Epistimi a Science Channel

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLYU2Ug7dA

You may consider yourself a chocolate lover, a cereal person, or someone that cannot live without eating a good fillet mignon once a week. But how would you feel if the cravings, or the feeling of fullness and satisfaction we get after a meal, were being manipulated by small organisms living inside our body?

There are many reasons we feel cravings or satisfied, and one of those reasons is the bacteria living in our gut.

There are approximately 40 trillion bacteria in our bodies; most of them live in the large intestine.

Bacteria can control our feeding behavior through a variety of mechanisms. For example, gut bacteria can make us crave the type of food containing the nutrients they need,  change the flavor of the food we eat making it tastier, make us feel good after eating certain dishes, and even induce the feeling of fullness or satiety after absorbing the nutrients they needed. In this video, I’ll share some ways for controlling which bacteria gets to live inside our bodies.

How can you control or change your cravings? Make sure to watch the video.

Hosted and scripted by: Victor Lee

Animations: Luis Lee

Sources:

Review: Is eating behavior manipulated by the gastrointestinal microbiota? Evolutionary pressures and potential mechanisms

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/bies.201400071

The shocking source of your cravings

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-microbe/201905/the-shocking-source-your-cravings

Do gut bacteria rule our minds? In an ecosystem within us, microbes evolved to sway food choices

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140815192240.htm

Bacteria In Mouth Help Make Certain Foods Tasty

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081110181811.htm

Gut microbes signal to the brain when they're full

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151124143330.htm

Are you sure you developed lasting immunity against Covid-19?

9 out of 10 asymptomatic patients and 1 out of 4 symptomatic patients did not show lasting immunity about half a year after recovering from Covid-19.  So unless you are really sure that you mounted a lasting immune response, it is quite a gamble not boosting our immune system with a vaccine shot.

Sources

Research article. Oxford preprint study:

https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-612205/v1

CDC report

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7032e1.htm?s_cid=mm7032e1_w

Article

https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/vaccine-immunity-stronger-than-natural-infection-covid/

Disclaimer

This video was scripted with published and preprint studies up to July 2021.

New studies have reported that immunity gained from natural infection is stronger than a vaccine shot, as seems to be the case against the delta variant. However, the issue remains that some people will mount this effective and strong naturally acquired immune response while others will not. On top of that, getting infected without any acquired immune response is risky.

5 ways to optimize your immune system against Covid-19.

There are many conditions that can affect the severity of Covid-19, like cancer, diabetes, weak immune system, or something as simple as our age. While many people have a compromised immune system because of an underlying disease. Many of us have a weakened immune system because of our diet, lifestyle, or even the way we think. Here are five ways to improve your immune system with a more in-depth explanation of why these methods could protect us from Covid-19.

Hydrotherapy:

Hydrotherapy is using water at various temperatures for health purposes, and in this case, the idea is to use it for activating our immune system and slowing down the progression of the disease.

Supplements:

When the pandemic started researchers and physicians noticed that many patients with severe covid-19 were vitamin D deficient. But when researchers tried vitamin D as a potential treatment for hospitalized patients with severe covid-19, results showed no significant reduction in their hospital length of stay. However, in a randomized control trial study, which is what doctors consider the gold standard to determine if a treatment could actually be used in medical practice, researchers found that on asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients with vitamin D deficiency, receiving doses of vitamin D3 supplements helped them clear the virus.

Exercise:

A new study found that doing  ~150 min/week or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity before getting infected, the chances of being hospitalized with severe covid-19 are reduced. The research also showed that even if the patient exercised between 11-149 min/week before being diagnosed, they had some protection against severe covid-19 illness.

Sleep:

A recent study has found that poor sleep is associated with a prolonged hospital stay in covid-19 patients, a higher risk of developing severe pneumonia, and a seriously dysregulated immune system.

Vaccine:

A vaccine is designed to induce our bodies to generate the necessary antibodies to protect us from the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

How does covid affect the brain?

Covid-19 affects multiple organs, including the brain. In fact, one-third of covid-19 patients will experience a neurological or psychiatric disorder within 6 months since being diagnosed with covid-19.

Covid-19 patients may suffer from headaches, have difficulties thinking, dizziness, brain fog, and can sometimes even developmental disorders like depression and anxiety.

The question is, how does it affect the brain? Is it by infecting the neurons, or is it damaging the brain through indirect mechanisms.

Main sources:

Autopsy study:

https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awab148/6226391

Possible neuroinvasion pathways:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32964419/#:~:text=of%20the%20brain-,Neuroinvasion%20of%20SARS%2DCoV%2D2%20may%20play%20a%20role%20in,J%20Med%20Virol.

Neurological disorders

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00084-5/fulltext

Omega-3 are fatty acids that are integral to our cells. We need them for muscle activity, cell growth, lower levels of inflammation, and the production of hormones that regulate blood clotting, and the contraction and relaxation of artery walls.

Research suggests that the omega-3 found in fish and seaweed decreases the risk of heart diseases, that it may lower blood pressure, triglycerides, the chances of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), and the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.

However new research is showing that we need to be more careful when taking fish oil supplements, as they contain different levels of EPA and DHA

There are several reasons why we dislike cockroaches so much and here we discuss all of the main proposals on why do we fear them. 

We all know sitting the whole day is no good for our health, so how much exercise should you be doing to offset a day of sitting?

Science alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/getting-a-sweat-on-for-30-40-minutes-could-offset-a-day-of-sitting-down

WHO guidelines: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1451

Research article: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1499