Because I haven’t personally evaluated or treated the Club Q killer Anderson Lee Aldrich, I can’t formally diagnose him with a medical condition. Because of the tragic nature of this incident, I do think some diagnostic speculation is in order. After viewing the above image of Mr. Aldrich, the nature of the malady that played a key role in this horrible incident became clear to me. I believe he has a form of food-induced brain dysfunction that I term Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome.
A New Disease Model
Follow my logic and see if you agree. I developed the CARB syndrome disease model over many decades of managing patients with combinations of complex metabolic and brain disorders. Over the past 50 or so years, the incidence of metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and obesity, and common brain disorders has dramatically increased in epidemic proportions. These brain disorders include the below conditions and perhaps others:
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders
- Dysthymia
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Impulse-control disorder
- Kleptomania
- Major depressive disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Oppositional defiant disorder
- Panic disorder
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Bipolar disorder II
This where things become somewhat convoluted. These conditions have been part of the lexicon of Psychiatry for hundreds or in some cases thousands of years, so they are clearly not new in our world. What’s new is how a diet of highly processed food can change a normal brain into one that generates the same symptoms of these traditional disorders, creating massive confusion in the medical and scientific worlds. The situation with bipolar disorder is instructive. Bipolar disorder is defined by manic psychosis alternating with severe depression. A person completely loses contact with reality, the definition of psychosis. This condition has been well described in virtually all ancient cultures. Over the past 50 years or so, we started to see a lot of folks with hypomanic and mood swings, without psychosis. The experts at DSM didn’t quite know what to do, so while sitting around a table and drinking coffee and eating donuts, they decided to call the classic condition bipolar disorder I, and this new condition was termed bipolar disorder II.
Connecting the Dots
I was able to connect all the dots decades ago when I first started exploring the metabolic-brain connections as our current obesity epidemic rapidly emerged. The experts wanted us to use Body Mass Index (BMI) to diagnose obesity. There’s only one problem with this approach. Obesity is defined as “excessive body fat”, and BMI tells you nothing about the amount of fat in your body, because it’s strictly a size measure. I purchased equipment to directly measure body composition, and over decades I measured my patient’s body fat at every visit, eventually accumulating over 10,000 such measurements.
I also had an interest in common brain disorders, and over time I noticed a curious correlation between changes in body composition and common brain dysfunction symptoms associated with the above conditions. It was also clear that changes in these symptoms seemed to occur first, followed several weeks later by slow changes in body composition. If the symptoms got worse, soon percent body fat would begin to increase. If the symptoms improved, within a few weeks percent body fat would start to drop.
The Eureka Movement
Over time I discovered that if I could somehow suppress these symptoms through various therapeutic measures, I could also improve the body composition of my patients without focusing on calories, dieting, or level of physical activity. It also became clear that consumption of highly processed food seemed to drive this pathology. This type of food is defined by the combination of excessive fructose mainly in the form of sucrose (sugar), excessive high glycemic carbohydrates like white flour or rice, and excessive omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils relative to omega-3 fatty acids.
It finally dawned on me that I was dealing with a form of food-induced brain dysfunction that fit the pattern of a disease. I decided to call this disease Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. It was also obvious that all cases of bipolar disorder II are CARB syndrome that is unrelated to true bipolar disorder. It was also clear to me that the medical and scientific communities had completely missed this common disorder, creating a massive public health disaster. Mr. Aldrich is just the latest chapter in this tragic and sad tale. How do I know that he likely has CARB syndrome? By simply looking at his picture.
Over decades I learned to suspect CARB syndrome by peering at an individual’s face, searching for these two elements:
- Excessive body fat based on the amount of obvious subcutaneous fat.
- The look of brain dysfunction.
The Gaze that Defines Brain Dysfunction
The “look of brain dysfunction” is a bit hard to describe. Over many years I learned to identify a certain gaze in people indicating altered brain function. This characteristic is hard to describe, but it’s relatively easy to identify with a trained eye. Mr. Aldrich clearly has this appearance in the above picture. Over many decades I also recognized that this “look of brain dysfunction” improved or disappeared with proper treatment. He also obviously has a lot of excessive body fat.
It appears that Mr. Alrich had a very troubled childhood, but this clearly doesn’t explain this violent episode. Anyone who would initiate such violent acts is either a complete psychopath or someone with really messed up brain function. I suspect that the latter is the case and Mr. Aldrich likely has severe CARB syndrome, leading to unpredictable and impulsive actions and behaviors. When you can’t see danger coming, it’s virtually impossible to protect yourself. Highly processed food strikes again, with extremely adverse consequences. The only way to prevent similar tragedies in the future is to accept the toxic nature of our modern diet, stimulating us to take the necessary steps to turn this dangerous ship around.
Please Join Me
It’s also critical for the medical profession to understand the pathology and clinical course of CARB syndrome. You can’t treat a disease that you don’t understand and can’t diagnose. I am doing my part to spread the word. My book “Brain Drain” teaches people to self-diagnose CARB syndrome and arrange for their own treatment. This is necessary because as of today, you can’t go to your healthcare provider and get diagnosed with this disorder. If you agree with me that this disease model seems to reflect the reality in your world, please join me in this important effort, because I believe our collective health and welfare is at stake. In conclusion, please eat healthy and stay well. Your brain will thank you for your efforts!
