EDITOR’S NOTE
This is a special edition of the newsletter, more specifically a shameless plug for my new book which will soon be printed. Below you have excerpts from the Introduction section. For now you may get it from the “book” folder in digital form. It comes out in book format this summer. In practical terms it deals with how we process energy in the gut, which is the basis of health. In a more intellectual way it deals with the concept that everything in the Universe is about Light, or Energy and Information. It delves into Physics, Anthropology, Myth and many other areas of human knowledge. In short, it is an integrative work. Hugo Rodier, MD
“About Light and Health
As science gets more involved in minutiae and scientists receive more praise and funding for over-intellectualizing said minutiae, we lose track of the “big picture.” As much as we need the work of “splitters,” we also need the vision of “lumpers.”
Most medical treatments make sense based on research of specific molecular pathways, so why do unexpected consequences occur after years of treatment? More simply, does the treatment that addresses a specific disease-related component harm the individual as a whole? [1]
We need integrative thinkers, or generalists, to keep science’s narrative cohesive, grounded and simple enough to be practical and easy for people of average intelligence to grasp. Otherwise, science becomes elitist and detached from the very public is it meant to serve. Concerns about this problem are fueling an:
Ongoing public process of negotiating and renegotiating the meaning of science. It argues for a broader view of science (and science education), one that has the potential to make of science shared human stories of exploration and growth … in which all human beings are involved and take pride. [2]
Logic may inform the reader (There are more than 2,100 references in this book.) but it is herein balanced by dreams and visions, and by that which only one’s heart and intuition may understand. This approach risks losing some readers defend the present unhealthy paradigm of health care by rejecting as “speculative” the new scientific findings of physics and biology herein contained as the ranting of a dreamer and visionary. This book is an integrative story based on cutting-edge knowledge that ultimately validates the simple wisdom available to us all since the dawn of mankind.
Back to the Future
Our ancient ancestors had a basic understanding of Reality and the Universe in general, and health, disease and nutrition in particular. In our modern arrogance we may dismiss their insights; however, close inspection of the writings and symbols they left behind may agree with basic knowledge now corroborated by modern science. Early-adapting health care workers, from physicians to naturopaths are rediscovering these basic truths; they are applying these “new” ideas in their practices, thereby bringing significant and sustainable solutions to the health problems that afflict their patients.
The same awakening is happening in practically all fields of endeavor: from physics to social sciences to politics and economics. The avant-garde or “creative minorities” [3] in these disciplines are implementing exciting changes in the way they work, while resurrecting ancient intuition, mythology and legends. New discoveries support the wisdom that “there is nothing new under the Sun.” [4] Across the pond they say “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
Earliest myths and legends that have survived to be told in our modern days uniformly depict the whole Universe as made of the same material, “ether.” Despite different languages and cultures, we may now interpret their intuitive insights to mean that our whole Universe is nothing but Energy & Information, from now on denoted as E&I.
Even the most ancient of philosophies and religions seem to agree. Spiritual realms were, and still are seen as all-encompassing. The material world is nothing but a “coarser fabric” that is born from the unseen world of spirits. The Hermetic concept that “as above, so is below” made no distinction between different disciplines when societies were young.
Ancients felt that everything, including themselves and their deities were an integral part of the “fabric of reality.” They believed “they were one” with the whole spectrum of nature. As such, their world was intensely spiritual and physical at the same time. But, gradually, these profound insights, for economic, political and religious reasons, went underground, lost but to the most esoteric and mystical segments of practically all societies on Earth.
Solutions from Physics
A report by the National Institute of Health in 2001 [5] acknowledged that our health care system is broken, while recommending scientific tools from Physics to fix the multiple problems we see in the field. Complex Adaptive Systems, or the science that integrates all known disciplines was recommended by the NIH, which stated that we need to look at people as complete, whole organisms that are inextricable parts of a dynamic, living environment. Said environment is the food we eat, the water we drink, the toxins and chemicals we dump, the people and animals we connect with, and the Earth itself. [6]
Renowned physicist David Deutsch [7] anticipated this surging interest in the physics of E&I, and said that doctors would become better healers by applying the principles of Quantum Physics to their practices, the very principles that Deutsch and his colleagues have studied for over a century and the ancients have known about for millennia.
Unfortunately, doctors who delve into this “new medicine,” spurred by their mission to do their best for their patients are sometimes felt to be “deviants.” [8]
Food is Energy and Information
Of the many ways to put E&I principles into practice (Tai Chi, Yoga, acupuncture, etc.) none is more solidly researched and easily applied than the science of nutrition. Unfortunately, nutrition is still regarded as an “alternative” by the National Institute of Health. Why have physicians tended to ignore nutrition in their practices, while over-emphasizing a pharmaceutical approach? It would be very easy to blame doctors. Many people do. While physicians are likely part of the problem, we must look at less simplistic answers to this question.
First and foremost, a lack of understanding that food is nothing but harnessed solar E&I results in dismissing this discipline as a poor sister. Food is the very substance that makes up our body and makes it function through its metabolism. WithoutE&I from food our health cannot be maintained. As Hippocrates taught and Sir William Osler, the founder of modern Medicine, reiterated, “Food is the best medicine.” Every cell of our body, whether it is a brain cell, a heart cell or a hangnail cell requires E&I to carry out its function.
Why have these simple concepts been absent from our health care discourse? Why have we not integrated everything we know about our Universe to help people become as healthy as they want to be? The answer is politics/economics.
Light = Energy and Information
A better understanding of the underlying causes of all diseases is now possible thanks to work on cell communication. Our body is made up of 50 trillion cells; they must be able to communicate with one another in order for our body to function as a perfect symphony with one overriding goal: to bring E&I to each cell for it to do its job optimally. Cells use a network of cell messengers called the Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immune system. [9] Scientists used to think that these systems were separated from each other, another illusion that reflects a wider and reductionist world-view.
The messengers associated with each of these systems, hormones, neurotransmitters, enzymes, inflammation signals, etc. are simply messengers of cell communication shared by all cells, without any clear division between the components of the network. For example, insulin and thyroid hormones have a significant effect on neurons, or cells associated with neurological function. Conversely, neurotransmitters like adrenaline and serotonin have hormonal-like actions.
All cells in our body, just like the whole Universe and everything therein, require E&I to be structured and function properly:
An understanding of metabolic pathways based solely on biochemistry textbooks would underestimate the pervasive role of metabolism in essentially every aspect of biology. It is evident from recent work that many human diseases involve abnormal metabolic states-often genetically programmed-that perturb normal physiology and lead to severe tissue dysfunction. Understanding these metabolic outliers is now a crucial frontier in disease-oriented research. This Review discusses the broad impact of metabolism in cellular function and how modern concepts of metabolism can inform our understanding of common diseases like cancer and also considers the prospects of developing new metabolic approaches to disease treatment. [10]
All matter, all organisms, all atoms and all stars depend on E&I. Their whole economies revolve around their management of E&I. The economy of E&I in cells is called Metabolomics. [11]
One of the greatest breakthroughs in Medicine is the understanding that practically all diseases are metabolic diseases. The very modern scourge of our society, “diabesity” is the result of our cells’ metabolism being dysfunctional. Hence the namemetabolic syndrome, which includes related diseases like heart disease, high cholesterol, elevated uric acid, hypercoagulation, in addition to diabetes and obesity.
It is the same with organizations, industries, groups of people, and entire societies. They all obey the principles of Thermodynamics; E&I and its communication are the founding principles in the entire Universe. Why would organic life in general, and humans in particular obey different principles? Energy and information are the foundations of human health. We simply forgot what our forefathers had always known.
The Ancients
The ancients understood E&I principles all too well. Mythology, legends, allegories, and even Holy Scriptures in every religious tradition show an awareness of E&I. The Egyptian God Thoth, (aka Enoch, Hermes, and Mercury) is oftenrepresented by a man with the head of an Ibis holding in his hand the Ankh, the Egyptian symbols of Creative Destruction, or E&I flux in the Universe. Thoth, the God of “Light of the Sun” in Mesopotamia, the God of Communication and Balance is paying homage to the fact that life is fueled by E&I, which also greases the wheels of renovation or re-creation in all living organisms and the entire Universe.”
Have a great summer reading my book!
[1] “The Conflict Between Complex Systems and Reductionism,”
J. of the American Medical Association 2008;300(13):1580
[2] NPR.com. Accessed April 6th 2010
[3] “A Study of History,” Arnold Toynbee; Oxford Press, 1946
[5] “Crossing the Quality Chasm,” National Institute of Health, 2001
[6] “Connections,” J. Science 2009;325:405
[7] “The Fabric of Reality,” David Deutsch; Penguin Books, 1997
[8] “Using Complexity Theory to Build Interventions that Improve Health Care Delivery in Primary Care,”
J. General Internal Medicine 2006;21:s30
[9] J. Immunology Today 1994;15:504
[10] “Cellular Metabolism and Disease: What Do Metabolic Outliers Teach Us? J. Cell 2012;148:1132
[11] “Nutrigenomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics, and the Practice of Dietetics,”
J. American Dietetic Association 2006;25:1109
