dependence we have in recent years in lights that are heavily weighted to the blue end of the visible light spectrum. These modern lights emit 4X the quantity of blue light than the sun does, and none of the invisible rays that the sun produces. We are talking about LED devices (phones, tablets, computers, televisions which are bigger than ever before) fluorescent and CFL bulbs (incandescent bulbs are being systematically phased out), halogen lights etc. These lights blind the hypothalamus to the light signals it is designed to receive from the cycles of the sun.
• Thanks to shipping and farming practices we have access to any type of food regardless of our geography or season. We have exposure to an unlimited number of calories from sources that are not genetically appropriate to our geography and season. Humans could never have eaten a banana in New York City in January. Bananas do not grow in NYC at any time of the year and fruits as a group only grow during a very short season.

The presence of more and more powerful, electrical appliances, WiFi service everywhere (airplanes, coffee shops, subways, bedrooms, etc.). This results in changes in our personal exposure to the native electromagnetic field emitted by the planet. A 600 million year old relationship to the weak electromagnetic field emitted by our planet. When the weak native EMF’s of the earth are interfered with by the more powerful home appliance and WIFI EMF’s, our environmental signals are interrupted resulting in physiological consequences.

The 5 Environments:
It is illogical to assume that we did not adapt to these natural forces over the past 600 million years that life has been present on this planet.

1. The cycles of the sun
2. The cycles and availability of calories from different sources based on season and geography.
3. The full spectrum of visible and invisible light emitted by the sun, including infrared (near and far), UV-A and UV-B. Only in the last few decades have we been hiding from the sun, sitting in front of a powerful LED (blue light emitting) screen, under blue light emitting fluorescent, LED or halogen overhead bulbs. Making it impossible for our hypothalamus to tell time and season.
4. We no longer can act as a conduit of electrons passing freely between us and the planet because we no longer use animal hyde in the soles of our shoes. Leather soles or being barefoot allows for the free passage of electrons between the earth and us. Every animal on the planet is permitted to do so. Our neoprene synthetic shoes and excessive indoor environments prevents this 600 million year old adaptation between the earth and all living things, not just plants.

Water treatment facilities that alter the structure of water and its photo and electro-conductive nature, as is seen with fluoride and bromide.

All of the above mentioned changes to our environment has effectively erased all messages from native sources to the hypothalamus, resulting in abnormal signals for:

• Sleep patterns
• Brain chemistry,
• Calories needs, desires and cravings.
• Energy needs
• The ability to produce energy,
• Sexual and reproductive function
• Digestion
• Immunity

Because of the extensive list and explanations mentioned above, we know the hypothalamus will play a primary or secondary role in:

1. Cancer, autoimmunity and allergies.
2. Obesity because of appetite and energy requirements.
3. Stress responses and adrenal health
4. Fertility
5. Hypothyroid
6. Digestive disorders including IBS, crohn’s, colitis, reflux and food sensitivities.
7. Diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic syndrome.
8. Neurodegeneration including brain fog, memory loss, alzheimers and parkinsons.
9. Heart disease and high blood pressure.
10. Osteoporosis
11. Sleeping disorders.

It’s time for us to make the hypothalamus cool and bring it into our awareness. It’s time to bring this funny word to the masses and out of the tightly held control of a small group of specialists called endocrinologists (doctors who specialize in diagnosing and manipulating hormonal functions of the body. )

When we bring the function and health of various bodily systems to the masses (people who are not doctors) in an understandable way, we see people take matters into their own hands and make better decisions for themselves.

Over the last 40 years is in the field of nutrition. 40 years ago,conventional wisdom established by advanced medical science and the appropriate government agencies charged with the “public good” made recommendations that resulted in a catastrophic collapse in human health and a system of healthcare overwhelmed by chronic disease resulting in the collapse of our healthcare delivery and insurance systems. These were the disastrous dietary recommendations of a low fat, high fiber from grains type of diet.

A more recent example is the public’s awareness of the digestive system and what can positively and negatively impact the digestive system. For decades It was thought that gluten sensitivities was only relevant in the world of celiac disease. The established medical paradigm does not and will not alter its position no matter what science and physiology tells them. It’s kind of like the low fat dogma, they just won’t let it go. People continue to suffer and take medications to hide their pain and misery while they continue to decline. It is the empowered public who pursue non-conventional wisdom based on advances in basic science and physiology in order to make dramatic changes in their health.

A doctor who specializes in functional medicine or a functional approach to neurology, should be able to look at your “environment” and diagnose areas of concern and prescribe specific changes that serve to improve your ability to adapt to these changes appropriately.

Thanks for reading!