Make way for natural research

I recently announced the creation of the Natural Biosciences Research Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) foundation that will fund research into neglected health questions. If the pharmaceutical industry cannot develop a multi-billion dollar drug franchise from a line of research, it will not be pursued. If the Federal government does not believe that a line of research will lead to development of a major pharmaceutical franchise, they will not fund it (despite their public claims to the contrary). It means that numerous questions on aspects of health that can provide significant health advantages but do not yield huge profit opportunities remain unexplored. The Natural Biosciences Research Foundation was created to address this huge gap in health research.

The first study we plan to fund is to better validate the effects of the important gastrointestinal microbe, Lactobacillus reuteri, on hormonal blood levels, its effects on well-being, happiness, and social interactions, and better understand the microbiome consequences of its presence or absence. This will be the first in a series of research efforts that we hope will yield insights into addressing numerous issues that include:

• The loss of empathy, generosity, and sociability among modern populations
• The rise of narcissistic behavior since the mid-twentieth century
• The loss of control over body composition, metabolic health, appetite, and weight
• Age-related deterioration in the immune response
• The loss of control over small intestinal microbial composition, a phenomenon with implications across dozens of common health conditions

As I mentioned in my initial post, the challenge will be in choosing which avenues to pursue, as there are literally thousands of paths this could take us in our quest for better health answers. As Dr. Mark Hyman recently commented during his Congressional testimony: “In the U.S., we don’t have evidence-based healthcare; we have revenue-based healthcare.” The healthcare system—doctors, healthcare systems, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, the healthcare insurance industry—will fight tooth-and-nail to resist changes that are counter to their financial interests, regardless of the impact on the public. I know of no way to counter this gargantuan and perverse system. But we can support causes that helps us, as individuals and families, obtain better answers that allow us to minimize our reliance on this corrupt system called American healthcare.

Because the Natural Biosciences Research Foundation has been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS, your donation is tax deductible and, because we do not have to pay Federal taxes from your donation, every dollar will go towards answering these research questions and covering our modest expenses. No member of our Foundation is paid a salary or is otherwise financially compensated; we are all unpaid volunteers in this cause.

The original IHB post is currently found on the: ⎆Infinite Health Blog, but accessing it there can require an unnecessary separate blog membership. The copy of it above is complete, and has been re-curated and enhanced for the Inner Circle membership.