Peter

I made up the word “allostasis” because I wanted to draw attention to the fact that “homeostasis” should be a dead concept. Some people think of allostasis as avoiding stress. OK. But “Allostasis” is actually a more accurate description about how the body functions.  Processes go up and they go down.  And they need to have some average level to remain healthy.  So, allostasis is basically the idea of predictive regulation. The brain and body predict what is going to happen and initiate biological mechanisms and behaviors to correct for the predicted condition. For example, when you feel chilly, you put on a sweater to save heat. IN most cases the body is not mal adapting. It is adapting the best it can. So, if you throw a wrench into the works then you are going to have trouble.  You can’t say the motor of a car is maladaptive when you throw a wrench into the works. You can’t put diesel fuel into a regular car engine. It wasn’t designed to run on diesel fuel.   It is the evolution of human design. We have to understand how we are designed.  And go along with this understanding.

Mark

I want to return to notion of physicians as educators. In this day and age of misinformation the role of physician as educator is critical. To turn to a simple topic. We know that oils (like olive oil) turn to liquid at room temperatures.  We know that trans-fats are bad. We’ve known this for many years.  However, the FDA only banned trans fats several years ago. They were very slow in responding. I went online to find evidence regarding trans fats.  You can flip a cis fat to a trans-fat simply by heating it. Just regular cooking. Just sautéing. I can find no evidence to tell me if I can cook olive oil at a certain temperature. At what temperature does a healthy trans-fat become an unhealthy fat? I can’t find any information in this regard.  Is it safe to cook with olive oil? Do you have to put it at low or low-medium heat before it switches to trans-fat? Before a healthy fat is transformed to an unhealthy fat? Information such as this is really required if we are going to give the mitochondrial engines the information about oils.

Walt

The Council for Medical Education has in their most recent requirements, requires some knowledge of allostasis.  As it comes to understanding allostatic modes.  I wonder Petere how this requirement relates to medical education and beyond.

Peter

Well, this is a dream come true.  I am now writing a biography and in it I write about the laboratory I was conducting for 40 years where I was conducting fine brain research. And I had this shadow job on the side where I was documenting the dynamics of allostasis. It was very much against the grain. And I took a lot of shit basically. So, I am pleased that it is finally making its way into mainstream medicine.  I think. There is a famous scientist, Max Bourn, who declared that science advances one funeral at a time.