Learning Languages in Society with Gabi.
Learning Languages in society with Gabi is your podcasting and blogging go-to resource especially designed for advanced language learners like you so that you can feel better integrated in a new linguistic and social environment with the help of sociolinguistics.
By listening to this podcast you will:
1. Find useful tips to keep up the high level you have achieved in your favorite languages and brush up on your language skills.
2. Learn how to decode the linguistic and cultural intricacies of our societies so you can deepen your knowledge of the culture whose language you are studying and become part of that new society.
3. Learn about what the science of linguistics is and its different constituents.
4. Learn interesting facts about foreign language acquisition.
5. Listen to interesting interviews with multilingual guests and learn about their work.
6. Learn about the benefits of mindfulness meditation to learning and using a new language in public.
7. Learn about the medical benefits to learn new languages.
8. Learn about the migrations and history of people whose languages have had an influence on the local languages we speak today and realize you are also making history.
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Learning Languages in Society with Gabi.
#019 - The secret of nutrition and cognition.
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#019 - gabi explores the benefits of a healthy diet and the interaction with our mental capacities.
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Hi everybody my name is Gabi and today we’re going to talk about the role of nutrition in language acquisition.
This is going to be the last episode in this three-block series of episodes which includes sports and language acquisition, sleep spindles and memory consolidation for language acquisition and this one last episode, which I named nutrition and cognition.
For starters:Do you know that the foods you eat impact your health?
This is a question we all invariably ask ourselves. And the answer is yes. Absolutely. Food definetely has an impact on our health.
Most importantly, what you eat can have negative effects on the most complex organ in your body: your brain! Amazingly, the food you eat affects neurons, which are the major cells of the brain. In the brain, an unhealthy diet that is rich in fats and sugars causes inflammation of neurons and inhibits the formation of new neurons.
This can affect the way the brain works and contribute to brain disorders like depression. On the other hand, a diet that contains healthy nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, is beneficial for brain health. Such a diet improves the formation of neurons and leads to improved thinking, attention, and memory. In sum, a healthy diet makes the brain happy, so we should all pay attention to what we eat.
Nutrition can affect the brain throughout the life cycle, with profound implications for mental health and degenerative disease. Many aspects of nutrition, from entire diets to specific nutrients, affect brain structure and function.
But The role of nutrition in cognitive neuroscience is complex because, as with all aspects of nutrition, it is multifactorial. The concern is not simply with the impact of a single chemical on the brain but with multiple nutrients, metabolites and interacting factors.
There is a direct relationship between the foods we eat and the functioning of our brains. Proper, healthy nutrition can benefit the brain in several positive ways. A healthy diet can increase the production of new neurons, a process called neurogenesis which is a process ny which neurons are formed on the brain.
What we eat can also affect the synapcitc plasticity which is the ability of the connections between neurons to become stronger or weaker over time.
Synaptic plasticity is simply a measure of the number of connections between neurons. The more the connections between neurons the better they can communicate, and the better we can learn, think, and memorize.
Okay, all of this is fine, we say that nutrition affects cognition?
But let’s take a look at what cognition really means. Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and the integration of these processes into responses such as learning, attention, memory, intelligence (intelligence quotient; IQ) and consciousness. Many aspects of nutrition, from entire diets to individual nutrients, have been implicated in cognition, mental health, dysfunction and disease.
Recent research suggests that there other factors are of particular importance: early environment and genetic variability.
When the fetal weight is estimated to be below its gestational age there can be many nutritional deficits.
This problem has both immediate and long-term consequences for mental health because many of these infants are at major risk of impaired neurodevelopment and neurobehaviour, including multiple cognitive deficits in memory and learning. Being born below the right weight has effects on IQ, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia.
All of these problems seem to affect more men than women so that is why we say they are gender-specific. Likewise, being born below the right weight results in having has a reduced hippocampal volume at term age, as well as less-mature brain function.
Despite considerable controversy, substantial evidence suggests that both maternal and infant nutrition have a critical role in later brain function. Maternal n-3 fatty acid intake at 32 weeks of gestation is directly related to the child's IQ at 8 years of age.
Genetic variability refers to the tendency of individual genetic characteristics in a population to vary from one another. It may also refer to the potential of a genotype to change or deviate when exposed to environmental or genetic factors.
And this is when the Mediterranean diet kicks in
Mediterranean diet
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean Diet is a way of eating that emphasizes plant-based foods and healthy fats.
In general, if you follow a Mediterranean Diet, you’ll eat:
- Lots of vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils and nuts.
- Lots of whole grains, like whole-wheat bread and brown rice.
- Plenty of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as a source of healthy fat.
- A moderate amount of fish, especially fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- A moderate amount of cheese and yogurt.
- Little or no meat, choosing poultry instead of red meat.
- Little or no sweets, sugary drinks or butter.
- A moderate amount of wine with meals (but if you don’t already drink, don’t start).
A dietitian can help you modify this diet as needed based on your medical history, underlying conditions, allergies and preferences.
What are the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean Diet has many benefits, including:
- Lowering your risk of casdiovascular disease.
- Supporting a body weight that’s healthy for you.
- Supporting healthy blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Lowering your risk of metabolic syndrome.
- Supporting a healthy balance of gut microbiota (bacteria and other microorganisms) in your digestive system.
- Lowering your risk for certain types of cancer.
- Slowing the decline of brain function as you age.
- Helping you live longer.
What are fatty acids and why are they important?
Fatty acids are the building blocks of the fat in our bodies and in the food we eat. During digestion, the body breaks down fats into fatty acids, which can then be absorbed into the blood. Fatty acid molecules are usually joined together in groups of three, forming a molecule called a triglyceride.
These fatty acids enhance memory, mood and behaviour and reduce the symptoms of depression. By contrast, deficiency of n-3 fatty acids is linked with increased risk of dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
Fatty acids: n-3 and n-6 are of particular importance for our bodies.
What foods contain omega-3 and omega-6 fats?
- fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, arctic char and trout.
- eggs (including omega-3 enriched)
- flaxseeds and flaxseed oil.
- walnuts.
- soybeans.
- tofu.
- canola oil.
- fortified foods like some margarines, juices and yogurts.
Recent research suggests that it is not simply the level of n-3 fatty acids but the balance between n-3 and n-6 fatty acid intakes that is critical for optimal mental health.