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Brain's Dumped DNA May Lead to Stress, Depression
- tomrod 8y agoWhat a fascinating read! More to learn about how the body handles stress, no doubt, but an interesting idea.
- charlieflowers 8y agoThis quote from the article makes no sense: “Mitochondrial DNA is probably the most sensitive thing in your body,” says Douglas Wallace. He's not talking about the DNA being affected (as if it were sensitive to something), he's talking about it _causing_ effects. If I'm missing something, please correct me. Otherwise I'll assume he misspoke.
- ItsMe000001 8y ago> he's talking about it _causing_ effects. Yes, that's what the article is about? It's explained in the second half, no? Starting at "But how was this inflammation triggered by mitochondrial DNA leaking out of cells?"
- charlieflowers 8y agoBy that interpretation, he misspoke when he said the DNA is sensitive. What he should have said is that the _body_ is sensitive _to_ the DNA. That was my point. And I only point it out because, given he's an expert on the topic, it's always possible that he actually meant to say it this way and that I, being a layperson, missed something that would explain it.
- omegaworks 8y agoI wonder if this may be an explanation for the mood-leveling effects of ketogenic dieting.
- md224 8y agoI wasn’t aware of this benefit... have you or people you know seen these effects from keto? Might be worth a try, if that’s the case...
- throwaway8879 8y agoDefinitely more stability in my mood with keto. Higher cognitive function, and perhaps the best part - easier anger management as a side effect. Helped me get off my antidepressants too.
- DailyHN 8y agoBeen keto for 3+ years. Consistently, when breaking ketosis (eating carbs) I... 1. Feel foggy, slow, like I had some alcohol, without any of the pleasant euphoria. 2. Am more likely to get into arguments. 3. Become anxious. And it gets much worse with high-glycemic foods(sugar). No more cheat days with ben and jerry for me :(
- jmauritz 8y agoWould be interesting to see if there is any relationship between physical exercise, fasting, meditation or diet in general.
- sjclemmy 8y agoFrom the article: “If further evidence of the importance of healthy mitochondria continues to emerge, drugs that focus on regulating cellular energy production instead could become a new line of defense for psychiatric and biological disorders.” I know enough exercise helps regulate my mood. Seems like there’s a link there somewhere.
- bordercases 8y agoTotal bodily stress causes such a large cascade of changes that you almost learn nothing by finding a connection.
- dredmorbius 8y agoSorry? Could you clarify?
- tomrod 8y agoNot OP, but my interpretation: exercise isn't confined to mentally or socially induced stress, and perhaps the body tolerates it better.
- bordercases 8y ago"Oh here's a new biochemical path connected to exercise." "Oh sweet I guess I should exercise then." Except the basis for the decision to exercise or not has already been confirmed in inumerous ways on these grounds, and it is redundant since we should expect massive stress of any sort (exercise included) to result in large cascading changes in the body. Or the other way around, the body is so intricate that any individual biochemical pathway is unlikely to play a significant role in the whole, and so we should explain things in terms of the whole to actually learn something. The OP mentioned mood. But there are a lot of unnoticed alternative pathways at play here, why wouldn't they also have a connection to mood? Maybe if you were in particular seeking a way to mimic exercise with drugs this kind of thing becomes more useful.
- 8y ago
- DiabloD3 8y agoNone of this is really that new, and I wish this article was longer, because apparently not a lot of people know about any of this. It is already known that a wide range of disorders, inside and outside of the brain, are linked to inflammation and also should be categorized as mitochondrial disorders. Unfortunately, when these two are put together, you end up with an inability for doctors to tell patients they have an inflammation problem: all the tests say negative (I've even met people where this is true, yet they clearly have obvious symptoms of it). However, when you put the patients on a strict anti-inflammation diet and lifestyle, the symptoms go away, as if by magic (and since doctors never recommend regimes that work, patients themselves have to go out and do it themselves; without proper guidance, this has mixed results). That said, surprisingly common advice works for a wide range of people: avoid foods that interfere with your body's ability to engage autophagy (such as grains and sugars; for some people this means a strict but clean keto diet), regular one-meal-a-day intermittent fasting (helps maintain a state of regular autophagy), stop being overweight (the first two help a lot with this), regular sleep cycles and enough sleep (the previous three help with this), and regular exercise (HIIT is most effective for the results required to prolong life; and all the previous suggestions free up time and energy to fit this into your lifestyle, where for many, it wouldn't have fit before). I've never seen a doctor in the field ever recommend any of these, yet the past decade of science has been entirely focused on these because of how effective they are to treat common (and dangerous) diseases. There is a disconnect between what we know and what is practiced.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- mannanj 8y agoBut the keto diet is a fad and very dangerous diet, with lots of research and education having taught our doctors the state of ketosis is dangerous and extreme for our bodies. And that the term is associated with severe insulin failure, i.e. it will never be sustainable. Basically you need glucose from external sources to survive and shouldn't forget mama and papa food company or pharmaceutical x when thinking of your solution
- 8y ago
- darkerside 8y agoWhenever I read about stress' effects on the body, I always wonder about exercise. Exercise is an example of stress, or at the very least causes similar symptoms (rapid heartbeat, breathing difficulties, cortisol and adrenaline spikes). Why is it that exercise is so good and stress is so bad?
- Avamander 8y agoCould it be that exercise also rises BP and HR which causes all negative substances to reach kidneys/liver quicker?
- ben_w 8y agoToo much exercise is also injurious. That said, I have subjectively experienced an adrenaline rush for stupid reasons and chosen to do nothing with it — no run, no fight — and the subsequent downer felt terrible; as a result of this, I assume that physical exertion produces extra substances in the body which mitigate the stresses in much the same way that purely psychological stress is countered with external substances such as alcohol, weed, etc., or clinical antidepressants.
- darkerside 8y agoReally interesting point. Body gets all charged up and then needs to work to eliminate byproducts through slow manual processes instead of them being excreted through exercise. That would make a lot of sense.
- baccheion 8y agoChronic stress is problematic. The body regularly experience spikes in stress. Stress tends to increase cortisol, which results in precursor (progesterone/pregnenolone) depletion. Progesterone/pregnenolone also become DHEA, testosterone, etc. If the body doesn't have enough raw material to produce needed hormones, many issues can accumulate. Cortisol tends to slow thyroid function, lead to increased estrogens, and put the body in a state of degeneration. Brief states of degeneration and halting of healing/renewal processes are fine, as it's necessary to produce flight/flight energy. On the other hand, the body isn't able to heal/build if sustained.
- Tharkun 8y agoIs this why some folks with stress and anxiety report feeling better when taking coenzyme q10 (coq10) supplements? It allegedly improves mitochondrial function...