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Bag of Chemicals

March 22nd, 2024

I used to believe I was autistic, and that those words were core to my identity.

Neurodivergence, INTJ, blah, blah, blah.

Now I read about the microbiome and its effects on the brain. I read about inflammatory markers and their effects on the brain.

I...

How much am I as I am? Are my feelings truly mine to own?

Microbiome

Basically the gist is this: our immune system can produce systemic biomarkers for inflammation. It can cause our bodies to be inflamed.

If our immune system is dysfunctional, we generate too many of these inflammation markers and it causes all sorts of chronic health diseases. Allergies, atopic dermititis, asthma, arthiritis, Chrons' Disease, etc.

Now, we are learning that our gut microbiome, the bacteria living inside our digestive tract, could be responsible for modulating the immune system, and that a weakly diverse gut microbiome could fail to moderate the immune system properly.

I hate to say this, but mothers spend much less time breastfeeding. During the first three years of life, it's crucial for babies to be inoculated with their mother's gut microbiome via breast milk, but this practice has gone away with time.

It explains why the rates of allergies keep increasing. Add in addition the western diet, which, is inherently inflammatory (I don't think that's a mystery: burgers and pizza.)

Of course, with everything and everything, I don't know the truth. I can only rely on probabilistic belief. I leave it to the reader to determine the probability of truthfulness, but I personally am willing to bet time and effort to fixing my gut microbiome.

Where's the Philosophy?

The trouble, is how scientists are connecting autism and the gut microbiome.

And I equate Autism with Personality. Personality: can it really be determined/influenced by inflammatory markers regulated by billions of bacteria in your gut?

Is autism the only personality trait influenced by systemic inflammation? I think of my mother during the spring and fall seasons. I think there's more. I think there's less. I don't know. Are we just bags of chemicals?

The Japanese samurai believed the spirit lived in the gut; that is why they commit hara-kiri by slicing their stomachs.

It made me think about how "inflamed" and "agitated" my own personality was as a teenager. When I started eating probiotics during the fall and avoided dairy, I noticed I matured rather recently. Emotionally. I became more steadfast, confident, and believed in myself.

I thought it was self-actualization. Could it have really just been the diet change I made?

Fast-forward to today, and I feel like my teenage self again. A bit agitated at times, with tension coarsing in my muscles. (I accidently ate a lot of dairy and "reset" my gut microbiome.) Definitely not relaxed.

I wonder if it's placebo. Or, if my very being is deterministic. How scary. Perhaps the free will is the I deciding to change my microbiome? Perhaps the microbiome regulates the brain, as the brain conscious regulates the microbiome.

How scary. I do not know what is real or free will anymore. Perhaps, the greater question, is what do I mean by any of the words I type?

Diet

Don't buy crappy microbiome products like probiotics if you do go down this path. Just buy vegetables, lacto-ferment some of them, and then eat them. It's that simple.

Also, chia seeds are a cheat way to get fiber. Same with psyllium husk. But don't skimp out on vegetables! Also, fruit is good too in moderation (it is loaded with sugar after all.)

I still eat meat. I'm not giving that up, but I eat less of it. It's got its pros and cons, and I respect them both.

Conclusions

The truth is, for any of what I'm suggesting here is: I don't know.