I'm back on the wagon, as they say, predictably with regard to alcohol abstention but in my case I'm forswearing food in general, just for a day or two. While we're on the subject though: yes, I've continued to bill myself as having given up alcohol, whereas in reality the "non-alcoholic" beers I permit myself, in moderation, weigh in at 0.5%, and therefore require proof of age at the checkout.
A primitive calculus goes on, to which kids can relate, regarding whether the alimentary canal is yet empty or not i.e. have recent meals all gone through, leaving an essentially empty gut, but for water or whatever liquids? That's what a typical fast is aiming for: a period wherein the body gets to run on empty, and therefore has to break into its fat supply.
Modern biology has learned a lot about our dual mode digestive cycle, the main one predicated on continuous glucose burning, the backup consisting of fat cell break down and a whole different set of chemical reaction pathways leading to the all important ATP molecule, the spark in our metabolic cycle, providing fast energy in quantities sufficient to power muscle.
Prompt:
what is the role of the chemical ATP in the neocortex? Is what we call "the thinking process" a big consumer of ATP?Chatbot (Perplexity):
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) plays a crucial role in the neocortex and the overall thinking process, serving as the primary energy currency for various neuronal functions. The thinking process is indeed a significant consumer of ATP, as the brain uses about 20% of the body's total energy despite constituting only 2% of its weight.
... followed by many more paragraphs of yada yada, such as:
Neurotransmitter synthesis and release: ATP provides the energy needed for the production and release of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine, which are crucial for cognitive functions such as mood regulation, attention, and memory.
Let's assume a body benefits from having its secondary digestive cycle started up from time to time. Use it or lose it, right? But then who in their right mind would willingly forgo nutrition? Well, many would of course. But so-called "cravings" or "temptations" were the business of religions to fight, to which end they could enlist the angels and devils, making one's heart the center of a cosmic drama. Lose weight before Judgement Day or else.
However in a secularized society, meaning potentially religion-free in many dimensions, the battle for better health must take other forms, with psychological archetypes perhaps replacing the supernatural. The ego still has its work as an heroic performer, all the more so given the preponderance of institutions planning to cash in on overusing the main glucose cycle. Insulin insensitivity sets in, according to many a compelling narrative.
The miraculous ability to store energy in the form of fat, for a rainy day, or even for a week of hunting, is there if we need it, but what defines "need"? A religion may provide sufficient impetus to a would-be disciple. What other frameworks might likewise serve, and prove sufficiently motivational? What do we mean by "a religion" exactly?
As noted elsewhere in these journals, I can see where the would-be disciple would feel divinely and/or supernaturally rewarded for righteous fasting, given what we know now about the underlying biology i.e. the switchover from glucose burning to ketosis.
