Centralized medicine has no answer to the chronic disease epidemic. Obesity, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, heart disease, cancer, these are the main global killers.
Believe it or not, I have the answer.
If you don’t believe me, I totally understand. I’m going to make a detailed case here as to how we can solve a large portion of chronic disease problem, especially in relation to obesity and diabetes.
The POMC Gene
It’s not easy to piece all this together. Take this article seriously and learn from it because it comes at the hand of my obsessive tendency. Once you understand this, your perspective on health changes forever.
“What’s this POMC gene you’re referring to?”
We’re talking about a protein known as proopiomelanocortin (POMC). It originates from the POMC gene which is located on chromosome 2 in human beings.
This pathway in us is, in my opinion, the root cause of most chronic disease cases.
It explains most of the dysfunction we see as a result of modern living.
What’s special about this gene and the subsequent protein it creates is its ancient origin, conserved over the course of hundreds of millions of years by Mother Nature.
She has crafted this gene to perfection and embedded this gene and protein within biological systems since about 650+ million years ago.
Expect nothing less of her.
If you’ve ever wondered why I hammer the context of evolutionary biology, this is one major reason.
POMC Peptides
Now, this is where the real magic happens.
POMC itself is cut (cleaved) into multiple peptide hormones that have an enormous influence on health. These peptides bind to one of several proteins in different regions of the body. This binding triggers signaling pathways that control many important metabolic functions.
You’ll see how important this is shortly.
Here’s the juicy part:
POMC is fundamentally married to circadian biology which means that light is everything here. It’s the first and strongest quantum biological input your body uses to stimulate proopiomelanocortin.
Understanding the difference between healing sunlight and toxic artificial light will come in handy within this POMC context.
The peptides are as follows:
Leptin
The first on the list is leptin, what most refer to as the satiety hormone.
When you get full from a meal, leptin is stimulated which signals to your brain that it’s time to stop eating. Ghrelin, on the other hand, is the hunger hormone.
Leptin is a peptide hormone found in fat cells that’s stimulated by POMC neurons which is mainly responsible for:
Appetite regulation
Energy expenditure
Fat storage
Leptin resistance has been referenced a lot recently. In conditions of obesity, this is where the brain becomes less responsive to leptin’s signals. As a result, dysregulation of POMC and other appetite-related pathways occur.
Just by being leptin resistant, you can easily become overweight and obese. With that comes a myriad of other metabolic dysfunction.
Alpha Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (α-MSH)
Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone is another peptide made from POMC responsible for creating melanin which is an absolute powerhouse for health.
Guess what else it regulates?
Appetite.
Additionally, it has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, influencing the immune system and entire system favorably.
Beta-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (β-MSH)
Beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone plays a huge role in weight regulation.
It helps maintain the balance between energy from food taken into the body and energy spent by the body. It’s also anti-inflammatory and contributes to complex regulatory pathways within the body.
Gamma-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (γ-MSH)
Gamma-melanocyte stimulating hormone seems to regulate sodium in the body and controls blood pressure. Appetite regulation, thermoregulation, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, there are a laundry list of benefits here.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
Adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulates the release of cortisol.
This hormone helps maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels, protects the body from stress, stops inflammation, and more. Keep this in mind as we discuss toxic artificial light and diabetes.
Corticotropin-Like Intermediate Peptide (CLIP)
Corticotropin-like intermediate peptide is an insulin secretagogue.
In other words, it stimulates the secretion of insulin from the pancreas which is important to keep in mind along with ACTH for metabolic syndrome.
Beta-Endorphin (β-endorphin)
Beta endorphin is a powerful opioid peptide.
I’ve covered before It’s largely responsible for why we’re biologically driven to be addicted to sunlight. You can read more about it below.
[Met]Enkephalin
Metenkefalin is another opioid peptide known as opioid growth factor (OGF).
It largely serves the same function as beta-endorphin for pain, mood enhancement, mental health. It’s also a cell growth inhibitor, making it a potential cancer treatment.
β-Lipotropin & γ-LPH
A peptide hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland. It’s a precursor to several other hormones, including beta-endorphin. Gamma lipotropin (γ-LPH) can influence the breakdown of fat in the body as well.
The Common POMC Peptide Thread
I want you to notice the overlap in every single one of these peptides that are cleaved from POMC:
Full body regulation of metabolism.
From this perspective, we can absolutely use light properly to facilitate incredible change within the context of obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease.
Just to illustrate a stark example (there are many of them). Our biology evolved with sunlight, the full light spectrum, to make the most of POMC.
What impact does artificial light have on this gene and its peptide derivatives?
Isolated blue light hijacks POMC, ACTH, and CLIP to raise insulin and blood sugar, independent of what you eat. Millions are setting themselves up for insulin resistance and diabetes because of the light around them.
That sounds insane to most, but it’s obvious when you learn about POMC and how grossly misaligned our light environment is today.
It’s also not crazy when you understand that all chronic disease stems from insulin resistance. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, all convert at this intersection of biology.
Isn’t Food More Important Than Light?
That’s what you might think, but it’s not true.
Food comes from light, so how can it trump the source of its existence?
Light is the most fundamental and powerful input to our biology, especially at the quantum level. Focus on light first before anything else.
If you deny this, you’re denying billions of years of evolutionary and quantum biology.
Think twice about what light you’re bathed in all day because circadian biology is the foundation of health. Health or disease is largely determined by the quality of your light environment.
Want practical takeaways?
Get AM sunlight.
Build a solar callus through progressive overload of sun, regardless of skin type.
Sunbathe routinely.
Build your melanin.
Watch sunrise and sunset.
Toss the sunglasses and sunscreen.
Block artificial light religiously here.
Conclusion
Considering all of the other content on light I’ve created, I think we have a comprehensive understanding of how to tackle obesity and diabetes from a holistic perspective.
Centralized medicine will always be lost with this work because it continues to worship a reductionist approach rather than a holistic one.
You cannot solve complex health problems by isolating conditions and trying to offer Big Pharma drugs with many side effects in an attempt to resolve them.
You must use the principles of Mother Nature.
Much love,
Zaid