Over the past century, mankind has, rather suddenly, moved into the age of information, where every Tom, Dick, and Harriet can access all the information in the world with the smartphone in their hand. We’ve moved from the age of memorization to the age of technology, where gathering information about any topic is a no-brainer. That’s well and good, but what happens if important information is absent from this sea of knowledge? You can’t know what isn’t known! Allow me to explain.
Despite all our technological advances, two areas seem to be going in the wrong direction: our current epidemics of obesity and common brain disorders like depression, autism, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder I and II, ADHD, and others. If we can send people to the moon and Voyager 1 and 2 rockets billions of miles into interstellar space, and carry all the information in the world in our smartphones, why can’t we fix these two common problems that are decimating the human population? I believe I have the answer. It’s because the experts and medical profession have missed a widespread brain disorder: Carbohydrate-Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome.
I stumbled across this common disorder over 30 years ago at the beginning of the obesity epidemic. Because obesity is defined as excess body fat, I ignored the experts who recommended we use BMI to diagnose obesity. BMI is a size measure that tells you nothing about fat, so I decided to purchase equipment to measure the body composition of every patient at every visit for decades. I also had a strong interest in neuroscience and belonged to Stephen Stahl’s Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI). Thus, I was very familiar with common brain dysfunction symptoms.
Over time, I noticed a strange correlation between various brain dysfunction symptoms and changes in body composition, and the symptoms always seem to precede these changes, suggesting that when it comes to fat storage, the brain calls the shots. That certainly is consistent with Mother Nature’s plan! These symptoms indicate low levels of monoamine neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and epinephrine in the brain. I also wondered what would happen if I found a way to suppress these symptoms. I knew that certain brain drugs can magnify the effects of these neurotransmitters, but you can’t magnify something that isn’t there. The only way to restore levels of these essential chemicals was to provide the amino acids the brain needs to make them—L-tryosine for dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, and 5-HTP for serotonin. It was clear to me that this fit the pattern of a disease that I named Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome.
At this time, I read about Richard and Judith Wurtman using the fen-phen (fenfluramine/phentermine) combination to treat obesity, and I knew these drugs enhance these neurotransmitters. I started prescribing these drugs along with a precursor supplement containing L-tyrosine and 5-HTP, and bingo—my patients’ brain dysfunction symptoms disappeared, and they began to lose excess body fat without any formal dieting. These key observations were the basis of my revolutionary CARB syndrome concept. There’s only one problem—unless you have interfaced with me, you won’t have access to this valuable information. I guess you could say you are carrying around a “dumbphone” rather than a “smartphone”! Hidden but valuable information leaves the world ignorant, where countless people suffer negative consequences.
My goal is to counter this ignorance, but I am only one person. I am writing a book titled “Brain Saver,” which outlines the CARB syndrome concept and teaches people how to diagnose and treat their CARB syndrome. If my idea makes sense to you, please consider joining me in spreading the word. I realize this is not an ideal solution, but it’s better than suffering the consequences of living in a world of ignorance. My goal is to give you back your smartphone!
