Great presentation by dr. Chris Palmer: "I want to build on what Dr. Means just shared, that these chronic diseases we face today, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, all share something in common. They are, in fact, metabolic dysfunction. I'm going to go into a little bit of the science just to make sure we're all on the same page. Although most people think of metabolism as burning calories, it is far more than that. Metabolism is a series of chemical reactions that convert food into energy and building blocks essential for cellular health.
When we have metabolic dysfunction, it can drive numerous chronic diseases, which is a paradigm shift in the medical field. Now, there is no doubt metabolism is complicated. It really is. It is influenced by biological, psychological, environmental, and social factors. And the medical field says this complexity is the reason we can't solve the obesity epidemic. Because they're still trying to understand every molecular detail of biology. But in fact, we don't need to understand biology in order to understand the cause. The cause is coming from our environment, a toxic environment like poor diet and exposure to harmful chemicals. And these are actually quite easy to study, understand, and address. There is no doubt food plays a key role. It provides the substrate for energy and building blocks. Nutritious foods support metabolism, while ultra-processed options can disrupt it.
It is shocking that today in 2024, the FDA allows food manufacturers to introduce brand new chemicals into our food supply without adequate testing. The manufacturers are allowed to determine for themselves whether this substance is safe for you and your family to eat or not.
Metabolism's impact goes beyond physical health. I am a psychiatrist. Some of you are probably wondering, why are you here? It also affects mental health. Because guess what? The human brain is an organ, too. And when brain metabolism is impaired, it can cause symptoms that we call mental illness.
It is no coincidence that as the rates of obesity and diabetes are skyrocketing, so too are the rates of mental illness. In case you didn't know, we have a mental health crisis. We have all time prevalence highs for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder deaths of despair, drug overdoses, ADHD, and autism.
What does the mental health field have to say for this? Well, you know, mental illness is just chemical imbalances or maybe trauma and stress. That is wholly insufficient to explain the epidemic that we are seeing. And in fact, there is a better way to integrate the biopsychosocial factors known to play a role in mental illness. Mental disorders at their core are often metabolic disorders impacting the brain. It's not surprising to most people that obesity and diabetes might play a role in depression or anxiety. But the rates of autism have quadrupled in just 20 years, and the rates of ADHD have tripled over that same period of time. These are neurodevelopmental disorders. And many people are struggling to understand how on earth could they rise so rapidly. But it turns out that metabolism plays a profound role in neurodevelopment. And sure enough, parents with metabolic issues like obesity and diabetes are more likely to have children with autism and ADHD. This is not about fat shaming. Because what I am arguing is that the same foods and chemicals and other drivers of obesity that are causing obesity in the parents are affecting the brain health of our children. There is compelling evidence that food plays a direct role in mental health. One study of nearly 300,000 people found that those who eat ultra-processed foods daily are three times more likely to struggle with their mental health. than people who never or rarely consume them. A systematic review found direct associations between ultra-processed food exposure and 32 different health parameters, including mental health conditions.
Now, I'm not here to say that food is the only or even primary driver of mental illness. Let's go back to something familiar. Trauma and stress do drive mental illness. But for those of you who don't know, trauma and stress are also associated with increased rates of obesity and diabetes. Trauma and stress change human metabolism. We need to put the science together. This brings me to a key point.
We cannot separate physical and mental health from metabolic health. Addressing metabolic dysfunction has the potential to prevent and treat a wide range of chronic diseases. This is not just theoretical. We've just heard from Michaela Peterson Fuller, Dr. Peterson. In my own work, I have seen firsthand how using metabolic therapies like the ketogenic diet and other dietary interventions can improve even severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, sometimes putting them into lasting remission.
These reports are published in peer-reviewed prestigious medical journals. However, there is a larger issue at play that many have talked about. Medical education and public health recommendations are really captured by industry and politics. And at best, they often rely on weak epidemiological data, resulting in conflicting or even harmful advice.
We heard a reference to this, but in case you didn't know, a long time ago, we demonized saturated fat. And what was the consequence of demonizing saturated fat? We replaced it with healthy vegetable shortening. That was the phrase we used, healthy vegetable shortening. Guess what was in that healthy vegetable shortening. It was filled with trans fats, which are now recognized to be so harmful that they've been banned in the United States. Let's not repeat mistakes like this. So what's the problem? Number one, nutrition and mental health research are severely underfunded, with each of them getting less than 5% of the NIH budget. This is no accident. This is the concerted effort of lobbying by industry, food manufacturers, the healthcare industry. They do not want root causes discovered. We need to get back to funding research on the root causes of mental and metabolic disorders, including the effects of foods, chemicals, medications, environmental toxins on the human brain and metabolism.
We stand here at a crossroads. We can continue managing symptoms and watching this crisis worsen or we can choose a new path, one that addresses the root causes of mental and metabolic disorders. The time to act is now. For the sake of our citizens, our children, and our nation's future, let's work together to address this chronic disease epidemic."
https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/1847624589116899454?t=_j9djEDyMnqt2WKfrEIFIg&s=19

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