Category Archives: Integrative Medicine

Zinc is an essential mineral for your health. It plays a role in:

Of all the trace minerals, only iron is found in higher concentrations in the body.

Yet even though zinc is important for your health, you can still get too much of it.

"The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for zinc, meaning the highest recommended daily amount, is 40 mg per day," says Dr. Jeffrey Gladd, an integrative medicine physician and chief medical officer at Fullscript.

Read on to learn the signs of a zinc overdose, how to get treatment, and what you can do to get the recommended daily amount of zinc.

A zinc overdose can involve different symptoms, depending on whether it's acute or chronic.

An acute overdose means you ingest a large amount of zinc in a short period of time.

Symptoms of an acute overdose usually won't appear until you ingest one to two grams of zinc, and Gladd says you don't need to worry about getting too much zinc from your diet.

A zinc overdose typically happens as a result of:

Symptoms of acute zinc overdose might include:

A zinc overdose can be life threatening. If you suspect you may have consumed too much zinc and have symptoms of an overdose, you'll want to contact 911 or a poison control center for emergency medical support, Gladd says.

The treatment for oral zinc overdose may include:

A chronic overdose means you've regularly consumed too much zinc over a longer period of time.

Chronic zinc overdose can occur when you ingest anywhere from 150-450 milligrams (mg) of zinc per day.

This generally happens as a result of taking too many zinc supplements, but using large amounts of zinc-containing denture creams can also expose you to excess zinc.

The symptoms of chronic excess zinc can affect your whole body and may include:

If you've taken more than the daily recommended amount of zinc for more than a few days and notice any of the above signs and symptoms, you should stop taking any supplemental zinc and check in with your doctor. Depending on how much zinc you've taken, and for how long, they may recommend treatment.

If you eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of zinc-containing foods, you likely don't need to supplement with extra zinc, Gladd says. This means, of course, you won't run the risk of getting too much zinc.

Foods that contain plenty of zinc include:

However, certain groups of people are more likely to have a zinc deficiency, including:

"If you're concerned about zinc levels, the best option is to get a zinc blood test. They are relatively inexpensive and allow you to get quick, accurate results," says Daniel Powers, herbal medicine expert and founder of the Botanical Institute.

Keep in mind it's always important to ask a healthcare professional before taking any supplement especially zinc, which you can easily overconsume.

The FDA doesn't regulate supplements, so it's important to check with your doctor if you're unsure about how much of any supplement to take. Opting for supplements that have undergone third-party testing can also help you ensure you get the supplement you want, in the advertised amount.

If you choose to supplement, keep in mind that experts recommend consuming no more than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of zinc:

Zinc requirements for children and teens range from 2 mg to 11 mg per day, depending on age. If you think your child may not get enough zinc from their diet, it's best to ask your pediatrician about the correct dose.

Although you need zinc to maintain good health, you can take too much and excess zinc can have serious health consequences. If you've taken more than the daily recommended dose of zinc, you should get medical attention right away.

In most cases, a varied diet will provide enough zinc, and many people don't need to supplement. However, if you eat a limited diet, are pregnant or lactating, or have a health condition that affects zinc absorption, you may have a higher risk of zinc deficiency.

Your doctor or another healthcare professional can offer more guidance on how much zinc you should take for optimal health.

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Zinc side effects: Signs of overdose and how to treat it - Insider

A rare genetic mutation may help explain why some families are more susceptible to diabetes and kidney failure, according to a new study led by University of Utah health scientists. They say the discovery, made within several generations of the same family, could eventually lead to better treatments for these conditions among a range of patients, whether they have inherited the mutation or not.

In the past, we have seen sporadic cases here and there, but this is the first family to demonstrate that this mutation may be inherited. Marcus Pezolesi, PhD, MPH, corresponding author of the study and U of U Health associate professor of internal medicine in the department of nephrology, says. What is exciting is that treatments are being developed that can improve this condition not only within this family but in the vast spectrum of patients with diabetes at risk of kidney disease.

The study, conducted in collaboration with the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, appears in NPJ Genomic Medicine,

Scientists have long known that people who are overweight or obese produce less adiponectin, a hormone that promotes insulin sensitivity, inhibits cell death, and reduces inflammation. As a result, these individuals have a higher risk of developing insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, and other life-threatening conditions.

To determine whether there may be a genetic cause for diabetic kidney disease, Pezolsi and his colleagues analyzed DNA samples from 14 members of a family collected at the Joslin Diabetes Center. In all, six family members over three generations had diabetes and end-stage kidney disease.

Digging deeper, the researchers used whole-genome sequencing to isolate a defect in a gene called ADIPOQ, which encodes the adiponectin protein. The mutation shortens the gene, disrupting its ability to produce the hormone, which breaks down ceramides, a fatty substance similar to cholesterol. As a result, people with the mutation have higher levels of ceramides. Previous studies suggest that ceramides are a driving force behind the onset of type 2 diabetes and may contribute to diabetic kidney disease.

In laboratory studies of human embryonic kidney cells, researchers found that just one copy of this mutation was able to reduce adiponectin production. Researchers determined that this mutation occurs in about one out of every 57,000 people.

Overall, carriers of the genetic mutation had approximately 85% less adiponectin and 30% higher levels of ceramides circulating in their blood relative to non-carriers within the same family, who were used as a control group.

Whats most exciting to me is that this discovery allows us to confirm decades of research in animals, says William Holland, PhD, study co-corresponding author and U Health Associate Professor of Nutrition and Integrative Medicine. physiology. The biological effects of adiponectin in regulating insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and ceramide levels are well established in rats, and the present study demonstrates that loss of adiponectin impairs metabolic health in humans.

Although the study was conducted in the same family, Holland says, its findings could have broad implications for the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions in many people. We can use these findings as a starting point for the development of personalized drugs that mimic the beneficial effects of adiponectin and reduce the risk of diabetes and kidney disease, he says.

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image:Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD, Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai view more

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A new study of genes underlying neurodevelopmental differences has uncovered more than 70 that are very strongly associated with autism and more than 250 with strong links to the condition. The analysis is the largest of its kind to date and includes more than 150,000 participants, 20,000 of whom have been diagnosed with autism.

The results offer the most comprehensive look yet at diverse forms of genetic variation in autism and in more broadly defined neurodevelopmental conditions. The insights shed light on the molecular roots of brain development and neurodiversity, and provide new avenues for future research on the biology of autism.

The findings result from a collaboration involving scientists and datasets from the Autism Sequencing Consortium, the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research initiative, the Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, the Population-Based Autism Genetics and Environmental Study, and the Center for Common Disease Genomics at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. The work is the culmination of an investment several years ago by these consortia to conduct large-scale genetic analysis for neurodevelopmental conditions and share these datasets on autism.

The new work appears in Nature Genetics, alongside three related studies that use some of the same data to advance the understanding of the genetic basis of autism.

We know that many genes, when mutated, contribute to autism and in this unprecedented study, we were able to bring together multiple types of mutations in a wide array of samples to get a much richer sense of the genes and genetic architecture involved in autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. This is significant in that we now have more insights as to the biology of the brain changes that underlie autism and more potential targets for treatment, said co-senior author Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD, Director of theSeaver Autism Center for Research and Treatmentat Mount Sinai, and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Genetics and Genomic Sciences, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

In an analysis led by co-first author Minshi Peng, then a graduate student in the lab of co-senior author Kathryn Roeder, PhD, a professor of statistics and life sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, the scientists examined the expression, or activity levels, of the genes they uncovered in developing human neurons. They learned that genes linked predominantly to developmental delay tend to be active in early neuronal development, whereas autism-related genes tend to play a role in more mature neurons. Furthermore, in an analysis of more than 20,000 samples from individuals with schizophrenia, the researchers found that genes that are strongly associated with autism were also more likely to be associated with genes that increase risk for schizophrenia.

These analyses indicatethat there are shared genetic risk factors between autism and other neurological and psychiatric disorders, Dr. Buxbaum said.

Our discoveries were enabled not only by very large-scale, rich data collections in autism research and population genetic studies, but also by newly developed analysis methods, allowing us to explore the genetic roots of neurodevelopmental variability in new ways. In addition to the massive gene discovery efforts in the field, we are beginning to make inroads into understanding where, when, and how these genes exert their effects during neurodevelopment, said co-senior author Michael Talkowski, PhD, institute member at the Broad and director of the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Based on the study findings, Dr. Buxbaum said a precision medicine approach to autism would benefit patients, as treatments that work for individuals carrying a mutation in one gene may not work in other individuals carrying a mutation in a different gene.

A critical takeaway is that autism has many genetic mutations driving it and thus genetic testing is warranted, not just for the benefit of families and individuals at risk for autism spectrum disorder, but also to drive development of therapeutics, said Dr. Buxbaum. The more we can advance therapeutics, based on the targets identified in these genetic findings, the more people we have the potential to help, which could have a significant impact in addressing autism and developmental delay worldwide.

Additional co-senior authors on the study include Mark Daly, PhD (Broad and Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital), Bernie Devlin, PhD (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine), and Stephan Sanders,PhD (University of California, San Francisco).Additional co-first authors include Harrison Brand, PhD, an assistant professor in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Jack Fu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Talkowski lab; and Kyle Satterstrom, a computational biologist in the Daly lab.

About Mount Sinai Health SystemThe Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, over 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment.

About Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount SinaiThe Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai conducts progressive research studies to enhance the diagnosis of autism and related disorders, discover the biological causes of those disorders, and develop and disseminate breakthrough treatments. With a vision to be the international leaders for precision medicine in autism and related disorders, the Center bridges the gap between new discoveries in basic science and enhanced care, while ensuring the community is aware of new and improved approaches to caring for people with autism. The Seaver Autism Center was founded through the generous support of the Beatrice and Samuel A. Seaver Foundation.

For more information, visitwww.seaverautismcenter.org, or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Autism Sequencing ConsortiumCo-founded by Dr. Buxbaum in 2010, the ASC was first funded by the Beatrice and Samuel A. Seaver Foundation and the Seaver Autism for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai and subsequently continuously funded by the National Institute of Mental Health for almost a decade. The groups research has gained additional support over the past decade from the Simons Foundation for Autism Research Initiative, the National Human Genome Research Institute, sand the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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'Rare coding variation provides insight into the genetic architecture and phenotypic context of autism

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Study of more than 150,000 people identifies - EurekAlert

Inflammation. You've no doubt come across this nutrition buzzword. And like a lot of folks, you may not fully understand what it means or why it's such a hot topic. So, before getting into the worst eating habits that cause inflammation and may speed up aging, let's get solid on what inflammation really is.

Whether you're stung by a bee or burn your hand on the stove, your body has an immune response that fends off toxins, pathogens, and infections, causing short-term inflammation in the process.

The dark side of inflammation is when it becomes chronic and simmers in the background, the swelling and heat never abating because your body keeps sending out inflammatory cells to fight even when there's no invader.

This type of long-term, low-grade inflammation can damage tissues and joints. "You may even notice that your skin ages faster when you're constantly inflamed as inflammation can break down collagen and elastin, which are responsible for keeping your skin looking young and supple," says Dr. Rene Armenta, a surgeon with Renew Bariatrics.

Months and years of chronic inflammation may initiate such inflammatory diseases as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to research published in Nature Medicine. These inflammatory diseases and disorders are associated with aging.

Eating foods with anti-inflammation properties is part of a two-prong approach to avoiding aging-associated diseases. The other is ditching the following worst types of eating habits that may trigger inflammation and accelerate aging.

This is an unhealthy habit you'll want to break to avoid chronic inflammation. "Fruits like berries and oranges and green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale provide the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants we need to help keep our immune systems healthy and strong, which is essential especially as you age," says medical review board member Amy Goodson, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and the author of The Sports Nutrition Playbook. "Only 1 in 10 people eat the recommended amounts, which means 90% of us can do a better job."6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

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The high temperatures needed to fry foods can create harmful compounds called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) that accumulate in the body as we age.

"Foods such as cooked red meat and refined carbohydrates like white bread contain AGEs," says Johna Burdeos, RD, owner of Dietitian Johna. "Consuming too much of these foods can result in cellular damage and inflammation, which can speed up the aging process and increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The inflammatory response in the skin is seen in visible signs of weakened skin elasticity, like wrinkles, puffiness, and acne."

RELATED:The 11 Worst Foods Damaging Your Skin, Say Dermatologists

Processed meats like cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, and junk foods like candy bars, cookies, sugary drinks, potato chips, ice cream, and fast foods are not the healthiest things to eat. Research suggests these ultra-processed foods, the hallmark of what's known as the Western Diet, can disrupt the delicate balance of healthy and unhealthy microbes in the gut or microbiome.

"When processed foods alter the bacteria that live in our gut, this triggers an altered immune response leading to chronic inflammation," says Kathryn Piper, RDN, LD, of The Age-Defying Dietitian. "Diabetes, heart disease, and dementia have been linked to chronic inflammation."

The remedy for an unhealthy microbiome is avoiding ultra-processed foods and making a habit of getting more dietary fiber, ideally 25 to 38 grams per day from foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and legumes, says Goodson.

"Very few people eat enough fiber, but if you want to age gracefully with positive gut health and a healthy cholesterol, fiber is the key," says Goodson. "Make your goal to get 4 to 6 grams of fiber at every meal and snack throughout the day."

Drinking any alcohol may increase inflammation in your body, and excessive alcohol intake definitely increases your risk of chronic low-grade inflammation among other health hazards, says Piper.

"If you drink, limit your consumption to the recommended less than 1 alcoholic beverage per day for women and less than 2 drinks per day for men," she says.

RELATED:The Lifestyle Habits That Slow Down Aging, From a 100-Year-old Neurologist

Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains, which means it shows up in bread, pizza crust, pasta, baked goods, and cereals. Although many people digest gluten without issue, people who are sensitive to gluten (a condition called nonceliac gluten sensitivity) experience a different type of immune response that causes an inflammatory effect, according to a 2020 study in Gastroenterology.

"If someone experiences gut issues, has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, or has had unexplained chronic symptoms that put them on the path to an autoimmune disease or another serious diagnosis, then going gluten-free will likely help," says Jenny Levine Finke, a Certified Integrative Nutrition Coach, and author of Dear Gluten, It's Not Me, It's You.

In a 2022 study published in Nutrition Reviews, researchers found that a gluten-free diet can "ameliorate" autoimmune-related symptoms in 64.7% of those with a nonceliac autoimmune disease. For clues to where you stand with gluten, ask your doctor or dietitian to know what's good for you as an individual.

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6 Worst Eating Habits Causing Inflammation and Aging You Faster - Eat This, Not That

Prof. Dr. Mattias Desmet explains his theory of mass formation as it relates to the COVID pandemic and responds to criticism

In an Epoch Health podcast, Dr. Ann Corson spoke with Prof. Dr. Mattias Desmet, the worlds leading expert on the theory of mass formation and its application on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Desmet discussed the degeneration of modern science and explained the effects this has had on society, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and how this had led to a global mass formation. He goes into great detail on what exactly causes mass formation and how people can resist the mass.

Prof. Dr. Desmet is a professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University in Belgium and a practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapist. His work is widely discussed in Forbes, The Joe Rogan Experience, Fox News, The New York Post among hundreds of other media outlets and his interviews have millions of views. His previous works include The Pursuit of Objectivity in Psychology and Lacans Logic of Subjectivity: A Walk on the Graph of Desire and over a hundred peer-reviewed academic papers. In 2018 he received the Evidence-Based Psychoanalytic Case Study Prize of the Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and in 2019 he received the Wim Trijsburg Prize of the Dutch Association of Psychotherapy. His latest book is the The Psychology of Totalitarianism, a psychological analysis that builds on the seminal The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt.

Dr. Corson has four decades of clinical practice. Her patient population includes people who are immunocompromised due to conditions such as Lyme disease and co-infections as well as mold-induced illness. She treats patients with an integrative approach and is known internationally for her success. Dr. Corson grew up in Southeastern Pennsylvania and obtained the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1982 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She has been board certified in Family Medicine and in Integrative Holistic Medicine. Today, she has a solo integrative practice in Philadelphia and cares deeply about medical ethics and humanity. In 2008, she joined the non-profit organization Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of DAFOHs e-newsletter.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many questionable methodologies used by the scientific community to justify their actions. However, in order for these actions to be taken in the first place, there needed to be a system in place to enable such things to happen. Dr. Desmet explained that science, once a form of truthful observation and thinking, devolved into a dogmatic ideology.

In the beginning, around the 17th century, science represented a discourse through which a minority went against an established discourse, namely established religion. In the beginning, science was a pragmatic form of truthful speaking, it was to listen to what nature had to say and observe the phenomena of nature, without being blinded or [deafened] because of the prejudices and the dogmas of the mainstream discourse, he said.

For us, slowly, this minority became the dominant, and the more it became the dominant discourse itself, the more dogmatic [it became]. It evolved from looking at the world in an open-minded way to an ideology or belief. Belief means prejudice, and people started to believe the universe was a machine, that nothing existed except material particles, that everything was logically deductible, he explained. Thats what science, the scientific ideology, represents.

When a certain theory, a certain view of the world, starts to become dominant, when the majority of the people start to believe in a certain discourse, that discourse becomes the privileged instrumentto manipulate society, to be successful, for instance, to win money, to have a grip on society and so on. And thats what happened with scientific discourse, he said. This resulted in this perverted state of science, especially in the medical sciences.

Dr. Desmet said that, for him, it all began in 2005, when it became clear that for instance, in the medical sciences, up to 85 percent of the papers cannot be reproduced, which is dramatic, of course. A separate research group, for example, would repeat the same analysis on the same data and find radically different results than the first research group.

It became clear that several factors played a role, such as massive errors in calculation and statistical analysis. Many scientists used [the] wrong methods to analyze data, [they used] sloppy, sloppy methods. And then also there was much more fraud than was ever before. So for all kinds of reasons, a lot of the academic research proved to be unreliable and without much value.

Dr. Desmet had done plenty of research in this regard and even wrote his PhD about this phenomenon. When addressing his colleagues and telling them about this phenomenon, most of [them] refused to see what I had when I tried to show them [they] even became angry with me.

I had the impression that the group dynamics and mass psychology were responsible for this blindness and for their radical incapability to see the absurdity of the research they were doing.

Science is however inherently flawed, Dr. Desmet claims. Scientists always had the ambition to validate the fact that only numerical or quantitative information is 100 percent accurate, so they began to separate things into one dimensional objects easy to quantify. So they want to measure everything and they forget that most objects in nature can never be measured adequately. Data measured in a scientific process can never tell the full story.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Desmet immediately saw that the way the dangerousness of the virus was measured was flawed.

I immediately had the impression that this research dramatically overrated the dangers, the dangers of the virus. Dr. Desmet said that people might be infected with COVID-19, but the deaths linked to COVID-19 were in fact mostly in those who already had serious comorbidities. There was plenty of data, showing that most people who were registered as corona victims actually suffered from three or four major other medical conditions.

They always make this measurement that confirms their own subjective preferences, meaning that in this case, all these global institutions such as the WEF, the WHO, the UN, all these institutions actually selected counting methods that confirmed the narrative that they wanted to distribute, namely, we are dealing with an extremely dangerous virus. Yet when Dr. Desmet published opinions and papers detailing the empirical evidence, it was clear that people didnt want to hear it.

So Dr. Desmet began focusing on the psychological processes in society and applied mass formation theory. But what is that exactly?

Mass formation has existed for as long as mankind exists, Desmet said. The Crusades, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and many more phenomena were an example of mass formation. It will exist as long as mankind exists, and there are very specific conditions that need to be met for it to take place, he explained.

The first condition is a sort of isolation, where people feel disconnected from their environment.

Weve seen throughout the last few centuries that the number of people feeling isolated, feeling lonely, and disconnected from their environment is constantly increasing, he said. And thats a consequence of the industrialization of mechanization. Its clear that loneliness almost perfectly correlated to the industrialization and mechanization of development and the use of technology, which might sound [paradoxical], but it isnt.

Dr. Desmet said feeling disconnected will then lead to a lack of meaning that bridges over to anxiety, depression, and frustration, because as human beings experience meaning, we see that we have an effect on the otherand if the connection with the other deteriorates or disappears then these spontaneous experiences will maybe not manifest anymore.

Once people feel disconnected and struggle with lack of meaning [they] may typically be confronted with anxiety, free-floating anxiety, frustration, and aggression people feel anxious or aggressive but dont know what theyre anxious, frustrated, or aggressive for.

And thats an extremely precarious mental state, because if youre anxious, and you dont know what youre anxious for, you just feel completely out of control. You cannot protect yourself from something that makes you anxious if you dont know what makes you anxious. So in this state, people areif under these conditions, someone distributes a narrative, preferably through the mass media, indicating an object of anxiety and at the same time a strategy to deal with the object of anxiety, then all this free-floating anxiety latches onto the object of anxiety and there might be a huge willingness to execute this strategy to deal with the object of anxiety, even if the strategy is absurd.

This strategy turns into a ritual, which doesnt have to be rational. They [the rituals] have a social function, a personal function, and an effective function, which is all they need.

Dr. Desmet says that mass formation is extreme collectivism. It destroys individuals ethical self awareness and robs them of their ability to think critically.

A mass is a kind of group that emerges not because individuals connect to each other; the mass is a group that emerges because each individual separately connects to the collective. Meaning that this famous, typical solidarity that exists in a mass is never a solidarity between individuals. Its a solidarity between all individuals, separately, and the collective. The longer the mass formation exists, the more all the love and all psychological energy is sucked away from the connections between the individuals who bond with other individuals, and is invested in bond between the individuals and the collective, meaning that in the end, people feel much more solidarity for the collective than for someone else.

That explains, of course, why in the corona crisis, so many people were talking about solidarity, but at the same time, they accepted that if someones parents were dying in a hospital[that the children] were not allowed to visit their father or their mother. As this phenomenon unfolds, it becomes a kind of hypnosis that leads people to commit atrocities, Desmet explained.

During the course of the pandemic crisis, some have pointed at the elite as the true enemy and cause of the crisis. Desmet disagrees.

From the French Revolution onwards, you can say, a new elite, which immediately understood that the new leaders, the politicians, were not really leaders anymore. They were followers because they had to be elected by the masses, they knew that they couldnt really lead the masses. They had to follow the masses. And thats where the leaders of society started to realize that they needed something else. They needed propaganda and indoctrination to constantly manipulate the masses, and to constantly try to steer them when they wanted to get them. Indoctrination and propaganda it the subject of Desmets next book, which he is currently working on.

The elite is certainly powerful, and propaganda is real, Desmet said, but that is not what we are truly facing.

The real enemy is a certain way of thinking, its a certain view of man and the world, the mechanistic, rationalist view of man and the world. Its this delusional belief that we can understand everything on a rational basis, that we can control everything rationally, and that we should manipulate everything rationally. Its precisely this worldview that leads to an elite that would try to control society, he added.

Its this mechanistic thinking that is the real enemy, that leads to the development of this new elite and at the same time, that brings the population in this specific psychological state, where it is so sensitive for manipulation, where it is so sensitive for indoctrination propaganda.

Hannah Arendt says totalitarianism is always a diabolic pact between the masses and the elite, and thats true. But its wrong to say that its all the fault and only the fault of the elite. If we would destroy the elite, the problem would not be solved. The same elite would be recreated again if the population continues to be in the grip of this rationalist, mechanist view of man and the world. Thats why it is wrong to analyze everything in terms of one large conspiracy and nothing else. If thats the analysis you start from, then the logical, strategical conclusion, the tactical conclusion will be that we need a violent revolution against the eliteand if we do that, we will destroy ourselves, he said. The elite is also something that is created by the population.

As Solzhentisyn said, the dividing line between good and evil doesnt run between people, it runs through every heart, he said.

So how do we resist the mass? Dr. Desmet says the most important principle is that we always have to continue to speak out. Thats the most important principle. So mass formation is kind of [like] hypnosis, its identical.

Usually dissonant voices wont succeed [in] waking up the masses. But that doesnt mean that the dissonant voice doesnt have an effect, it has an effect. It has the effect that the mass formation doesnt become deeper.

As a human being, I believe we have the ethical duty to always articulate the words that seem sincere and honest to us and that in this pool of darkness, tries to represent a little bit of light, and gets more and more in touch with the ethical principles of humanity, and tries to live up to these principles.

Those who do usually go through a fast process of evolution, they become stronger and stronger and stronger as human beings Thats the most profound reason, the ethical reason, why we have to choose to continue to speak out also from a tactical point of view, this will be the best choice we can make.

If you, this group who doesnt go along with the narrative, makes the right choice, you will start to see that this crisis was meant to be there. We need this crisis. Its a process in which a large organism, a dominant society, puts a large pressure on a small organismand pushes it on a path where it would not go wrong, if there was this large path who puts this pressure on, he said.

But if we choose to remain silent, or if we refuse to try to reinvent and rearticulate the ethical principles of humanity in this period, in these times, then the opposite will happen. The masses will probably first destroy the people who do not go along with them, and then they will start to destroy themselves, and in the end, it will be one pure, destructive process.

But its absolutely critical that we do so peacefully and reasonably. While [the mass] probably will show the tendency to dehumanize us, we should not react in the same way, because if we react in the same way we will destroy ourselves and everything will become meaningless, he said.

If we are convinced that that the elite is pure evil and the rest of us are merely victims, then, as I said, the only conclusion is violence.

Its vital that we continue to speak in a sincere and honest way, not because we are convinced that we are the only ones who know the truth, and all the rest are liars and so on if we feel that, to our own best understanding something is right, sincere and honest, then we have to articulate it.

And you know, we dont have to be blind terrible things happened, wars were provoked, famine millions of people were sent into debt by the elite. Thats all true. Thats all true. And I know thats true. But its also true that the population is responsible, that the elite is also something that is created by the population that emerges from the population.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.

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How to End the Mass Formation (VIDEO) - The Epoch Times

Why the Fellowship is right for you

Re-energize, restructure and reframe your perspective. Learn a new way of caring for patients, with emphasis on the individual, not just the disease - and on prevention, not just treatment.

Our Fellows work in multiple care models, including primary care, consultative practice... They have applied integrative techniques to more than 35 medical specialties.

Create and maintain a sense of community with your Fellowship class by meeting in Tucson, Az for three 1-week sessions over two years.

Connect with like-minded colleagues, establish relationships with faculty, and receive hands-on training.

The Fellowship provides a structured and highly interactive educational experience in prevention-focused, proactive, patient-centered care. Gain the knowledge and skills you need to effectively practice integrative medicine.

Join a strong international community of nearly 1800 alumni. Share experiences, draw support, and participate in continuing educational opportunities.

Our alumni hail from all over the world--throughout the U.S. and 26 different countries and territories. They create integrative practices and lead IM programs at prestigious institutions, such as Beth Israel, Chapel Hill and University of California, San Francisco.

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