If you hope to be diagnosed with bent neck syndrome (BNS), don’t plan on going to your physician to get the diagnosis. That’s because this concept just recently popped into my mind. Let me explain. My true skill is making empirical observations in the real world and connecting the dots when I perceive a pattern. Based on my observations, one of the most dramatic changes over the past 50 years has been the loss of people making eye contact with each other. That’s because just about everyone is looking down at their smartphone! When they do so, they tend to bend their neck in a way that approaches uncomfortable, as in the above picture. How did this come to be?
The Eyes Say it All
The ability to make eye contact has been embedded in the human genome since the dawn of mankind. By making eye contact, you can immediately tell whether someone is friend or foe, or perhaps a good candidate for mating! Humans communicate with their eyes in ways that go well beyond the spoken word. Our survival throughout the ages likely depended on our ability to make eye contact. If this ability is so critical, how the heck did it disappear from our everyday lives? The evidence that it’s gone is all around you. Everywhere you go, people are peering down at their smartphone. I’ve seen people walking and jogging while using a smartphone, and when I swim my daily laps in a local pool, folks keep their phone at the edge of the pool so they can periodically check it. To date I haven’t seen anyone swimming with a smartphone, but I suspect someday I will!
The Connection Between Smartphones and Health
It’s also interesting to note that smartphone usage tends to be correlated with obesity and metabolic problems like insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The incidence of these conditions has risen in tandem with smartphone use. I think I know why this is so. We now know that ultra-processed food can adversely affect brain function. Over time this can lead to a form of brain dysfunction that fits the pattern of a disease. I have termed this disorder Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. I developed this disease model by making empirical observations in my medical practice. At the beginning of the obesity epidemic (before we had smartphones), I decided to directly measure the body composition of every patient at every visit. The so-called “experts” wanted us to use body mass index (BMI), which is essentially a size measure, but it tells you nothing about the amount of fat in your body. I purchased FDA equipment that measures body composition, and over decades I measured the body composition of every patient at every visit. Over time I noticed a strange correlation between certain brain dysfunction symptoms and changes in body composition. The symptoms always seemed to lead the change in body composition, suggesting that when it comes to fat storage, the brain calls the shots!
Pay Attention to the Symptoms
I eventually recognized 22 brain dysfunction symptoms that seem to be associated with CARB syndrome. Many of these symptoms overlap with traditional psychiatric disorders, creating massive diagnostic and therapeutic confusion! As you read through these symptoms, it’s obvious that someone with CARB syndrome would easily be distracted with poor concentration and reduced overall brain function. Years ago, I noticed that in the patients I was treating who fit this pattern, they almost always lost their ability to make eye contact. If you aren’t making eye contact and you are easily distracted, what might you be doing? Looking down at your smartphone! Recent studies have supported my perspective. For example, smartphone use has been associated with both obesity and insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes. It has also been associated with mental health problems and neck pain.
How to Fix Your Brain
Don’t get me wrong. A reasonable amount of smartphone use is not a major health risk. Like everyone else on the planet, I use my smartphone just about every day, but I’m not glued to the screen wherever I go. If you seem to fit the pattern of CARB syndrome, what should you do? Telling you to quit using your smartphone so much will have no effect if your brain is in the toilet. You first need to get your brain back. The only way to do that is to effectively treat your underlying CARB syndrome by following these steps:
- First take a neurotransmitter precursor supplement like CARB-22 to suppress the symptoms of CARB syndrome.
- Eat a healthy, whole foods diet and avoid sugar and ultra-processed food. I personally like the Zone Diet developed by my friend Dr. Barry Sears. I also like the products he sells on his website.
- Exercise on a regular basis to include both aerobic exercise and strength training. I would aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. And don’t let age hold you back. My good friend Andy Steinfeldt is still setting athletic records in his mid-70s!
If you follow this plan, your natural ability to make frequent eye contact will be restored, and your smartphone use will return to a level consistent with good mental and physical health. Your neck will thank you for it!
