Why can not everyone lose weight, quit smoking or start a business? For some, success is a lifestyle, for others, an unattainable dream and an envy. Where do confident, active, optimistic people come from? How to be among them? And what role does food play in this? The sensational discovery of scientists from Oxford can forever turn our understanding of the human body and its personality.
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Do you think the brain is the most influential organ in our body? Of course. But he, like any ruler, has advisers, ministers and allies, pulling strings at the right time. And in this game, the intestines have the most trump cards: about a trillion bacteria of five hundred species and a total weight of 2.5 kilograms live inside it. There are more than stars in the galaxy, and everyone has a vote.
Scientists from Oxford, John Bienstock, Wolfgang Koons and Paul Forsyth studied the human microbiota (a set of intestinal microorganisms) and made a phenomenal conclusion: bacteria living inside the intestines have such an effect that we could not even suspect.
Surely you have heard about emotional intelligence more than once. The cornerstone of self-improvement trainings, emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to correctly understand their own and other people's emotions, and as a result, manage them. So, its level largely depends on the composition of the microbiota! Intestinal bacteria directly affect the nervous system, they are able to change human behavior and even inspire desires, programming to meet the needs of microscopic residents. The symbiosis of a person with bacteria can go sideways: an aggressive microbiota makes a person inhibited, closed, depressive, and therefore unsuccessful and unhappy. However, to show who is the boss in the body and make bacteria work for themselves is not so difficult.
On June 20, 2016, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Andrei Petrovich Prodeus and psychologist Victoria Shimanskaya discussed the latest research on the relationship of emotional intelligence with intestinal microbiota during the talk show Charming Intestine as part of a science café.
The organizers borrowed an unusual name from the physician and biologist Julia Enders, who published a book of the same name in 2014 on the effect of the intestines and its inhabitants on our lives.
Together with the audience, the experts of the event found out: a healthy intestine increases the emotional intelligence and quality of life of a person, and the key to a healthy intestine is in functional nutrition. “You are what you eat” is now a scientific fact. The composition of the microbiota in each person is individual and depends on the diet. Foods activate various types of intestinal bacteria. And if some cause stress and anxiety, then others - accelerate the reaction, improve attention and memory, help manage emotions. According to an expert at a science café, Professor Andrei Petrovich Prodeus: "The microbiota depends on the lifestyle, nutrition, and genotype, but the microbiota also affects the development and functioning of a person, his organs and systems"
The most “positive” scientists called dairy products. Man’s best friends are yogurts and other probiotic products. They maintain a healthy balance of microbiota and positively affect the work of the intestines and the state of emotional intelligence. “Well-developed emotional intelligence gives a person motivation, helps to realize himself, raises self-esteem. It is simply amazing how much in this sense we depend on what we eat! Happiness and success become physiological indicators of the body, and, accordingly, to become happier and more successful is possible thanks to the choice functional nutrition [1] and the regular use of probiotics. These studies are revolutionizing psychology and medicine, "said Victoria Shimanskaya, an expert at the science cafe.
The curator of the event was Danone Group of Companies in Russia, who knows firsthand that good health starts from the inside. Every year, Danone invests more than two hundred million euros in clinical research and new product development, and also collaborates with research centers around the world. In Russia, the French holding produces two lines of probiotic products - Actimel and Activia. A series of Activia probiotic fermented milk products, according to the results of 22 clinical studies, has a positive effect on digestion and emotional intelligence. Activia contains starter cultures and a special probiotic strain of the bacterium ActiRegularis, which makes this product the most beneficial for the intestinal microbiota.
[1] Functional nutrition is the use of foods containing at least 30% of the daily dose of biologically active substances. The choice of such a diet reduces the risk of developing diseases associated with digestion.