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Fatigue Puzzle Solved Piece By Piece

by Svetlana Kogan, M.D.
n the previous issue of the magazine we 2,774 patients have demonstrated a significant benefit of
I intercessory prayer and many spiritual distance healing practices on
marveled at the fact that we are over
physical and emotional recovery.
70% water and learned how music, voice,
and even thoughts affect our physiology When I started studying biology at Cornell University in
and health, both physically and emotionally. 1989, project Genome has just gotten underway, and we believed
One of the mechanisms underlying this that genes could explain everything about a person. Time went
connection was described as the change in by and 23,000 genes were identified as essential in coding for the
water structure. To counteract deleterious human proteins. You will be happy to know that only 29% of those
effects on your cellular water, I recommended coincide with the genes of chimpanzees – not the whooping 99% as
avoiding emotional vampires. Instead, I we thought previously. Since we are mostly protein and water – it
advised surrounding yourself with like- became increasingly interesting to scientists just how these genes
minded people. An illustrative example of this would be something were turned on or off. This is how the science of epigenetics was
like belonging to a faith-based community, which by the way born. It dealt with the effects of the external environment on your
adds 4-14 years of life expectancy, as evidenced by the Blue Zones genetic expression.
research. Another incredible energy booster is to love and be Scientists looked at identical twins, which had identical
loved. This can be materialized in so many ways: for example, you DNA for those 23,000 above mentioned protein-coding genes.
can try investing time into raising the grandchildren, or you can Specifically, the scientists were interested in those identical twins
start fostering close friendships in the senior living community that were separated at birth and reared apart in very different
you are a part of. On the flip side of this rewarding scenario - lack environments. Guess what? About 60% of the time only one of the
of social involvement leads to depression and fatigue. In fact, identical twins –and not the identical sibling - developed genetic
research shows that widowed single men have the highest rate of diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Dementia and Multiple
suicide in people over 50 years of age. Loneliness indeed breeds sclerosis, to mention a few. These dramatically different health
emptiness, low energy and lack of interest in life. outcomes in identical twins, suggested that we are not slaves to our
What else is at play when we are trying to naturally boost our genetic destiny and that our environment has a very important effect
energy levels, without drugs or medications? When you live in the on how the genes are expressed (get turned on or off).
community or a condominium, stick with the folks who espouse This, by the way, makes a lot of frivolous commercially available
healthy behaviors, like engaging in sports, arts, or hobbies. By genetic tests which are being sold to you on TV and internet –
the same token, try to steer away from people who smoke, eat totally obsolete because most of the outcomes are dictated by what
junk food, and get angry and needy - these negative behaviors are you are eating, how stressed out you are, your exposure to pollution,
contagious, as we have learned from research. There are specialized and what kind of social relationships you have built around you.
nerve cells in our brain called “mirror neurons”. These neurons Thus you are the only one who truly possesses the key to the future
make us emulate people whom we are exposed to in our daily lives. of your health.
This is why hanging out with benevolent and engaging people A good clinician will approach fatigue by examining the
boosts your energy and vice versa. Similar perspective on life different layers of his or her patient’s human experience. What
energy optimization is also supported by quantum physics model kind of trauma does the patient’s past hold? How is current stress
which states that coherent energies amplify each other, while burden being handled? What aspects of the patient’s lifestyle are
opposing energies cancel each other out. It becomes clear then, compromising his or her efforts to feel well rested? These and
why surrounding yourself with people of different moral standards, many more questions should be pondered when assessing someone’s
or those who aggressively decimate the values which are dear to fatigue holistically. The answers will be revealed in due time and the
you - renders you fatigued and cheated of your own energy. real solutions will take some perseverance to implement. But the
Research has abundant evidence for how your health improves ultimate goal of balanced life energy is well worth the effort.
when a group of people is wishing you well from the bottom of Dr. Kogan is a Concierge Holistic Internal Medicine doctor in Naples.
their hearts. To date, a total of 90 trials involving Her website is CustomLongevity.com

32 Life in Naples | April 2022