The human body, which evolved over millions of years in the natural environment, was designed under continuously changing conditions, making for a design that is responsive and adaptive to the challenges the environment sends towards it. As a species we have survived the past millions of years, overcoming drastic changes in climate and spanning the entire globe, because of the remarkable ability of our bodies to adapt to changing conditions. As a result, the body you reside in today comes fully equipped with a remarkable ability to respond to a wide variety of dietary options, as just one piece of an amazing ability to handle an incredible variety of environmental conditions.
Unfortunately, as society has progressed out of the natural world and into an industrialized world, we have separated our species from any sort of natural environment, and now we are suffering the consequences – those consequences being poor health and modern disease.
Modern disease is, to a very great extent, driven by the mismatch between the design of the human body and today’s industrialized society. While the human body is well-adapted to the full variety of conditions that nature has to offer, what nature had not prepared us for was a shift away from nature itself, and the result has manifested in full force as modern disease.
Given that modern disease is largely caused by this mismatch between the industrialized environment and the design of the human body, it seems logical that if we could simply make a conscious effort to shift our current environment back towards one more aligned with the natural environments under which we evolved, that many of these issues would cease to be.
Addressing this issue with a new perspective:
The Reprogrammed Systems Approach to addressing modern disease does just this – it attempts to understand the natural design of the human body, including how the body functions optimally under natural conditions, and then uses this knowledge and understanding to make educated decisions to improve the health of our own bodies. By making educated decisions on the environmental inputs into our body (i.e. the dietary and lifestyle choices we make), we can optimize the functioning of the internal systems driving the overall functioning of our bodies in order to prevent modern disease.
Furthermore, the Reprogrammed Systems Approach uses a simple method used in complex engineering problems. By viewing the human body as a black box, in which we know only minimal information, we can test the functioning of this system by experimenting with inputs and measuring the outputs. In practical terms, this means we can make educated decisions on the signals and resources we send into our bodies (again, the dietary and lifestyle choices we make), and then we can measure the effects it has on our health.
This black box approach is necessary because modern disease is a complex, individualized phenomenon. Every individual is different, which means that what works for one person might not work for another, and therefore the burden falls upon ourselves to figure out the unique combinations that work best for our own bodies.
Importantly, we do not need to conduct these experiments blindly. By understanding how the body is designed to operate, we can make educated decisions based upon what inputs are the best for the human body. Then, by tuning the inputs (dietary and lifestyle choices) and measuring the outputs (the effect on our bodies), we can figure out what works best for own, unique body.
Figure 1: The human body, modeled as a black box, in which environmental inputs direct the functioning of the systems supporting the human body, resulting in certain outputs (e.g. health or disease). The environmental inputs that the body regularly receives from the industrialized world often result in energy dysregulation, which in turn drives metabolic dysfunction and, ultimately, modern disease.
Using the Reprogrammed Systems Approach, we can help reprogram our bodies back to their natural, healthy state – a state in which the body is well-equipped to take on the challenges this world sends our way.
The Design and Use of The Reprogrammed Systems Model
In Part One I developed a model of the underlying mechanisms supporting the health of the human body. I showed how the dysregulation and resulting dysfunction of these mechanisms result in the progression of modern disease (See Figure 1).
If you need more explanation of this model, see my previous walkthrough of the development of this model, or take a walk through Part I where I walk through the full development of the model.
In Part Two, my hope is to show how this model can be combined with environmental factors (i.e. how environmental signals tie into the underlying mechanisms) in an attempt to describe how each individual’s actions can lead directly to disruptions in the mechanisms driving the state of their own health.
Moving forward with this model now, we can begin to work towards an understanding of how this model can be used to make decisions in our own lives regarding the state of our health. By understanding how the environment ties into these underlying mechanisms, we can take action to ensure we are sending our bodies the signals and resources they need to perform properly, thus creating a strong, healthy body.
Figure 2: By understanding the environmental inputs we send to our own body in regards to how they directly affect the underlying mechanisms supporting the body, we can make better decisions regarding our own health.
With our new understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving modern disease, we can move forward to asking the more relevant, more practical questions, including:
1. What environmental inputs lead to energy dysregulation, and in turn, metabolic dysfunction and modern disease?
2. How can we modify these inputs to prevent (or even reverse) this energy dysregulation and metabolic dysfunction to prevent (or even reverse) modern disease in our own bodies?*
These questions may sound a bit abstract, but they have incredibly powerful implications. If we are able to understand how the inputs to this system (i.e. the signals and resources sent to the human body) result in disease, then we can modify these inputs to avoid pathophysiologic pathways. In more practical terms, this means that we can modify our dietary and lifestyle habits to ensure that what we do with our bodies, along with what we use to fuel them, is leading the body down the road to good health.
How to address energy dysregulation and metabolic dysfunction
If we want to understand how we can effectively address modern disease, we need to first establish a proper mindset so that we do not begin this process with any misconceptions.
First and foremost, effectively treating modern disease is a monstrous task, one I do not claim to have all the answers to. The complexity behind modern disease (i.e. the incredible genetic and epigenetic variance combined with the strong environmental and lifestyle impact) makes this problem one of such an incredible scale that we will not be able to effectively solve this problem for many more years, until the time in which we have many more answers and much greater technology.
That being said, there is much room for progress today, as the current clinical methods used to treat modern disease fall far short of what is possible with today’s knowledge and technology. Therefore, my goal is to help you take the first step heading in a better direction, a direction which recognizes modern disease for what it really is: a complex, non-linear system made of up an incredible number of dynamic processes (refer back to here for more on this topic). Remember, this is in opposition to the common clinical practice, a practice which uses an outdated, linear, reductionist approach – one made up of quick answers and shallow solutions.
The Reprogrammed Systems Approach is a method to get you started down the road to good health. With a dietary and lifestyle approach that addresses the components of modern disease which can, to a great extent, be influenced by diet and lifestyle, you can make large strides towards a long, healthy life, free from the medical system.
Know that this should not be used as a medical treatment to disease, and it should absolutely not be used in place of current medical treatment prescribed by your doctor. Those with current clinical conditions taking medication should always refer to your doctor before making any major dietary or lifestyle changes. If you think you may have a medical condition, please seek out a qualified physician.
I do not claim that making any of these changes will prevent any future disease diagnosis or reverse any current diagnosis. But I do claim that by making dietary and lifestyle changes that target the previously discussed mechanisms, your probability of future disease will likely be lowered. Moreover, these changes will likely allow you to live out your life with more vitality, allowing you to live this one and only life to the fullest.
Finally, before we begin, I need you to understand the task you are about to undertake. As much as we love to think otherwise, there is no quick fix or magic pill that is going to allow you to lose weight, keep it off, and go on towards a long and healthy life. Adapting to the changes necessary to maintain a healthy body often requires big changes in lifestyle, changes that some people are simply not prepared for. For those of you who are prepared to make these big changes, I have worked hard to put together a large amount of quality information designed to help you down your own path to good health.
For those of you who are not ready to embrace a full lifestyle change, do not worry – I have no intention of leaving you hanging here. There are many smaller, simpler steps that you can implement into your lifestyle that could very well result in significant improvements. There is an overload of information out there for people who just want to make one or two small changes, and it is all-too-easy to find yourself making ineffective, or even dangerous choices when it comes to small things you can implement in your own life. Let me help you find some small, simple changes that you can make to your life that will make the most significant changes with the least amount of effort.
That all being said, as we move forward from here, your success is going to be up to you. It is up to you to understand how dietary and lifestyle practices can change your own body. It is up to you to implement these into your own life. And most important, it is up to you to have the discipline to reach a healthy lifestyle that you can maintain for years to come.
If this sounds good to you, then let’s get started.
Moving Forward
Moving on with this next series of articles, I will take you through some of the most significant pathways disrupting normal physiological functioning, and as a result, leading to the potential for progression of modern disease.
These pathways will tie directly into the model set up in part one, including the three internal pathways driving modern disease, which will allow you to see how your actions can directly affect your underlying physiology.