1 00:00:12,790 --> 00:00:14,591 Okay, let me find someone 2 00:00:14,611 --> 00:00:17,733 who will lend me their brain for a few minutes. 3 00:00:18,323 --> 00:00:21,123 You, over there, great! 4 00:00:21,163 --> 00:00:22,793 I'll give it back to you. 5 00:00:22,830 --> 00:00:25,622 Now imagine that I have your brain in my hands. 6 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:28,025 What will I find inside it? 7 00:00:28,130 --> 00:00:31,037 Water - I guess you all suspected that - 8 00:00:31,077 --> 00:00:34,756 then some fat, wow! a lot of fat. 9 00:00:36,777 --> 00:00:40,870 No worries, all brains are fatty ... Don't judge, it's just normal. 10 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:42,750 A brain is very greasy. 11 00:00:42,780 --> 00:00:44,570 If I had one in my hands, 12 00:00:44,590 --> 00:00:46,856 you would certainly hear "skwiitch! skwiitch!" 13 00:00:47,423 --> 00:00:48,997 It's very fragile and mushy. 14 00:00:49,037 --> 00:00:52,956 In fact, if you look at it like that, it resembles the inside of our intestines. 15 00:00:52,990 --> 00:00:55,616 Well, I've never held intestines in my life, 16 00:00:55,630 --> 00:00:57,347 but I have held a brain. 17 00:00:57,403 --> 00:00:59,514 By the way, if I were to leave it on a table 18 00:00:59,524 --> 00:01:02,098 to go off to take a sample of it for experiment, 19 00:01:02,123 --> 00:01:03,643 when I'd return, 20 00:01:03,657 --> 00:01:06,483 it would be a bit spread out and deformed. 21 00:01:06,497 --> 00:01:09,960 So don't shake it up too much, it's fragile. 22 00:01:09,917 --> 00:01:11,690 This brain has fat, 23 00:01:11,700 --> 00:01:16,123 but not the type of fat you find in a bag of French fries. 24 00:01:16,810 --> 00:01:20,620 Its fat is like the fat you find in small oily fish. 25 00:01:20,770 --> 00:01:23,113 It is a kind of fat that is very flexible, 26 00:01:23,137 --> 00:01:25,843 that provides us with unique neuroplasticity 27 00:01:25,857 --> 00:01:29,860 and enables neurons to communicate with each other so fast. 28 00:01:30,517 --> 00:01:32,251 Maybe you are asking yourselves, 29 00:01:32,271 --> 00:01:36,513 "Let's say I eat more sardines, will I get smarter?" 30 00:01:36,777 --> 00:01:40,598 My mum often said to me, "Émilie, eat your fish, it will make you clever." 31 00:01:40,628 --> 00:01:42,270 Well, she wasn't exactly right. 32 00:01:42,290 --> 00:01:44,921 It is more complicated than that, but today I can reply, 33 00:01:44,951 --> 00:01:50,300 "Mum, did you know that the consumption of small oily fish 34 00:01:50,331 --> 00:01:54,353 inversely correlates with the rate of psychiatric disorders, 35 00:01:54,383 --> 00:01:57,054 especially depression and schizophrenia?" 36 00:01:57,296 --> 00:02:02,263 Well, for the most part, you are probably too old to develop schizophrenia 37 00:02:02,297 --> 00:02:04,544 because the window is during adolescence. 38 00:02:04,564 --> 00:02:08,139 But you're in the category of those who can be hit by severe depression, 39 00:02:08,159 --> 00:02:10,364 especially with our way of life today. 40 00:02:10,397 --> 00:02:14,224 So eating a few small oily fish could be good for your brain. 41 00:02:14,483 --> 00:02:18,093 Now, if I continue looking at what is inside this brain, 42 00:02:18,116 --> 00:02:21,262 I will find proteins and amino acids. 43 00:02:21,677 --> 00:02:25,733 So I will find water, fat, and now proteins and amino acids. 44 00:02:26,083 --> 00:02:29,377 To put it simply, a protein is like a large pearl necklace, 45 00:02:29,397 --> 00:02:33,983 and the amino acids are all the little pearls that make up this necklace. 46 00:02:34,290 --> 00:02:37,137 When I eat protein, chicken for example, 47 00:02:37,158 --> 00:02:42,423 or a mix of lentils and quinoa - that is probably not bad for you either - 48 00:02:42,437 --> 00:02:46,793 then these necklaces break into a multitude of small pieces, 49 00:02:46,811 --> 00:02:49,860 and these small pearls are going to do something inside my body: 50 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,883 they either form a nice structure or carry out a function. 51 00:02:53,003 --> 00:02:55,880 Right away you think: "Yeah, muscles." 52 00:02:56,073 --> 00:02:59,656 Personally, I think "lovely neurotransmitters and hormones." 53 00:02:59,683 --> 00:03:04,030 A neurotransmitter is a molecule that enables two neurons to communicate. 54 00:03:04,050 --> 00:03:09,014 To give you an example, serotonin is the neurotransmitter for happiness 55 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,370 because it is said to make people see life through rose-tinted glasses. 56 00:03:12,390 --> 00:03:15,220 For example, we have noticed that in the case of depression, 57 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:16,840 serotonin levels are low. 58 00:03:16,860 --> 00:03:20,723 So some companies have manufactured beautiful medicines 59 00:03:20,744 --> 00:03:24,032 that increase serotonin levels in the brain 60 00:03:24,050 --> 00:03:25,873 and alleviate the symptoms. 61 00:03:26,090 --> 00:03:29,590 Some young people will say, "Some drugs do the same." 62 00:03:29,630 --> 00:03:33,916 And yes, these drugs manipulate the level of serotonin in the brain. 63 00:03:34,450 --> 00:03:37,280 The crazy thing is that this serotonin 64 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,641 that I will probably feel in my brain this evening, 65 00:03:39,661 --> 00:03:42,643 enabling me to sleep with sweet dreams, 66 00:03:42,667 --> 00:03:44,397 this serotonin is synthesized 67 00:03:44,417 --> 00:03:48,660 through a precursor I can only find in my food. 68 00:03:48,697 --> 00:03:53,010 This precursor, this small pearl, an amino acid, is called "tryptophan". 69 00:03:53,350 --> 00:03:55,760 It is an essential amino acid. 70 00:03:55,761 --> 00:03:59,167 It means that my body is unable to produce it on its own 71 00:03:59,198 --> 00:04:02,186 if I don't provide the small bricks to build it. 72 00:04:02,463 --> 00:04:05,577 Now let's resume our observation of this brain. 73 00:04:05,877 --> 00:04:08,796 I also find sugar or glucose in it. 74 00:04:08,950 --> 00:04:11,957 Glucose is the fuel of the brain. 75 00:04:12,337 --> 00:04:17,433 The brain is very small, it makes up only 2% of this body's mass, 76 00:04:17,463 --> 00:04:20,980 but it consumes 25% of the energy that I eat. 77 00:04:21,843 --> 00:04:24,680 So it needs a lot of fuel, it is energy-hungry, 78 00:04:24,697 --> 00:04:28,199 particularly when people are smart - I am joking. 79 00:04:28,230 --> 00:04:29,920 (Laughter) 80 00:04:30,130 --> 00:04:32,628 I didn't want to say that, but it just came out. 81 00:04:32,647 --> 00:04:34,287 (Laughter) 82 00:04:35,310 --> 00:04:38,311 So my brain does not require that I feed it 83 00:04:38,332 --> 00:04:41,617 loads of sweets or a big glass of orange juice. 84 00:04:41,663 --> 00:04:45,763 It prefers to have steady and reasonable levels of sugar. 85 00:04:46,050 --> 00:04:48,130 There are different types of sugars. 86 00:04:48,183 --> 00:04:51,460 There are sugars called "simple" or "fast", 87 00:04:51,483 --> 00:04:54,200 and sugars that are rather "complex" and "slow". 88 00:04:54,243 --> 00:04:57,637 Simple sugars found for example in small fruits - 89 00:04:57,658 --> 00:05:01,454 which is not shown here - let's say an orange, 90 00:05:01,483 --> 00:05:05,781 when I eat an orange, a lot of simple sugars enter my body at once. 91 00:05:05,804 --> 00:05:10,920 These are small simple-structured molecules that are digested very quickly. 92 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,762 So I have a burst of energy entering my bloodstream, 93 00:05:13,803 --> 00:05:15,883 and then, there is a crash. 94 00:05:15,904 --> 00:05:18,210 That's why we feel drained sometimes. 95 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:24,080 Complex carbohydrates are bigger molecules that are digested more slowly. 96 00:05:24,483 --> 00:05:28,341 They provide energy throughout a whole morning or afternoon for example. 97 00:05:28,570 --> 00:05:31,560 We try to favor these types of complex carbohydrates 98 00:05:31,561 --> 00:05:34,743 when we want to be focused and clever. 99 00:05:34,988 --> 00:05:40,180 So for breakfast, it may be preferable to eat a slice of wholegrain bread 100 00:05:40,238 --> 00:05:45,871 rather than multicolored cereals just because we love them so much. 101 00:05:46,377 --> 00:05:48,997 I could talk for hours about your brain, 102 00:05:49,027 --> 00:05:52,187 as though it was the meal I was going to eat a while ago, 103 00:05:52,197 --> 00:05:53,980 but I'll stop there. 104 00:05:54,390 --> 00:05:58,880 Personally, what fascinates me is the impact of my lifestyle on my brain. 105 00:05:59,343 --> 00:06:01,386 It all started with nutrition. 106 00:06:01,430 --> 00:06:04,383 When I was young, my dad used to say, 107 00:06:04,404 --> 00:06:07,494 "Émilie is the child who runs after butterflies." 108 00:06:07,537 --> 00:06:09,617 He wasn't completely mistaken. 109 00:06:09,643 --> 00:06:13,460 My brain has a lot of difficulty in concentrating on a single task. 110 00:06:13,483 --> 00:06:15,157 It twirls around all the time. 111 00:06:15,177 --> 00:06:18,297 It is impossible to make it focus for 30 seconds. 112 00:06:19,363 --> 00:06:22,296 This brain was soon given a lovely label: 113 00:06:22,316 --> 00:06:26,872 "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder", in short, ADHD. 114 00:06:27,583 --> 00:06:30,513 "Well don't worry, teachers, 115 00:06:30,550 --> 00:06:33,313 Émilie is going to stop being unbearable. 116 00:06:33,337 --> 00:06:36,723 Medicines exist even for this type of situation." 117 00:06:36,962 --> 00:06:38,950 So I was told at a very young age: 118 00:06:38,977 --> 00:06:42,863 "It will do her good to take medicine to alleviate symptoms." 119 00:06:42,893 --> 00:06:44,787 And these drugs work very well. 120 00:06:44,817 --> 00:06:47,937 It's like legal cocaine: it stimulates your brain. 121 00:06:48,473 --> 00:06:52,012 Still a little girl, I went from 40% to 80%. 122 00:06:52,052 --> 00:06:54,963 Is that why I was able to go to university? 123 00:06:54,983 --> 00:06:56,420 We don't know. 124 00:06:56,453 --> 00:06:59,139 My writing became neat and rounded. 125 00:07:00,263 --> 00:07:05,407 And at school, things were much better because before, what was Émilie doing? 126 00:07:05,438 --> 00:07:07,038 She is a child sitting on a chair 127 00:07:07,058 --> 00:07:09,548 who fidgets so much nobody wants to sit next to her, 128 00:07:09,568 --> 00:07:11,578 who gets on the teacher's nerves, 129 00:07:11,588 --> 00:07:14,812 who falls sometimes from her chair from laughing so much 130 00:07:14,832 --> 00:07:19,987 or watches a construction site from afar for hours and suddenly goes, 131 00:07:20,004 --> 00:07:24,944 "Wow! Look! The crane finally moved. I've never seen anyone inside before!" 132 00:07:25,401 --> 00:07:29,314 And the teacher says, "Émilie, you forgot to take your medicine" 133 00:07:29,331 --> 00:07:33,113 or "Émilie, you messed up again. 134 00:07:33,130 --> 00:07:36,747 Shouldn't you ask your parents to take your medicine again, 135 00:07:36,777 --> 00:07:40,267 or maybe, double the dose? Do you always take your medicine?" 136 00:07:40,297 --> 00:07:43,133 And the teacher would say this in front of the whole class. 137 00:07:43,157 --> 00:07:47,643 So little by little, I started to feel the first psychological side effects. 138 00:07:47,937 --> 00:07:51,410 Obviously, today that makes you laugh, me too. 139 00:07:51,460 --> 00:07:54,913 But back then, I didn't find that funny. I no longer had self-confidence. 140 00:07:54,923 --> 00:07:56,852 I thought I would never achieve anything. 141 00:07:56,872 --> 00:07:59,645 I even thought I wouldn't be here today. 142 00:08:00,163 --> 00:08:02,720 Thankfully, my family took great care of me. 143 00:08:02,730 --> 00:08:07,650 They took me to a team of professionals who explained what ADHD meant, 144 00:08:07,677 --> 00:08:09,477 who made me do plenty of tests 145 00:08:09,497 --> 00:08:12,517 and really tried to prove to me that I had great potential 146 00:08:12,537 --> 00:08:14,589 because I didn't believe that at all. 147 00:08:14,663 --> 00:08:17,807 Then my life continues, I feel a bit better in my skin. 148 00:08:17,810 --> 00:08:19,123 I understand. 149 00:08:19,130 --> 00:08:21,632 But then, I started to feel the other side effects. 150 00:08:21,663 --> 00:08:26,040 If you take the kind of medicine prescribed to kids like me 151 00:08:26,070 --> 00:08:29,571 and read the package leaflet on the side effects, you will see: 152 00:08:29,590 --> 00:08:34,480 migranes, insomnia, digestive disorders, 153 00:08:34,483 --> 00:08:37,697 loss of appetite, anorexia, depression ... 154 00:08:37,716 --> 00:08:39,238 I had a few of those. 155 00:08:39,268 --> 00:08:42,932 Incidentally when I'd stop and ask someone to give me the medicine 156 00:08:42,962 --> 00:08:46,917 because I had forgotten to get a prescription for a few weeks, 157 00:08:46,937 --> 00:08:50,580 I'd be hit with a massive migraine. 158 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,293 I'd suffer from Insomnia. 159 00:08:52,337 --> 00:08:54,199 I'd no longer want to talk to anyone. 160 00:08:54,217 --> 00:08:57,071 Instead of studying, I'd sort my coloring pens by color 161 00:08:57,091 --> 00:09:01,077 because all of a sudden, I'd feel very focused on something else. 162 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,759 Bottom line, you may be already thinking this does not sound good, 163 00:09:05,780 --> 00:09:07,037 but this is nothing. 164 00:09:07,057 --> 00:09:09,895 This is nothing compared to the lovely withdrawal symptoms 165 00:09:09,923 --> 00:09:13,880 that hit you after a school year of being on this cute medicine. 166 00:09:14,097 --> 00:09:15,780 So I had withdrawal symptoms 167 00:09:15,790 --> 00:09:19,492 because I was like a drug addict who had been taking drugs for a long time. 168 00:09:19,614 --> 00:09:22,523 So indeed when you stop, you have anxiety, dark thoughts, 169 00:09:22,533 --> 00:09:24,087 you vomit out of distress. 170 00:09:24,157 --> 00:09:27,130 And here again, there is a solution: if you go to your doctor - 171 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:31,190 since they take you to the hospital saying, 172 00:09:31,190 --> 00:09:32,190 "Look at my child, she is so anxious" - 173 00:09:32,190 --> 00:09:34,180 the doctor doesn't ask, 174 00:09:34,203 --> 00:09:37,070 "Have you been taking this medicine? What happened?" 175 00:09:37,100 --> 00:09:40,820 No, they give you a small shot of a blue substance 176 00:09:40,837 --> 00:09:43,920 that makes you totally zen, and then life goes on. 177 00:09:44,110 --> 00:09:46,270 At that point, I said to myself, 178 00:09:46,331 --> 00:09:50,657 "That's enough. Your brain doesn't function properly. 179 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:55,487 Also, you are halfway to panic attacks and on the verge of some unknown limit." 180 00:09:55,803 --> 00:09:57,740 So I wanted to stop it all. 181 00:09:57,803 --> 00:10:00,380 And before, during or after, I don't know what happened 182 00:10:00,390 --> 00:10:04,363 but I started to have intuitions about different types of food. 183 00:10:05,223 --> 00:10:09,080 My family gave me a nickname: "Insatiable sable". 184 00:10:09,383 --> 00:10:12,720 A sable is a kind of small carnivorous ferret. 185 00:10:12,817 --> 00:10:16,113 I could no longer eat white bread with jam for breakfast. 186 00:10:16,143 --> 00:10:20,590 I dreamed of the thick slice of salmon my mum had prepared the night before, 187 00:10:20,613 --> 00:10:22,639 and of the tasty vegetables she had cooked. 188 00:10:22,670 --> 00:10:25,713 Not long ago, when I returned home to Brussels, 189 00:10:25,743 --> 00:10:28,593 my Dad left me a Tupperware in the fridge with a note: 190 00:10:28,610 --> 00:10:32,087 "Leftovers for Insatiable Sable." 191 00:10:33,017 --> 00:10:37,471 I did not see the link between this kind of nutrition and my friends' diet. 192 00:10:37,623 --> 00:10:40,636 My life went on and I started my studies in neuroscience, 193 00:10:40,650 --> 00:10:42,420 and that is when I understood it all. 194 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,757 I was only 27 years old, I knew next to nothing, 195 00:10:46,037 --> 00:10:50,883 I had a lot to learn, but I understood what was happening to me. 196 00:10:51,250 --> 00:10:53,247 And that is what I'm going to tell you now. 197 00:10:53,277 --> 00:10:56,540 ADHD meant that my little brain 198 00:10:56,553 --> 00:11:02,470 had a hard time synthesizing enough dopamine and noradrenaline, 199 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,900 two neurotransmitters that together benefit our learning functions, 200 00:11:06,923 --> 00:11:10,017 our ability to pay attention and concentrate - 201 00:11:10,043 --> 00:11:11,730 which I clearly lacked. 202 00:11:12,163 --> 00:11:16,873 These two neurotransmitters can be boosted with drugs 203 00:11:16,890 --> 00:11:21,150 but also with the type of diet I started to follow. 204 00:11:21,363 --> 00:11:25,460 So by eating more protein at breakfast - I didn't used to eat any at all - 205 00:11:25,477 --> 00:11:27,048 I was ingesting the small pearls 206 00:11:27,068 --> 00:11:29,827 necessary to create those neurotransmitters in my brain. 207 00:11:29,857 --> 00:11:33,563 And by avoiding quick or simple sugars at all costs, 208 00:11:33,583 --> 00:11:36,667 I was preventing those pearls from being deflected elsewhere 209 00:11:36,683 --> 00:11:39,907 or from having difficulty to enter my brain. 210 00:11:40,923 --> 00:11:43,053 When I learnt all of this and realized 211 00:11:43,073 --> 00:11:48,310 that I could have avoided all those small pills and big anxieties 212 00:11:48,340 --> 00:11:50,814 by just having a healthier lifestyle, 213 00:11:50,854 --> 00:11:53,833 I thought I needed to share this information around me. 214 00:11:53,863 --> 00:11:55,596 So I started with social media. 215 00:11:55,610 --> 00:11:58,350 I spoke about it to my family, my friends. 216 00:11:58,383 --> 00:12:00,211 Then I ended up speaking in companies. 217 00:12:00,241 --> 00:12:03,327 And today, I am inside this big red circle telling you about it. 218 00:12:03,697 --> 00:12:07,993 Now I would like to give you three small bits of advice 219 00:12:08,017 --> 00:12:10,437 that are really very simple. 220 00:12:11,130 --> 00:12:13,092 You may say that they are bogus, 221 00:12:13,112 --> 00:12:16,311 but I'm sure that you are not implementing them right now. 222 00:12:16,343 --> 00:12:17,840 These three advices are: 223 00:12:17,860 --> 00:12:22,407 first, try to maintain a stable and moderate blood sugar level; 224 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,279 second, pay attention to your second brain; 225 00:12:26,450 --> 00:12:29,564 and third, try to have a healthy lifestyle. 226 00:12:30,333 --> 00:12:35,720 Sorry, I also have lots of allergies, my genetics aren't that great. 227 00:12:35,761 --> 00:12:37,131 (Laughter) 228 00:12:37,163 --> 00:12:41,950 As for the first one, maintaining a stable and moderate blood sugar level, why? 229 00:12:42,170 --> 00:12:44,041 Well, because Nature is very well made, 230 00:12:44,061 --> 00:12:49,723 but our lifestyle today isn't so good, at least mine, I don't know about yours. 231 00:12:50,163 --> 00:12:55,241 For a better understanding, let's say that I'm a prehistoric man or woman. 232 00:12:55,270 --> 00:12:59,274 and on my way, I eat some berries, some grain, maybe some legumes. 233 00:12:59,450 --> 00:13:03,676 From time to time, if I'm strong enough, I manage to kill an animal and eat it. 234 00:13:04,043 --> 00:13:08,397 Fortunately, when I eat sugars, for example, 235 00:13:08,417 --> 00:13:14,074 a cool hormone get synthesized in my body that helps store excess sugar as body fat, 236 00:13:14,103 --> 00:13:17,617 which enables me, if I don't find food for two or three days, 237 00:13:17,658 --> 00:13:19,463 to have something to survive on. 238 00:13:19,483 --> 00:13:20,793 That's pretty cool. 239 00:13:20,837 --> 00:13:24,323 Another great mechanism is when I no longer have enough sugar in my blood, 240 00:13:24,333 --> 00:13:28,350 I release good stress hormones that allow me to hunt that lion - 241 00:13:28,370 --> 00:13:32,110 I don't know if we once hunted lions, it's the example that came to my mind - 242 00:13:32,130 --> 00:13:35,640 to be aggressive, run very fast, and kill it. 243 00:13:36,523 --> 00:13:39,081 Today, I don't know about you but personally, 244 00:13:39,101 --> 00:13:42,083 I lay down sometimes in my sofa like a doormat 245 00:13:42,101 --> 00:13:45,941 and press the keys of my phone to order a pizza. 246 00:13:46,430 --> 00:13:50,667 So, my insulin no longer serves its survival purpose, 247 00:13:50,697 --> 00:13:55,164 nor its fat storage purpose in case of starvation since it doesn't happen often. 248 00:13:55,237 --> 00:13:59,078 So, this type of lifestyle is not the best for our metabolic health, 249 00:13:59,103 --> 00:14:02,277 neither is it for our family. 250 00:14:02,323 --> 00:14:05,900 I don't know if you have children who are unbearable when they're hungry, 251 00:14:05,903 --> 00:14:09,380 or partners who make your life a misery when they're famished. 252 00:14:09,863 --> 00:14:12,217 Let me share with you a funny study: 253 00:14:12,247 --> 00:14:14,910 a group of researchers took one hundred couples or so. 254 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,251 They gave them little voodoo dolls and said, 255 00:14:18,483 --> 00:14:21,270 "Once a day, you can insert between 1 and 51 needles 256 00:14:21,300 --> 00:14:24,598 to show how much you are upset by your partner." 257 00:14:24,863 --> 00:14:28,883 Then, they were able to successfully correlate those people's blood sugar 258 00:14:28,910 --> 00:14:31,450 with the number of needles inserted. 259 00:14:31,670 --> 00:14:35,423 So if you have unbearable people in your family, 260 00:14:35,444 --> 00:14:38,300 do not give them donuts so that they will experience no high 261 00:14:38,310 --> 00:14:41,057 and no crash during which they could become insufferable. 262 00:14:41,097 --> 00:14:44,830 Rather, feed them like a man living in prehistoric times, 263 00:14:44,857 --> 00:14:46,983 with this type of thing, for example. 264 00:14:47,223 --> 00:14:50,589 The second advice is about paying attention to our second brain. 265 00:14:50,607 --> 00:14:54,042 The second brain is your gut 266 00:14:54,062 --> 00:14:56,240 and the whole load of guests living inside. 267 00:14:56,270 --> 00:15:01,217 You may not know it but you've an enormous amount of bacteria in your gut. 268 00:15:01,617 --> 00:15:05,713 This realm was there before your first brain, 269 00:15:05,737 --> 00:15:09,023 so perhaps it should actually be called the "first brain". 270 00:15:09,703 --> 00:15:12,341 These bacteria are not there just to do nothing, 271 00:15:12,361 --> 00:15:17,283 eat what you eat and take advantage of their host. 272 00:15:17,743 --> 00:15:20,403 In fact, they play an important role in your health, 273 00:15:20,413 --> 00:15:23,343 your immunity and your mood. 274 00:15:23,373 --> 00:15:25,290 I was talking previously about serotonin. 275 00:15:25,300 --> 00:15:28,783 Well, a big majority of our serotonin is synthesized 276 00:15:28,810 --> 00:15:31,720 thanks to the bacteria that live in our gut. 277 00:15:32,897 --> 00:15:35,330 Another study - because I love this type of study 278 00:15:35,340 --> 00:15:38,351 that allows people to fully understand what I'm taking about - 279 00:15:38,371 --> 00:15:40,556 was carried out, and I find it fascinating. 280 00:15:40,586 --> 00:15:43,533 They took twins, one obese, the other diabetic. 281 00:15:43,558 --> 00:15:47,530 The microbiota of these twins was transplanted into mice. 282 00:15:47,563 --> 00:15:51,657 The mice who inherited the microbiota of the obese subjects 283 00:15:51,717 --> 00:15:53,823 developed the same phenotype. 284 00:15:53,870 --> 00:15:55,399 The others remained slim. 285 00:15:55,429 --> 00:15:58,800 When the slim mice were permitted to eat the feces of the obese one, 286 00:15:58,830 --> 00:16:01,580 they undoubtedly grew in size. 287 00:16:01,603 --> 00:16:04,650 Yes, mice are coprophagous and eat the feces of other animals. 288 00:16:04,670 --> 00:16:08,464 Don't try to eat the feces of a thin person, you could die 289 00:16:08,485 --> 00:16:10,667 (Laughter) ... by the way. 290 00:16:10,897 --> 00:16:13,779 Now these bacteria, what do they like to eat? 291 00:16:14,097 --> 00:16:16,880 Fruit, vegetables, plenty of vegetables, 292 00:16:16,917 --> 00:16:19,297 wholemeal products, grains, legumes. 293 00:16:19,317 --> 00:16:22,222 They do not like heavily processed foods. 294 00:16:22,403 --> 00:16:24,743 Now for my last piece of advice, 295 00:16:24,763 --> 00:16:26,930 I want to ask you first to raise your hand 296 00:16:26,950 --> 00:16:31,693 if you are able to sleep around eight hours each night, 297 00:16:31,703 --> 00:16:34,563 not six but eight hours every night 298 00:16:34,583 --> 00:16:37,563 systematically and at strict regular times. 299 00:16:37,593 --> 00:16:40,192 Raise your hand if that's the case for you. 300 00:16:40,377 --> 00:16:41,980 Yeah, no luck ... 301 00:16:42,330 --> 00:16:46,462 Sleep is the foundation of health and more important than sport or nutrition. 302 00:16:46,830 --> 00:16:50,050 All of your functions are improved by a good night's sleep 303 00:16:50,070 --> 00:16:53,230 or reduced by a bad night's sleep. 304 00:16:53,250 --> 00:16:55,581 My mum often say to my sister, 305 00:16:55,601 --> 00:16:58,072 "In a bad mood? You partied too much last week-end." 306 00:16:58,092 --> 00:16:59,318 She's right. 307 00:16:59,348 --> 00:17:02,871 In studies, when half a group is deprived of sleep, 308 00:17:02,892 --> 00:17:04,752 and the other half is allowed to sleep, 309 00:17:04,782 --> 00:17:10,110 the first group better remembers the bad things that happened the day before, 310 00:17:10,130 --> 00:17:13,173 whereas the other is able to process their emotions. 311 00:17:13,743 --> 00:17:16,673 If I make you sit for an exam tomorrow, 312 00:17:16,697 --> 00:17:19,117 and you, I keep waking you up all night 313 00:17:19,138 --> 00:17:21,683 and you, I let you sleep, 314 00:17:21,710 --> 00:17:25,730 and I ask you to use the knowledge that you learnt the day before, 315 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:30,650 you, you will generally perform 40% worse than you. 316 00:17:30,677 --> 00:17:34,677 So they will succeed, and you, you will completely flunk. 317 00:17:35,323 --> 00:17:38,997 If you want your children to succeed at school, pay attention to their sleep. 318 00:17:39,157 --> 00:17:40,580 Now I will finish with this: 319 00:17:40,870 --> 00:17:43,743 ADHD, 320 00:17:43,750 --> 00:17:48,465 lack of sleep can mimic ADHD symptoms. 321 00:17:48,797 --> 00:17:51,850 I would like us to be more careful concerning our lifestyle, 322 00:17:51,871 --> 00:17:54,282 so that we feel better in our body and in our head. 323 00:17:54,323 --> 00:17:58,047 I hope that these few words will inspire you to take care of yourself. 324 00:17:58,257 --> 00:17:59,710 That's it, thank you!