Gut or Guts?
—the perverse inversion of digestion & cogitation
(𝗦-𝗔-𝗗) x (𝗦.𝗔.𝗗) x (𝘀𝗮𝗱) x (𝗦•𝗔•𝗗) x (𝗦&𝗗) x (𝗦,𝗔,𝗗) = (𝗦𝗔𝗗) ⁶
(𝙎𝘼𝘿) ⁶ = 𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘 & 𝙈𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩
𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦
𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥.𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯.𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘵
𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳
𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨•𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭•𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝
𝘚𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 & 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴
𝘚𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳, 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭, 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴
“We don't get fat because we overeat; we overeat because were fat.”
― Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About ItA cautionary tale by a caustic, cynical old man, mani malagón, & a sycophantic, pedantic, hallucinatory anti-intelligence (A•I), Claude 4.0.
Date: 18 Jul 2025
License: Creative Commons 4.0
Introduction: Sloth is often assumed to be the hallmark of fat people. But what if it’s just another symptom of a dis-ease? If so, what are the root causes of the dis-ease & what exactly are its mechanisms? In this case I’ve postulated six major causal vectors and provided the seeding argument and after several iterations with Claude A•I have concluded that it’s not just the food or lifestyle, but the various causes are reversible. We crowned the theory with the example of Louis XIV,—a remarkable individual consumed by a cycle of hyperphagia & associated illnesses.1 2
The Sunlight-aMCC-AMPK Nexus Theory: Understanding the (SAD)⁶ Cascade of Metabolic and Mental Impairment
The Six SAD Elements: A Compounding Crisis. The modern epidemic of diminished volition represents a perfect storm of interconnected factors, each amplifying the others in an exponential cascade rather than simple additive effects. The (SAD)⁶ framework identifies six primary culprits that synergistically undermine human agency and metabolic health:
1. Sunlight-Avoidance-Disease (SAD). Chronic avoidance of natural sunlight creates a foundational metabolic disruption. Research demonstrates that sunlight exposure directly influences dopamine levels, with higher sunshine exposure correlating with significantly greater striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability. However, continuous artificial light exposure paradoxically reduces dopamine neurons by up to 29% and diminishes striatal dopamine levels. This creates a biological imperative for natural light that modern indoor lifestyles systematically violate.
The near-infrared (NIR) component of sunlight provides unique benefits that artificial lighting cannot replicate. Unlike visible light, NIR can penetrate deep into human tissues including muscle, brain, and bones, promoting local melatonin production and potentially supporting dopaminergic function. Exposure to outdoor light activates specialized retinal cells that release dopamine, which is crucial for both eye health and broader neurotransmitter function.
2. Standard.American.Diet (S.A.D). The inflammatory burden of processed foods, seed oils, and excessive fructose creates a metabolic environment hostile to optimal brain function. This dietary pattern promotes chronic low-grade inflammation, which directly reduces approach motivation and enhances avoidance motivation through increased effort valuation. The resulting metabolic dysfunction impairs the very cognitive resources needed to make better dietary choices, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.
3. Seasonal Affective Disorder (sad). Traditional SAD represents just one manifestation of a broader light-deprivation syndrome. The core symptom cluster of lethargy, psychomotor retardation, and low motivation suggests a hypoactive dopamine system that responds positively to light therapy. However, the modern version extends beyond winter months to year-round indoor confinement.
4. Strong•Artificial•Daylight (S•A•D). Prolonged exposure to artificial lighting, particularly fluorescent light, demonstrates measurable harm to dopaminergic neurons and increases neuromelanin accumulation in the substantia nigra. This creates a double burden: insufficient beneficial natural light coupled with potentially harmful artificial exposure.
5. Sedentarism & Diabetes (S&D), Physical inactivity compounds metabolic dysfunction while simultaneously reducing the body's natural mechanisms for inflammation control and energy regulation. Exercise reduces systemic inflammation and boosts dopamine transmission, directly enhancing effort-based decision making and motivation. Sedentary behavior removes this crucial regulatory mechanism. “Sitting is the new smoking.”
6. Sugar, Alcohol, Drinks (S,A,D). These substances provide rapid dopamine spikes followed by crashes, training the brain's reward system to expect instant gratification while simultaneously promoting inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. The resulting dysregulation makes sustained effort feel disproportionately difficult.
The Synergistic Cascade: Why (SAD)⁶ = Exponential Impairment
The six SAD elements don't simply add together—they multiply each other’s impact. Each factor amplifies the others through shared pathways:
Inflammation → Dopamine → Volition: Inflammation increases effort valuation, making any goal-directed behavior feel more costly. This creates a metabolic resistance to action itself.
Light Deprivation → Circadian Disruption → Metabolic Chaos: Strategic sunlight exposure stimulates dopamine and cortisol release at optimal times, regulating both immediate motivation and long-term metabolic rhythm. Without this natural synchronization, the body's energy systems become chronically misaligned.
Diet → Inflammation → Cognitive Impairment: Poor food choices create inflammatory cascades that directly suppress motivation networks in the brain, particularly in regions like the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum.
The Louis XIV Paradigm: When Excess Becomes Incapacity
King Louis XIV's transformation from the Sun King to a bedridden monarch illustrates the endpoint of this cascade. His stomach, reportedly twice normal size, represents more than gluttony—it symbolizes the complete breakdown of volitional control systems.
By 1668, Louis XIV's physical deterioration mirrored his declining judgment. Unable to ride horses, confined to bed, and suffering from painful anal fistulas, his body had become a prison for a mind that could no longer regulate basic functions. His political decisions during this period fit Barbara Tuchman's definition of folly: "leaders making decisions detrimental to the interest of their country when better options are clearly available."
This wasn't mere weakness of character—it was metabolic incapacity masquerading as moral failure. His "ceaseless wars" and financial exhaustion of France reflected the same dysregulated systems that governed his eating: an inability to perceive long-term consequences or control immediate impulses.
The Sunlight-aMCC-AMPK Nexus: Biological Mechanisms of Volition
The anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) serves as a crucial hub for effortful action and goal pursuit. This highly metabolically active region appears particularly sensitive to the energetic signals that AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) provides.
AMPK as Energy Sensor: AMPK functions as the body's master regulator of energy metabolism, monitoring cellular energy status and adapting it to fluctuating nutritional and environmental conditions. When activated appropriately, AMPK promotes the metabolic flexibility needed for sustained effort.
Sunlight's AMPK Connection: While direct research on sunlight-AMPK activation remains limited, the pathway likely operates through multiple mechanisms:
Vitamin D synthesis and subsequent metabolic optimization
Circadian rhythm entrainment affecting cellular energy cycles
NIR-induced local melatonin production supporting mitochondrial function
Direct retinal dopamine stimulation influencing reward valuation
The Dopamine Bridge: Dopamine transmission strongly influences effort-based decision making for reward. Sunlight exposure increases dopamine receptor availability and supports optimal neurotransmitter function, while inflammation reduces approach motivation by making effort feel more costly.
Breaking the Cycle: Intervention Points
Understanding the (SAD)⁶ cascade reveals multiple intervention opportunities:
Light Optimization: Early morning sunlight exposure (5-10 minutes) stimulates dopamine and cortisol at optimal times, while late afternoon exposure helps regulate evening melatonin production. Even cloudy days provide benefits—simply extend exposure to 15-20 minutes.
Inflammation Reduction: Anti-inflammatory interventions show promise for boosting motivation, with TNF-alpha antagonists demonstrating measurable improvements in effort-based behavior. Natural approaches include elimination of inflammatory foods, sound sleep and strategic exercise.
Movement as Medicine: Aerobic exercise specifically reduces systemic inflammation while boosting dopamine transmission, creating a positive feedback loop that enhances motivation for continued healthy behaviors.
Metabolic Restoration: AMPK activation through specific interventions can improve mitochondrial function even in the presence of existing metabolic dysfunction, suggesting that the cycle can be interrupted even after significant damage.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Agency Through Biological Wisdom
The (SAD)⁶ framework reveals that what’s often labeled as moral or character failures probably represent predictable biological responses to environmental mismatches. Louis XIV's trajectory from magnificent ruler to physically and cognitively impaired monarch represents an extreme endpoint of these processes.
The solution isn't merely willpower—it's biological realignment. Interventions that restore, rather than fight, natural regulatory systems can only be designed by understanding how sunlight, inflammation, dopamine and metabolic flexibility interact. The path forward requires not just knowing what to do, but creating the metabolic conditions that make “doing it” feel effortless rather than effortful, —or rather, putting joy back into the effort.
The question "gut or guts?" is a false dichotomy: cognitive courage emerges from metabolic competence. That is how Adrian Ballinger reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2017,—in fat-burning ketosis without supplemental oxygen after six failed attempts using carbohydrate based diets. Great effort was required, but it rested on a solid physiological framework.3 When the biological foundations of volition are optimized, physical health and mental fortitude become complementary expressions of a wholesome underlying vitality. Circadian rhythm alighment makes for synergy of gut & guts.
References
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George Dunea (2019) Louis XIV and his ailments, Hektoen International
Noelle Talmon (2018) The Huge Appetite of Louis XIV and the Scientist Who Ate His Mummified: Eat your heart out. Ripley’s
L G Boros, S Seneff, J C Lech, M Túri & Z Répás (2024) Summiting Mount Everest in deuterium depleting nutritional ketosis without supplemental oxygen, Medical Hypothesis, 185, 1112290