HEALTHY LIVING The Fundamental Things Apply, as Rabbits Go By

The Fundamental Things Apply, as Rabbits Go By

Written by Brian W. Donnelly, MD – AHN Pediatrics Wexford

In “The Rabbit Effect : Live Longer, Happier, and

Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Happiness,” Dr. Kelli Harding takes us along on her path of discovering the keys to better health. Following her rabbit meant exploring the interactions between mental and physical health.

In New Zealand, a group of white male rabbits was fed a high fat diet. It had been established that these rabbits developed heart disease much like humans if they were fed the lagomorphic equivalent of ‘junk’ food. After several months, all the rabbits had the expected elevations in cholesterol, blood pressure and heart rate. But, surprisingly, one subgroup did NOT have the pathologic changes in their blood vessels that the other bunnies had. The researchers scoured the testing model for a plausible explanation. What they discovered was that the rabbits whose blood vessels had not changed for the worse were taken care of during the study by someone who petted them, who talked to them, and who nurtured them. The investigators had not controlled for the ‘tender loving care’ factor.

This unexpected finding intrigued the author and ultimately affected the direction of her career. In varied clinical settings during her training, she was compelled to wonder why some patients did much better than others in almost identical circumstances. She looked for other evidence of how that TLC could impact health.

Her search led her to the work of Dr. Hans Selye. Dr. Selye was an endocrinologist who studied the effects of stress on rats. He described the General Adaptation Syndrome, which was experienced by all of the subjects in his stress experiments. The alarm stage is first, where the body identifies a stimulus as stressful. The body activates the adrenergic or “fight or flight” hormones and the brain’s vigilance is heightened. Ordinarily, the stress would be short-lived, and the body could relax afterward. But with prolonged stress, the Resistance stage follows, where the body stays activated at a higher than normal level. Unrelenting stress causes distress, which causes triggers internal harm. Because the body cannot maintain this state indefinitely, the final stage is Exhaustion. Distressed humans seem to follow the same pattern. For us, the observable results of this last stage include heart disease, diabetes mellitus, digestive ailments, asthma, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. Another scientific finding that emerged to help explain the TLC effect involved telomeres. Telomeres are repetitive nucleotide sequences at the ends of our chromosomes. They can be thought of as protective caps at each end of our DNA strands. They are known to get shorter with age. In studies of twins, the one with the shorter telomeres was three times less likely to outlive the other. Briefly, the shorter the telomeres get, the shorter your life gets. Optimizing diet and exercise can reduce the rate of telomere shortening. The ingestion of anti-oxidants can also slow the process. Conversely, cigarette smoking and obesity have both been shown to increase the rate of telomere shortening. Exposure to certain pollutants and high levels of stress are also potent telomere shorteners.

Epigenetics is the another biological phenomenon that helps had a history of significant childhood trauma. For these patients, the explain the cellular consequences of the mind-body interactions. It previous emotional damage was unrecognized as a factor in their can be defined as the study of changes in organisms brought about current health struggles. This led to the development of the ACE by modification of gene expression, rather than by alteration of the (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Study. The ACE study identified a genetic code in the form of DNA. A simple example involves the boy clear dose-related response, meaning that the greater the severity with the genetic capacity to be tall, but suffers malnourishment and of childhood trauma, the greater the likelihood of chronic diseases in chronic illness during his childhood, so ends up much shorter than adulthood. Chronic stress can bring on chronic inflammation, which expected. The best known mechanism of an epigenetic change is complicates and shortens our life. DNA methylation, where a methyl group binds to a base on a portion of DNA, which subsequently renders that region less active. Another common example is histone modifiRegular exercise is important. Minimizing the cation. Histones act as spools around which distress that life can bring is also very important the DNA winds. If a histone is chemically modified, the DNA expression can change. for the mind- body connection. Find happiness. Early life stress has been associated with epigenetic changes, which can impact the It is not always tied to more money. person’s daily functioning. Similarly, anxiety and depression have been linked with Finding a sense of purpose is the key. similar epigenetic alterations. The example given is the Great Canadian Ice Storm of 1998. This storm killed 35 people, stranded thousands of people and Armed with this knowledge, and inspired by the rabbits, Dr. deprived millions of people of electricity for up to 6 weeks. After- Harding looked for ways to pre-empt these challenges. Part of wards, some researchers approached women who happened to be the approach was seeing all patients as equally deserving of love, pregnant during the time of this calamitous stressor. They measured regardless of their circumstances. She decries the innate bias that biological markers of stress on the women, then followed their might affect how doctors would diagnose and treat those with a babies up until age 13. They found that the ice storm babies whose different cultural background. She stresses that there may be hidden mothers suffered high levels of stress had more health, behavioral factors in the interaction of patients’ physical and mental health. and language problems compared to their age-matched peers. This Her approach re-examines the definition of health. The World Health and other studies suggest that the effects of emotional trauma can Organization defines health as “the state of complete physical, be passed down through future generations. (This is important for all mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease of us to realize while we battle through the societal lockdowns caused or infirmity.” Another, more functional, definition (as proposed by the by our current COVID paranoia syndrome.) National Institutes for Health) is that health is a state that allows the

At the same time, Dr. Harding was learning more about how individual to adequately cope with all demands of daily life (implying some patients did better than anticipated. She cites Dr. George Engel, the absence of disease and impairment). So, how do we get there? who proposed that the biomedical model of insufficient to explain Good nutrition is important. Remember the rabbits. Eat more of human illness. He proposed a biopsychosocial model, with layers of the foods that they do. And consider eating less. Regular exercise complexity. The model starts with the molecules that comprise the is important. Minimizing the distress that life can bring is also very cells, then moves to tissues, then organ systems, then the whole important for the mind- body connection. Find happiness. It is not alperson. Enveloping the person is the family, then the community, then ways tied to more money. Finding a sense of purpose is the key. Dethe culture. Continuing outside, we find the nation/state, and then the velop and strengthen social ties. Connect with other people. Studies biosphere. With this wider perspective, we can see that many other show that social support helps patients heal faster. And that workers processes can affect our overall health. who are supported in their workplace are significantly healthier. Get

Traumatizing life events can act to poison our health over time. to green spaces more. Studies show that regular exposure to trees, In the 1980’s, Dr. Vincent Felitti was working with obese patients. grass, and bodies of water reduces levels of cortisol, lowers blood He was frustrated by the failure of many patients to keep weight pressure, and boosts immune function. (It’s like my mother used to off. Somewhat by accident, he discovered that most of the patients say : Go outside and play.) It turns out that nature nurtures us.

The executive summary here is that happiness increases health.

Dr. Harding’s findings here resonate with those of Stephen Pinker. In his book “The Better Angels of Our Nature : Why Violence has Declined,” he chronicles the long rise and recent fall of violence in human society over recorded history. He identifies the major factors that have influenced the eventual lessening of violence throughout the world. In most places, nation-states have monopolized the use of force. So people who commit violence are more likely to be incarcerated, which lessens their threat to society but also diminishes the factor of violent revenge by their victims. (Think how many fewer Hatfields and McCoys there are now than there might have been.) Thomas Hobbes famously described man’s life in anarchy as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” His solution was the Leviathan, a powerful third party that had no stake in potential conflicts between citizens, other than fairness. The Leviathan would embody the will of the people and penalize the aggressors that had visited violence upon their victims. Of course, a corrupt Leviathan needs to be guarded against, but this model has served mankind reasonably well. Also important is the development of commerce, where other people are more valuable to you alive than they might have been before. Back in the day, life was cheap. Now, we live longer and in greater comfort, which makes it easier to have greater regard for others. Markers of our societal advances include lower occurrences of infanticide and of rape. Increased literacy and improved interpersonal communication are important factors that make it easier to eschew violence in resolving our conflicts. Effectively communicating our grievances helps us more easily appeal to what President Abraham Lincoln famously referred to as “the better angels of our nature” in seeking a peaceful resolution of our differences. Pinker’s historical perspective is valuable for public health purposes. He quotes Henry Maine’s idea that “war is as old as mankind; peace is a modern invention.” We just need to keep inventing it. Empathy is also an important aspect of the decreased violence over time. We live in an age of empathy. As Pinker puts it: “In every era, the way people raise their children is a window into their conception of human nature. When parents believed in children’s innate depravity, they beat them when they sneezed; when they believed in innate innocence, they banned the game of dodgeball.” Sophocles told us that kindness gives birth to kindness. It also begets better health.

So, keep reading. Read to your young children. If they are older, encourage them to keep reading. As Mark Twain said, a person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read. Maybe the appeal to their competitive urges will win the day.

Dr. Harding emphasizes the “ripple effect.” Take care of yourself first. Maintain your cells, and be at peace. Next, take care of your family. Nurture and be nurtured by whatever circle (or circles) of friends you have.

Then consider reaching out to support larger causes. As Mother Teresa instructed : “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

Demethylation happens, but love abides.

This year, it’s more important than ever to protect your entire family from the flu – especially your little ones. ~ It’s not too late to get your child’s flu shot! Call our office now to book your appointment. ~ Learn more about the flu at AHN.org/flu-shot.