Chapter 3

HEALTH AND DISEASE

      Traditional western medicine has viewed the mind and body as separate and has treated them as such.  A medical doctor would be summoned to heal symptoms of the body, while a psychologist or psychiatrist would be necessary for troubles with the mind.  Through a holistic perspective, it is evident that the mind and body work together in producing both health and disease.

      This section describes a holistic perspective on health and disease.  A detailed description of both the immune system and the nervous system are included.  Through these descriptions we will be able to understand how the two systems interact, solidifying a holistic perspective.  Excess stress is introduced as a result of a mind-body split (described in the previous section).  We will take a look at how excess stress effects the immune system and aids the disease process.  Free radicals are introduced as revolutionary approach to understanding disease.  Through the free radical model, stress is further linked with disease and environmental factors are also implicated with disease.

      The over all purpose of this section is to link mind and body with the disease process.  It is important to understand how excess stress (largely a mental phenomenon) is linked with disease.  In a later section of the paper, excess stress will be linked with human language.

      The function of the immune system is to attack and destroy abnormal cells, called antigens, in the human body, thus protecting it from infection and disease (Martini, 1992).  This is done by recognizing abnormal cells from normal cells, and mounting an appropriate attack.  The immune system has the ability to "remember" the antigens its has encountered and thus in future encounters mount a more efficient attack (Martini, 1992).  The following is a brief overview of the process according to Martini's Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology (1992).

      An invading antigen is recognized as foreign by specialized "labeling" cells that bind to the antigen and label it for destruction.  Depending on the type of cell binding to the antigen, the cell is either carried to a T cell for destruction or to a B cell for antibody destruction.  If carried to a T cell, the T cell divides into a killer T cell and a memory T cell.  The killer cell proceeds to destroy the invading cell, while the memory cell stores a memory of the antigen so future invasions will be more efficient as the need for a labeling cell is bypassed.  If the antigen is carried to a B cell, the B cell will divide into a memory B cell (for the same purpose of the memory T cell) and a plasma cell.  The plasma cell secretes antibodies that circulate in the system, binds to antigens and destroys them (Martini, 1992).

      The whole process is assisted by helper T cells that stimulate the division of T and B cells, help attract necessary chemicals to the region of the attack, and keep the chemicals from departing before the attack is finished.  Suppressor T cells assist in stopping the process once the attack is complete (Martini, 1992).

      The purpose of the nervous system is to receive sensory input, regulate bodily functions, and coordinate motor activity.  It consists of the brain, the spinal cord, complex sense organs such as the eye and ear, and the nerves that interconnect these organs and link the nervous system with other systems.  The following is a brief overview of the nervous system.

      This discussion on the brain is helpful in this section for two reasons: to understand the holistic perspective, and to understand stress.  Later in the paper it will be used in understanding the evolution of language. 

      The brain is typically understood in three sections, the hindbrain, the midbrain, and the forebrain.  The hindbrain includes the brain stem, the thalmus, the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the cerebellum.  The midbrain includes, the limbic system, and the hippocampus.  The forebrain includes, the cerebrum and the cortex.  The following describes the functions of the different parts of the brain relevant for this paper.

      In the hindbrain, all input from the sensory organs pass through the thalamus before proceeding to other areas of the brain for processing.  The pituitary gland is responsible for releasing hormones into the endocrine system.  It is the primary link between the nervous and endocrine system.  The hypothalamus controls the activity of the pituitary gland and "acts as an all-powerful liaison between the brain and body" (Hooper and Teresi, 1992, p. 35).  Hormones and various other chemical messengers controlled by the hypothalamus are often considered to be the source of feelings and emotions (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).  Besides controlling the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus has other functions, "it regulates the 'internal milieu,' blood pressure, body temperature and contains appetite control centers.  Damage to one part of the hypothalamus will cause animals to stop eating" (Hooper and Teresi, 1992, p 34).  The hypothalamus regulates the activity between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic branches of the nervous system.  The hypothalamus will be important for the discussion on stress.

      The limbic system of the midbrain is where emotions are housed: "When stimulated with a mild electrical current, specific limbic sites triggered sudden rage, joy, or fear" (Hooper and Teresi, 1992, p. 36).  The hippocampus (not hypothalamus mentioned above) is responsible for consolidating and storing memories in the cerebrum.

      The cerebrum and cortex of the forebrain is where conscious thought processes, sensations, intellectual functions, memory storage and retrieval, and complex motor patterns originate (Martini, 1992).  The cerebrum is divided into two large hemispheres that "speak" to each other through a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus collosum.  The cortex houses 70% of the total neurons in the nervous system.  Neurons deliver messages to each other and other parts of the body through chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.  More on the cortex, neurons and neurotransmitters will be discussed with stress.  Now let us move on to the nervous system.

      The nervous system is divided into two branches, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.  The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for response to emergency situations that trigger the fight-or-flight response .  The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for functions related to relaxation such as digestion, pupil dilation, constriction of breathing and heart rate.  Depending on the sensory input to the brain, the hypothalamus will either switch on the parasympathetic nervous system and allow for digestion and relaxation or it will shut off those functions and allow energy to be used for the emergency response of the sympathetic nervous system.  The nervous system relays messages through neurons with neurotransmitters.  The neurotransmitters are delivered to muscle cells via nerve fibers and stimulate behavior.

      One can begin to see the similarities between the immune system and the nervous system.  Both take in information--the immune system in the form of antigens and the nervous system in the form of sensory input.  Both can learn and both have memories.  In addition to these similarities, they also make use of the same chemical messengers, neurotransmitters.

      Receptors for neurotransmitters and neuropeptides were discovered on cells in the immune system (Chopra, 1989).  Neuropeptides are hormones secreted by the nerve cells.  Instead of just sending messages through nerve fibers of the nervous system, it seems the brain "circulates intelligence [neurotransmitters and neuropeptides] throughout the body's entire inner space" (Chopra, p. 62).  The immune system responds to these free floating brain chemicals and "mirrors" the nervous system.  Chopra (1989) writes, "if being happy, sad, thoughtful, excited, and so on all require the production of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters in our brain cells, then the immune cells must also be happy, sad, thoughtful, excited" (p. 62).  If the mind is depressed, the immune system will suffer (Pearson and Shaw, 1982).  A further interesting study would be the various chemical messengers and how they create feelings and emotions.

      The two systems are increasingly being seen as intricately linked into one "network of information" that cannot be separated (Chopra, 1989).  Pert (1990), director of the brain biochemistry division at the National Institute of Mental Health is using the word "bodymind" to refer to the whole system instead of using mind and body as separate words. 

      The word soma refers to an organism as a whole (Hanna, 1986).  In understanding the human as a soma rather than a mind and a body or a bodymind, "there is no distinction between body and mind.  Instead, body and mind are understood as an inseparable continuum of matter and consciousness" (Greene, 1994, p. 98).  Hanna (as cited in Greene, 1994) uses the word soma as "a body perceived from within" and refers to "the rich and constantly flowing array of sensing and actions that are occurring within the experience of each of us" (p. 98).  The word soma will be used in various places in the rest of this text to give a perspective of the human organism as a whole.

      Martini (1992) states that "any threat to homeostasis represents a form of stress" (p. 598).  Homeostasis is, "the tendency for physiological systems to stabilize internal conditions" (Martini, 1992, p. 6).  Kabat-Zinn (1990) refers to homeostasis as, "internal balance" (p. 244).  Selye (as cited in Kabat-Zinn, 1990) first popularized the word stress in the 1950s.  His definition is, "the non-specific response of the organism to any pressure or demand."  Selye (as cited in Kabat-Zinn, 1990) coined the word stressor to "describe the stimulus or event that produced the stress response" or caused the threat to homeostasis (p. 236).

      Stressors can be both internal and external.  A fluctuation in temperature or a approaching predator are examples of external stressors.  Feelings, thoughts, dietary needs, and the sex drive can be understood as internal stressors.  Family affairs, economic matters, and social status are all examples of social stressors.  The total bodily reaction to stressors is known as the general adaptation syndrome, or sometimes known as the stress reaction cycle.

      All throughout the day, the soma is bombarded with sensory input.  This can be from any of the number of channels of communication mentioned in the previous section.  This sensory input enters the body through the various sense organs and is channeled into the brain through the thalamus of the hindbrain and is processed in the cortex.  The primary sensory cortex, an area on the top portion of the brain, receives input from touch, pressure, pain, taste, and temperatures receptors.  This is the proprioceptive channel of communication.  Smell is received at the olfactory cortex, sight is received at the visual cortex (visual channel), and sound is received at the auditory cortex (auditory channel).  Once information is receive at one of these cortexes, it is then interpreted and sent to a corresponding motor cortex (kinesthetic channel) where movement is coordinated (Martini, 1992).

      The information is then received by the hypothalamus where activity between the nervous system and endocrine system is coordinated.  The endocrine system releases various hormones into the circulatory system "that travel far and wide in the body to transmit information and trigger specific responses from different cell groups and tissues.  When they arrive at their targets, they bind to specific receptor molecules and transmit their message" (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, p. 252).  The endocrine system coordinates activity that does not represent an immediate threat to homeostasis.  The reaction time could take "seconds, minutes, hours, or even years" (Martini, 1992, p. 173).  The nervous system is responsible for immediate threats to homeostasis that require an instant response.  This is known as the fight-or-flight reaction.

      During the fight-or-flight response, the hypothalamus shuts down the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.  Digestion stops, pupils expand and blood flow and breath rates increase.  The energy used for these activities is channelled to the sympathetic nervous system where the neurotransmitter epinephrine (adrenaline) is released into the system.  The soma is then ready to either fight or flee to eliminate the threat.  After the "attack" the parasympathetic nervous system is reengaged and the soma is able to rest.  The stress reaction cycle is completed when the soma has regained equilibrium.  Kabat-Zinn (1990) says of the fight-or-flight reaction:

The fight-or-flight reaction can be triggered in animals when they encounter members of another species.  It also comes into play when animals are defending their social standing within their own species and when they are challenging the social status of another animal in their group.  When animal's social position is challenged, the fight-or-flight reaction is unleashed and the two animals in question fight until one or the other submits or runs away.  Once an animal submits to another, it "knows its place" and doesn't keep going though the same reaction every time it is challenged.  It readily submits.  (p. 254)

The fight-or-flight reaction helps the animal to find its "territory."  Once it has established its territory, its time is spent reacting to the less life threatening stressors such as hunger, temperature, and sex drive, many of which in humans can be considered a source of pleasure.  I will return to this point towards the end of the paper and draw an interesting parallel.

      Stressors that stay with the soma for extended periods of time are called "chronic stressors" (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, p. 250).  These stressors are not easily fought off or escaped from.  Chronic stressors (in the human soma) are often found in work, family and social situations on which some part of the individuals survival is believed to be dependant and therefore, inescapable.  (My experience at the residential treatment center was this kind of situation.)  When exposed to chronic stressors, the soma falls out of homeostasis and does not easily return (there are more stressors in the environment than the soma can effectively deal with).  The sympathetic nervous system remains active leaving very little time for the parasympathetic nervous system to let the soma rest.  There is a continuous flood of chemical messengers that get repressed in the body.  The fight-or-flight reaction builds up inside and the human soma is "unable to fight or run because both are socially unacceptable . . ." (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, p. 255).  A "learned helplessness" sets in and one can become depressed (Pearson and Shaw, 1982, p. 182).  The model of reality created in the mind does not allow the body to effectively deal with the situation.  This is a mind-body split.

      We have seen earlier how the immune system mirrors the mind.  The feelings that are produced through mental activity are "felt" by the immune system.  When stress is chronic, so too are the feelings associated with it such as fear and anger, and can lead to depression.  Depression, caused by a "loss of the self" (Miller, 1981, p. 38), is a sign that an individual is "out of touch with his [her] body" (Lowen, 1974, p. 26).  The stressors of the mind are in conflict with the stressors of the body.  When a person becomes depressed, there is a depletion of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine in the brain (Pearson and Shaw, 1982).  It follows that the immune system becomes depressed (Pearson and Shaw, 1982) & (Martini, 1992).

      Norepinephrine is also a part of the fight-or-flight reaction (Pearson and Shaw, 1982, p. 734).  Because a certain amount of norepinephrine is necessary to avoid depression and keep the immune system healthy, it implies that a certain amount of stress is actually necessary to keep the immune system functioning.  However, too much stress will produce an unhealthy imbalance of chemicals in the body.  In the introduction I mentioned "heaven on earth."  By this, I mean a place where there are no more stressors than one can effectively deal with, but enough stressors that each individual is challenged and can grow.

      The discussion of free radicals is important to my paper for two reasons.  One, it further helps to link stress with disease, and two, it helps to further our understanding of how a split between humanity and the environment promotes disease.

      The immune system regulates disease on the cellular level.  The free radical paradigm is a molecular model of disease.  Some basic knowledge of molecular bonding is assumed for this discussion.

      Free radicals are oxidized molecules.  Molecules become oxidized when they lose an electron.  To make up for their missing electron, free radicals attack "their molecular neighbors" and steal one of their electrons (Sharma, 1993, p. 23).  This turns the attacked molecule into an oxidized free radical as well.  Inside the body, free radical molecules tear apart cells and tissue creating more free radicals that in turn, tear apart more of the internal structure.  This sets up a chain reaction that slowly destroys the internal structure (Sharma, 1993).

      Most researchers believe free radicals to be responsible for 80 to 90% of all degenerative diseases (Sharma, 1993).  Cancer is believed to be caused when free radicals attack and destroy the DNA causing it to mutate (Sharma, 1993).  Free radicals also destroy the proteins that allow cells to communicate and maintain balance with the rest of the soma (Sharma, 1993).  Cancerous cells mutate out of control when they cease to maintain communication with the rest of the soma (Chopra, 1989).

      Free radicals create clogged arteries leading to heart disease and stroke (Sharma, 1993).  The lipoproteins that clog arteries are lipoproteins that have been damaged by free radicals.  These lipoproteins accumulate on the surface of the artery's walls where free radical damage has occurred.

      Free radicals also cause diabetes, arthritis, emphysema, cataracts, and many mental disorders.  Free radicals are thought to be responsible for aging when they damage cells and skin tissue and increase one's susceptibility to disease (Sharma, 1993).

      Free radicals are created both naturally and unnaturally.  The conversion process of glucose and oxygen into energy for the body's consumption create free radicals (Sharma, 1993).  The immune system uses free radicals to destroy invading cells (Sharma, 1993).  The overflow of free radicals from both the production of energy and the immune system dump excess free radicals into the body.  Stress also creates free radicals when, "the hormones which cause the stress reaction in the body come to a bad end; they themselves degenerate into particularly destructive free radicals" (Sharma, 1993, p. 27).  Excessive stress will create excessive free radicals.

      As we shall see later, the solution for free radicals also occurs naturally, however there are many unnatural causes of free radicals that exceed the body's natural defenses thus leading to disease.  This is important for this paper because it demonstrates how a lack of balance between behavior--created through mental models--and environmental processes (including our internal environment)--create disease.  Free radicals are created through such unnatural processes as farm chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), prescription drugs, processed food, cigarette smoke, alcohol, and other environmental toxins.

      The solution for free radicals are called antioxidants.  They occur naturally in the food we eat.  Many enzymes (both produced in the body and ingested with food) act as antioxidants.  Nutrients such as vitamins C and E, bioflavonoids, and beta-carotene are all antioxidants (Sharma, 1993).  Various minerals also act as antioxidants.  In addition to antioxidants, the tissue in the body can also self-repair after free radical damage (Sharma, 1993).

      The solutions for free radicals occur naturally, as do free radicals.  When beliefs and practices that alter the environment are enacted, the balance between free radical production and free radical defense gets disturbed and disease is created.  Sharma (1993) says, "The body need only strike a proper balance between the number of free radicals generated and the defense and and repair mechanisms available" (p. 28).  This includes reduction of stress as well as consciousness around what is put into the environment and ingested into the body governed by our beliefs.

      The implications of the free radical model is that there is one cause of disease and therefore only a need for one cure.  Sharma (1993) compares the discovery to the medical revolution created more than a century ago when Louis Pasteur discovered germs.  It takes 10 - 30 years for new medical discoveries take hold (and even longer if the discovery is revolutionary) (Sharma, 1993).  It has now been 42 years since free radicals where first written about in 1954.

      In this section on health and disease, we took a look at the mind body split and how it affects our health practices.  We looked at the immune system, the nervous system and how they interact, giving a holistic perspective of health.  We took a look at stress, the stress reaction cycle, and how excess stress (due to a mind-body split) produces weaknesses in the immune system.  We also took a look at the latest discovery in the field of medicine, free radicals.  Through the free radical model, we witnessed another way that excessive stress can aid in the disease process.  We also can begin to understand how what we eat and how our environment (polutants) can assist in health and disease.

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