Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis (HPA) aka the Genius Within

The next chart , will help in explaining  realization of "awakening the genius within." Notice that I am not saying "invention" because he will be the first to tell you that he did not invent anything. It simply shows located in the center base of the human brain, in a simple artist rendition, the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, (the pineal is missing), surrounded by the hippocampus, the thalamus and the amygdala, which most health practitioners never mention, but are the most critical components of energy and health in our body.

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis (HPA) aka the Genius Within
But specifically within this group of organs, the hypothalamus is the king, the mother of the kitchen, the know-it-all. It monitors 24-7 all external and internal signals from our senses, nerves, even from all cells of our body all the way to the tip of your toes. And through constant biofeedback via the central nervous system , hormones, peptides and steroids, makes your heart pump, manages whether you can stand, whether you can talk, your body temperature, and the biochemistry of energy within every cell of your body.

The biochemistry of the brain instantly impacts the biochemistry of every cell in your body. It even directly influences the biochemistry of the mitochondria, remember the all important battery packs in the cells. You may ask, how does it do that? Well, it is very basic biochemistry achieved through releasing hormones for example, those messages that trigger responses from glands, muscles, organs, and ultimately it is the cells of those organs that respond to the triggers. And in the case of the transformation of food into energy at the Krebs cycle, which requires factors like magnesium, chlorophyll, co-enzymes, oxygen, and so forth, some of those raw materials are frequently stored in the liver. The liver is the greatest storage in our body. In this case, the brain messages will allow the raw materials required for energy to be released in the blood from the liver.

And there are many other molecules that are released upon stimulation from the brain. For example, insulin is created by specialized cells at the pancreas, when the brain commands it to, when the brain needs insulin, it'll send the message. Just know that is a constant activity in the body. It's moment by moment, and know that all glands are interdependent, even all organs are interdependent, and there activities are orchestrated and a partnership between the brain and the cells. You understand, so, many people view the body and treat the body at the organ, at the symptom level. In this way you'll take a pill, a supplement for the pancreas, or vitamin D, or COQ10, etc. And meanwhile, the understanding of the involvement of the brain is ignored. I'm not saying that there are times that we shouldn't be taking care of an urgent issue within the body, in a timely manner or fashion, but it's overly done.

So, it is factual that delivering nutrients to the brain is not easy, particularly when the brain is already deficient and tired. The brain is an area of the body that is much more difficult to reach nutritionally than other parts of the body like muscles and organs, including the heart. The brain is protected by what is popularly called "the blood brain barrier (BBB)", and I often refer to it as "homeland security". The BBB in essence is specialized cells that make up the arterial wall of the arteries that feed the brain. These smart cells will restrict toxins, poisons, improper volumes, or anything else that may jeopardize brain health. They won't even allow vitamins, minerals, or amino acids unless their required molecular co-factors are present.

No comments:

Post a Comment