Nes conseils Steinbach pour booster son moral – Epycure

September 1, 2021

3min reading time

Hello everyone,

Today is a special day for Epycure.
We are very proud to present the very first episode of our podcast, Le Club Bonheur with neuroscientist, Emilie Steinbach.

Emilie has a degree in Neurosciences and Neuropsychology, with a specialization in “Neuro-Nutrition”. Today, she continues her academic career in the field of nutrition and intestinal microbiota. Alongside her passion for scientific research, Emilie launched “Feed Your Brain”; a project through which young scientists share their passion with the general public via social networks in a popular way on subjects linked to the human body, health or even the brain. We'll give you a link to his Instagram account, right here: @feedingmybrain

In this episode, we talk to you more specifically about the impact of our nutrition and our pace of life on our moods.

During this period of confinement, which can be particularly anxiety-provoking for many people, Emilie shares with us her techniques to adopt to soften our moods and our anxieties:

Maintain a living environment while respecting your usual rhythms;
Find tips for setting new goals;
Get up and go to bed at the same time to get better sleep
Good quality: room at 18.5° and a good quantity: between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.;
Doing things that make us feel good (meditation, gardening, walking) and taking care of ourselves (cooking good meals).

On the nutrition side, Emilie explains to us that it has an impact on moods via the intestinal microbiota. She insists on the fact that eating should be a moment of pleasure, a moment of sharing with family or friends. It is important not to approach nutrition in a guilty way.

On the menu, the foods to favor to boost your morale: vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, fish, spices, herbs. The bacteria that live in the gut love fiber. Eating everything is the key to a good diet. Moreover, in this episode, Emilie challenges us to eat 20 to 30 foods every week. So vary the tastes, diversify the colors and thus stimulate your happy hormones!

Avoid industrial, ultra-processed foods and empty calories: foods with a lot of calories and few nutrients (sodas, prepared meals, etc.) to avoid feeling sluggish. During this podcast, we also discuss the subject of the famous “pump” after certain festive meals; very fatty, very sugary, very high-calorie meals. These require a lot of effort to digest and greatly increase thermogenesis (increase in body temperature). Alcohol increases the level of a neurotransmitter: gaba (main inhibitor of brain activity) and makes you less responsive to activity.

Today, being isolated can become a source of stress; it is a healthy, survival reaction of the body. However, chronic, long-term stress can have harmful effects on health (digestion problems, depressive syndrome).

In a very representative way, Emilie explains to us how stress works in our brain. In summary, our body is governed by two autonomic nervous systems:

The sympathetic system , which prepares the body for action and which most of the time results in an acceleration of the heart rate;
The parasympathetic system , which stimulated by calm and relaxation, promotes relaxation and regeneration;

Overstimulation of one system causes the other to weaken. Nowadays, the sympathetic system is overused, which puts us in a state of permanent stress, with muscular tension, insomnia, anxiety. This is why it is important to find a fair balance between the two! To do this, remember our neuroscientist's three pillars for good health: sleep, nutrition and physical activity.

To finish, here are Emilie's answers to our “ Tonic Quiz ” (quick questions - quick answers):