Summary of Nuestro cerebro es lo que comemos (La noche temática documental completo)

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

This video discusses how diet can affect the brain, both in the short- and long-term. It explains that a healthy diet is important for maintaining mental abilities, and that processed foods and sugar can damage the brain. The video also discusses how maternal diet can affect the emotional and mental health of children up to 5 years old.

• 00:00:00 The video discusses the effects of diet on the brain. It explains that a diet high in sugar and fat can damage the brain over time, and that this damage can lead to problems such as mental health, emotional states, and cognitive abilities. The video also discusses the importance of early nutrition in the development of the brain, and how maternal diet can affect the emotional and mental health of children up to 5 years old. Finally, the video discusses a recent study that showed that mothers who eat a lot of processed foods and sugar are often aggressive and have children with behavioral problems.
• 00:05:00 In this video, scientists discuss how a lack of Omega-3 fatty acids in the brain can lead to developmental problems and even brain death in rodents. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for heart health and artery function, and are essential for the human body to produce on its own. Humans need to eat a variety of Omega-3 rich foods to ensure a healthy brain. However, in industrialized countries, the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in the average person's diet has declined significantly. It is believed that this decline in Omega-3 intake is responsible for the alarming population decline of hamsters. At the same time, the farming of maize has increased dramatically, which may be contributing to the hamster's decline. A study in a laboratory setting showed that female hamsters that were fed exclusively maize during their copulation period displayed disturbed behaviors, such as increased aggression and sensitivity to noise. However, it is still unclear if a lack of Omega-3 fatty acids in the human diet leads to aggressive behavior in humans.
• 00:10:00 In this video, researchers study the impacts of food on behavior in prisons. They study the effects of enriched diets on prisoner's behavior and the number of incidents they were punished for. They found that the number of incidents decreased drastically among prisoners whose food was enriched with vitamins, minerals, and fats. This indicates that food can also impact our decisions, thoughts, and emotions.
• 00:15:00 Scientists conducted blood tests to study hormones and amino acids in people's brains in order to analyze how what they eat affects their mental state. The results of the blood tests showed that those whose blood had more Tirosine had a higher probability of accepting an unfair offer. In just a few hours, what we eat affects our brain chemistry, and communication between neurons is also affected. This is enough to influence some daily decisions. However, junk food rich in sugar and unhealthy fats has far-reaching consequences, as demonstrated by Australian scientists at the University of Sydney. Dr. Margaret Morris directs the only laboratory in the world where rats are fed commercially produced food. By feeding rats standard food like steak, potatoes, and cookies, they simulate the Western diet. The first consequence of this diet is that the rats eat twice as much as they normally would. The larger an animal's portion, the more it never seems to be satisfied. However, that's not the biggest surprise. The biggest surprise is that over-fed rats have improved memory for objects. They are able to remember an object better if it is moved instead of left stationary.
• 00:20:00 The video demonstrates that animals that are fed very rich foods, such as both fats and sugar, recognize moving objects less frequently than normal. This indicates damage to spatial memory in overfed animals. In addition, overfed animals also have other functional impairments, which are a sign of alarm for scientists. These changes in the brain indicate changes in the hippocampus, a small region deep in the brain responsible for learning and memory consolidation. Recent studies show that diet-induced inflammation also damages the human hippocampus. This damage may be due to the food's permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which would otherwise protect the brain from pro-inflammatory substances. This inflammatory response may then spread throughout the body, leading to the destruction of brain cells and functional neurons. This uncontrolled eating behavior may significantly contribute to the obesity epidemic.
• 00:25:00 This video shows the importance of food to the health of a person's brain, and the importance of changing eating habits. A microscope, mini pipette, and highly sensitive recording device are used to measure the activity of a single neuron. The principle is simple: the electrical activity of a rat's brain can be measured in a liquid, and is kept alive this way. The researcher carefully moves the electrode towards the brain, until there is contact. Then, the neuron's activity is measured. The upward oscillations are potential actions of this way the neuron sends information. The time between oscillations represents the message the neuron is sending. However, now we will increase the neuron's activity by increasing the glucose concentration in the liquid. We'll see if this cell responds as expected by reacting more vigorously to increased activity. However, this response of this cell is not limited to just one neuron. All neurons in the brain are connected to each other, and according to scientists, this glucose alters the activity of all brain areas responsible for sensation and pleasure. So, sugar takes control of our freedom of choice. Up to this point, this is only an hypothesis. However, the increasing incidence of sugar addiction in the laboratories is now being studied in more detail. It
• 00:30:00 In the video, Erika Steig, an Oregon Research Institute scientist, shows how eating high-energy foods like candy affects the brain in the same way as drug abuse. The 100 students who participated in the study all ate ice cream every day, while the other half never ate ice cream. The students came to the laboratory to have their brain activity recorded while drinking a chocolate drink. Steig and her team were interested in determining which circuit in the brain is activated when someone chooses a dessert instead of a main course. They found that the system for reward is more active in those who never ate ice cream than in those who ate ice cream everyday. In addition, they found that people who ate a lot of sugar reacted more intensely to food imagery than those who never ate sugar. This intense reaction to food images can lead people to overeat and develop obesity and other health problems. Steig and her team are continuing to study how food choices are controlled by the brain. By measuring the activity of single cells, they are able to identify the factors that influence a person's dietary behavior.
• 00:35:00 The video discusses the role of proteins in the body, and how scientists have recently discovered that this isn't always the case. Sometimes, insects have an appetite for proteins that is not influenced by bacteria in their intestines. They wanted to find out why and conducted numerous experiments to confirm their hypothesis. It was clear that the appetite for proteins in insects was inhibited by two specific intestinal bacteria. These two bacteria have a great impact on their food choices, and the insect's food behavior is influenced by them. This surprising discovery raises an important question: Do bacteria in our own intestinal flora play a role in our behavior related to food? Scientists at the University of Cork in Ireland, where Jon Cryer is a pioneer in the study of the intestinal microbiota, believe so. Before the availability of a variety of food items, a healthy diet is based on a variety of factors starting from conception to death. And diet is one of the most important factors in influencing our gut microbiota. In a recent study, 66 clinically depressed patients were given dietary advice from a nutritionist for three months. At the end of the study, the patients' depression scores improved as their dietary changes coincided with a improvement in their microbiota composition. This is just one example of how diet can have a positive impact on
• 00:40:00 The video discusses how various foods contain "polifenols" that can help restore damaged neurons. These foods include red fruits and vegetables, which are said to be the best way to maintain mental abilities as we age. However, the science behind this connection is still being understood, and determining the ideal diet for our grey cells is still a mystery. However, eating a varied and balanced diet that does not include processed foods and sugar is likely the best way to keep our brains healthy. Finally, my grandmother used to say, "You are what you eat." So, eat well and let science begin to recognize the importance of a healthy diet in maintaining behavior.