gciosgeneralfederation@gmail.com
GCIOSGF is a federation registered with the Ministry of the Interior.本會為內政部立案成立的非營利組織。
GCIOSGF is a borderless follow-up exchange, friendship, communication, innovation, competition, and elite federation that integrates graduates after graduating from various schools abroad.
.大中華留學生全球總會是一個在國外學校畢業後的留學生一個各校融合，無國界的 後續交流，友誼，溝通，創新，競技，菁英的聯合總會。
It is because pronunciation, stress and rhythm are rarely taught well
Open a textbook for a foreign language, and one of the first things you see is an alphabet, enumerating the letters used in the writing system and the sounds they represent. This is obviously crucial for unfamiliar systems, say those of Greek or Russian. But even for languages that rely on the Latin alphabet, the guide will explain how diacritics such as accent marks change a letter’s pronunciation, and quirks such as the -ch- in German or -gl- in Italian. (The first often sounds like the ch in Scottish loch, the second like the -ll- in million.)
And with that, it’s off to master greetings, vocabulary and so on, with little further thought for pronunciation. This is a shame. There is much more to learning a foreign accent than the sounds that the letters on the page represent. To begin with, the rough equivalents given in English are often quite rough indeed. In French, the p in Paris sounds rather different from the p in English, a contrast often neglected in textbooks: the French version lacks the strong puff of air of the English one. (Hold your palm in front of your mouth and say “Paris” in English. Then try making the p without the puff, and you’ll get the French kind.)
Even when textbooks or instructors mention this sort of nuance, the next step is often missing. As with chemistry, the important thing is not just how the elements behave in isolation, but how they come together. Each language has rules for these combinations, which native speakers (and many teachers) generally grasp but don’t or can’t explain.
Consider an easy example. All French words are stressed on the final syllable, a rule typically explained in textbooks. But the importance of the rule is often underplayed. It applies not only to French words but to any foreign name: French-speakers are acquainted with a Texan city called yoos-TON, not the English HYOO-ston. The final stress is quite emphatic, usually involving a higher pitch and greater volume. Meanwhile, English words often have a secondary as well as a primary stress: in “civilisation” the primary stress is on the fourth syllable and the secondary stress is on the first. In French, the final-syllable stress is so strong as to leave little room for any other.
Next, languages differ in what linguists call phonotactics—in effect, what is a permissible syllable and what isn’t. The p in psychology and pterodactyl is silent because English phonotactic rules do not allow native words to begin with pt- or ps- sounds. English does let these consonants join in the middle of words, like uptown and upside, so English-speakers can certainly pronounce them. But the rule about beginnings means that even if you encourage them to pronounce the p in psychotic, they tend to insert an extra vowel to make it fit the template, and say puh-sychotic. Anglophone commentators discussing Kylian Mbappé, a French footballer, find themselves compelled to add a third syllable, calling him Em-bap-ay.
A similar befuddlement affects many foreigners learning English, perhaps even more so. The reason a Spaniard might say he is from Espain when speaking English is that sp-, st- and other consonant combinations are forbidden at the beginning of Spanish words, which is why the capital of Sweden is Estocolmo. That is just one example. English is unusually rich in consonant clusters that are, in practice, not allowed in other languages. Google a video of foreigners trying to say squirrel for another case study. The word combines an unusual skw- at the beginning, an odd vowel sound in the middle that most languages lack, and the tricky -rl at the end.
Another reason people are betrayed by their accents in other tongues, even if they are otherwise proficient, is that a language’s rhythm can be hard to pin down. They differ in how they space the syllables in a sentence. Cantonese and Italian, for instance, are “syllable-timed”: every syllable has roughly similar duration. Read this sentence aloud and try to pronounce every syllable this way, and you may find yourself halfway to mimicking an Italian. English is “stress-timed” (though less strictly), meaning that stressed syllables occur at roughly regular intervals, the remainder tending to be less distinctly pronounced. This is how you could distinguish Italian from English being spoken through a wall, even without being able to make out any individual sounds or words.
English-speaking tourists sometimes find themselves speaking English with a weird hybrid accent when they go abroad. Linguistic rhythm is infectious. But as with drumming or dancing, a little explicit teaching never hurts.
這樣，就可以開始掌握問候語、詞彙等，而無需進一步考慮發音。這是一種恥辱。學習外國口音不僅僅是學習頁面上的字母所代表的聲音。首先，英語中給出的粗略對應詞通常確實非常粗略。在法語中，巴黎的 p 聽起來與英語中的 p 發音相當不同，這一對比在教科書中經常被忽視：法語版本缺乏英語版本的強烈氣息。 （將手掌放在嘴前，用英語說“Paris”。然後嘗試在不使用泡芙的情況下製作 p，你會得到法式的。）
Obviously, some social relationships have caused us trouble, but it is always difficult to let go, or we don’t know how to let go.
Non-essential social networking
Many people always say that they are too busy, so busy that they have no time to live, read, or cook a meal for themselves, but they don’t know what they are really busy with.
When most people are like this, this kind of ineffective busyness becomes a kind of blind obedience and makes people accustomed. If you want to get rid of ineffective busyness and fatigue, an important first step is to streamline your online social interactions.
In online social networking, we will inevitably create many groups. Friends group, colleague group, company group, project group, grocery shopping group, industry group, coupon group, community group... Everyone has multiple groups with different functions, but in these groups, 80% of the information It is worthless, but it silently consumes our time.
Sometimes I can’t help but look at what is said in the group, sometimes I chat with my colleagues about gossip or complaints, and sometimes I argue with others. We spend a lot of time and energy in chat groups without realizing it. However, time is wasted for no reason, which will shorten our effective time and make life busy and tiring.
In addition to chat groups, friend restrictions and social network posts also need to streamline social interactions. The first thing to do to stop socializing on the Internet is to “delete” it. Delete useless chat groups, delete advertising promotions, or friends who were added at unknown times.
Secondly, a relatively simple and direct way to stop socializing is “time management”, plan your time well, and gradually reduce your time for socializing online. For example, there was originally no time limit for reading messages, but now it only takes half an hour to play. Then gradually reduce the frequency and frequency of online social interactions.
In addition, use mute mode appropriately, turn off group notifications that are not convenient to exit directly, friends that are not suitable for direct deletion, and silence individual friends’ social posts that you do not want to see. Make good use of social functions and gradually reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
frequent recreational gatherings
Getting together with friends occasionally can relieve stress and relax your body and mind. But frequent gatherings and pastimes can easily make people fall into emptiness without realizing it. Life seems lively, but a certain part of my heart is hollowed out.
We need to be even more vigilant about some recreational gatherings in the workplace. After we start working, the people we interact with the most, besides family members, are our colleagues. You can attend occasional gatherings for the purpose of connecting emotionally, but if you gather too frequently and always complain about the company when you get together, it will take a lot of time and effort. Such gatherings are nutritious and can easily lead to unnecessary disputes.
Therefore, just participate in recreational gatherings in moderation. Only by making time and space for yourself, cultivating your own hobbies and building your own spiritual world can you make your life more fulfilling and enjoyable.
Unequal party entertainment
Unequal party entertainment is often tiring and of low value. The so-called asymmetry covers many aspects.
(1) Resource imbalance
Many people are willing to participate in some social activities for the sake of work and personal development. But in reality, many situations are like attending a lot of parties, collecting a lot of business cards, and adding a lot of friends, but in the end nothing happens. Because if you do not have exchangeable resources, or your resources do not have equivalent value, then such entertainment is often difficult to achieve the purpose of resource exchange.
(2) Inconsistency in cognitive levels and values
Why are some gatherings of family and friends so offensive? Why do your relationships gradually fade after some friends succeed in their careers? Why do some industry celebrities seem so aloof?
These interpersonal problems are actually caused by asymmetry in cognitive levels and values. Some relatives like to compare their children’s jobs, incomes, houses, and cars with each other, and urge you to get married and have children, because this is their long-established value standard.
Some friends who have successful careers are not nostalgic, but they may have seen the vast world, gained more knowledge, and led busier lives. Apart from reminiscing about the past, they have little to talk about with old friends.
Some well-known people in the industry may seem “cold”, but it’s probably just that your perceptions are not at the same level. Say something you don’t understand and you still have to explain ten sentences. It’s better to maintain a polite social distance.
Therefore, gatherings and entertainment where there is a large gap in cognitive levels and values should be appropriately streamlined. If you must attend, prepare countermeasures and end it early.
(3) Economic conditions vary greatly
Economic conditions cannot be used as a criterion for making friends, but if they are very different from each other, you should also attend such gatherings selectively. If you are friends who have been together for many years, you will already have a accustomed way of getting along, and you can adapt to each other. If they are new friends and both parties don’t know enough about each other, the gathering process is likely to make both parties uncomfortable.
Many people attend gatherings of old classmates, relatives and friends, and afterward they always complain about someone showing off their wealth, or someone having too many rules and being fake. In the end, the poor feel that the rich show off and show off whatever they lack; the rich feel that
Poor people have low self-esteem. No matter what they do, others think they are showing off.
Regardless of what is right or wrong for the moment, such conflicts are essentially due to the different economic conditions of the two parties, and their living habits and values are naturally different.
Everyone will face different social situations. The division of the above categories is only an example. To put it simply, you can refer to such standards to make choices about the social activities you want to participate in.
Participate in more social interactions to improve yourself. Increasing knowledge, exercising abilities, enriching experiences, etc. This kind of social interaction that helps self-development and self-growth is more worth the time and energy.
該研究是刊登在《BMC Medicine》的兩個研究中的一個。史丹佛大學的預防醫學研究中心（Stanford Prevention Research Center）該研究將21對成年、BMI平均26的雙胞胎分成純素組和雜食組，進行8週的研究，除了看生理和心理狀況，也用細胞年齡來檢驗受試者的器官、新陳代謝和荷爾蒙等等數值是否降低；純素組避免吃動物來源食物，雜食組則是奶、蛋、肉、蔬果都吃。
New data: Diet can indeed rejuvenate your body. Just eat this way
Body functions will gradually decline over time. How to reverse aging and rejuvenate is everyone's pursuit and wish. The latest research has found that as long as you do two things right in your diet, you have a chance to make all body functions younger.
Aging is a physiological process that is difficult to reverse, causing cardiovascular problems, dementia, and various chronic diseases that people avoid. However, although aging is inevitable, two studies have found that through correct diet, various organs and metabolism can be rejuvenated as we age. The reason is that diet can affect DNA.
Eight weeks of vegetarianism changed gene expression, and all physiological indexes became younger
The first study was a twin study published in BMC Medicine. This study by the Stanford Prevention Research Center divided 21 pairs of adult twins with an average BMI of 26 into a vegan group and an omnivorous group. The study was conducted for 8 weeks. In addition to looking at physiological and psychological conditions, cells were also used. Age was used to test whether the subjects' organs, metabolism, hormones, etc. were reduced; the vegan group avoided eating animal-derived foods, while the omnivorous group ate milk, eggs, meat, fruits and vegetables.
The study found that only the vegan group's cell age was reduced, including the heart, liver, endocrine system, metabolic system, and endocrine system, which were "rejuvenated" and the inflammatory index was also reduced. However, the omnivorous group also showed good changes, mainly because they consumed more animal protein, so their tryptophan increased and their mood was happier and more stable.
Diet can affect DNA and rejuvenate body organs and metabolism.
Sugar-free can reduce physiological age, even if a healthy diet encounters sugar, it will not work
Another study is to study the differences between the Mediterranean diet, Alternative Healthy Eating and Epigenetic Nutrient diets from the perspective of nutrients. The characteristics of these three diets include:
Mediterranean diet: Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, olive oil, and avoid processed meats.
Alternative healthy diet: high intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, low intake of sugary drinks, juices and alcohol.
Epigenetic nutritional diet: not using food, but using nutrients as the standard, high intake of folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E), moderate intake of dietary fiber .
The study randomly divided 342 subjects into 3 groups and were given the above dietary patterns, but did not limit sugar intake. That is to say, in addition to eating the diet specified in the study, the subjects were not stipulated how to eat additional sugar, so as to understand Effects of sugar on cell age.
The results showed that these three diets can reduce physiological age. Among them, the Mediterranean diet is the most significant, and can make cells younger by 0.41 years. That is 7.3 days of aging. Even if you do not consume more than 25 grams of sugar a day, eating 25 grams of sugar will make your cells age 183 days.
DNA is like computer hardware, and "bugs" can be fixed by acquired diet and good living habits.
These two studies concluded that cell age can be reversed through diet, and they both mentioned "DNA methylation". How to explain it?
Functional medicine nutritionist Lu likes that DNA is like computer hardware, which can be matched with many software, that is, "methylation". Different software can allow this computer to have different functions, and at the same time, "bugs" can be removed and updated regularly. Close faulty code, open or maintain normal code operation.
Whether methylation can be normal depends on acquired living habits. If living habits are poor and DNA methylation function is abnormal, too many "bugs" will accumulate and crash, causing many genes on DNA to not function normally, such as anti-cancer. Genes, anti-aging genes, etc., leading to chronic diseases or genetic diseases.
Many studies have found that even if there are genetic diseases, they may not occur through acquired diet, nutritional intake and lifestyle adjustments. This is because DNA methylation is well-regulated, so the chance of abnormal manifestations is reduced.
These two dietary experiments both explore the impact of food or nutrients on "DNA methylation". They found that as long as you eat a healthy diet, well-regulated DNA methylation will turn on anti-aging genes and turn off aging genes, so you can reach the age of your cells. Regarding the rejuvenation effect, "The phytochemicals in vegetable food provide better anti-inflammatory effects and reduce oxidative stress. The body can repair DNA regularly. At the same time, phytochemicals can also protect cells. The benefits of these fruits and vegetables can rejuvenate cells," Lu Meibao explain.
Can a vegan diet win? Expert: Not necessarily, this is the only healthy way to eat
Reducing sugar in the diet is generally considered the right thing to do, but is a vegan diet really healthy? Lucia Aronica, a researcher at the Preventive Medicine Research Center at Stanford University, pointed out that although a vegan diet can rejuvenate cells, this does not mean that the vegan diet has won. “The human body needs various nutrients, and long-term vegan diets will lead to nutritional deficiencies. You can eat eggs and milk and avoid processed foods and sugar to be truly healthy."
Nutritionists said that the study was based on eating a pure vegetarian diet for 8 weeks, so it may not be possible to see what nutrients the body lacks. If you eat a pure vegetarian diet for a long time, you may lack protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, calcium, etc. from animal foods. , so it is recommended to make up for the nutritional gap, or switch to lacto-evo-vegetarian so as not to lack nutrients. If you are unable to eat completely vegetarian food, you can implement a Mediterranean diet, but you can eat vegetarian food a few times a month to keep your body healthy and save energy and reduce emissions.
根據全球市調公司歐睿國際（Euromonitor International）2021年3月針對素食者以及植物性食品前景所發布的報告《Going Plant-Based: The Rise of Vegan and Vegetarian Food》指出，隨著素食者對於吃素的倡導和討論，素食人口持續成長，每年的搜尋量與社群聲量也持續攀升。吃素的原因和動機非常多元化，包括因信仰而吃素的宗教原因、抵制不道德的動物飼養、希望降低二氧化碳排放量幫助環保，以及為了健康飲食的訴求，藉由蔬食飲食達成健康目標。隨著追求素食主義的人越來越多，餐飲業也不斷地研發更精緻和美味的素食餐，提高潛在素食者的接受度。
(例句)The kid’s grandmother took him to a shaman for his night terrors.
(那個小孩的阿媽帶他去給仙姑收驚。)
🔸spirit-rebalancing 收驚
🔸to ward off evil spirits.避邪
(例句)She had a car accident last week, so she went to a temple to get her a spirt-rebalancing.
(她上禮拜出車禍，所以她到廟裡收驚。)
🔸paper charm 符
🔸incense ash 香灰
(例句)The shaman made him drink a mixture of water and the ashes from a burnt paper charm.
(那位仙姑要他喝下符水。)
🔸sixth-sense 第六感
Sofia: AHHHH!!! Why are you screaming? You scared the hell out of me!
Sofia：啊啊啊啊啊啊！你幹嘛要尖叫？嚇死我了！
Bob: YOU scared the hell out of me! Why are you sneaking around?
Bob：你才要嚇死我！你在那鬼鬼祟祟什麼？
Sofia: No, I’m not! ( staring at Bob ) Are you alright?
Sofia：我才沒有！（看著 Bob）你還好嗎？
Bob: …This remind me of my childhood memory. There was a time when I had a fever for days, my grandmother believed that I must have been possessed by something so she took me to a Taoist shaman.
As the saying goes: “On the seventh day of July, the Cowherd meets the Weaver Girl.” Today is the Chinese Valentine’s Day, a traditional Chinese festival. In the past, Qixi Festival activities were rich and colorful, especially for girls and young women. This day is also called Daughter’s Day, and you know it is a festival for girls. Moreover, it is said that this day is also the birthday of the Weaver Girl, and many girls will pray to the Weaver Girl for their craft skills and a happy marriage.
Let’s take a look at the traditional customs of Qixi Festival such as begging for skill and competing for skill! I am talking about my daily life, let’s talk about it together.
Happy spider should be clever
Spider Yingqiu is a form of using spiders to make predictions. It is a very interesting begging activity.
Basic operation method:
On July 7th, put the little spider into the box and let the little spider live in the box for a day. Wait until the next day, which is the eighth day of July, to observe the situation inside the box.
Usually, people regard the situation with dense spider webs as having many tricks; those with sparse spider webs as having few tricks. Some people thought it was a coincidence to observe the presence or absence of spider webs and whether the spider webs were round or straight, but later people tested the coincidence according to the density. Isn’t it particularly interesting?
Threading a needle and begging for skill
This is a very early entertainment activity, which is very popular among girls. It is also a good mobile phone to show off your talents, and it is also the time to show off your talents.
Basic operation method:
In the past, girls prepared colorful threads and seven-hole needles. When the preparations were complete, when the time came, they would start the competition, which was also called “Sai Qiao”. Whoever threads the thread the fastest will be ranked first, which is called winning tricks. That is to say, the faster the thread is threaded, the more tricks you can get; if the threading is slower, you lose, and it is called “losing tricks”. If you are willing to admit defeat, you will also be given a small gift.
In the past, people knitted and sewed clothes and could not do without needles and threads. It is also to imitate the skills of the Weaver Girl and learn the talents of the Weaver Girl. Of course, meaningful games are held during the Chinese Valentine’s Day to worship the Weaver Girl and pray for luck and good luck in marriage, hoping for dexterity and a happy marriage.
needle to the moon
“Threading a needle to the moon” is relatively difficult. Think about it, if the night sky is clear on the seventh day of July, but the moon is also curved and the light is dim and not very bright, it will be difficult to thread a needle.
Basic operation method:
In the courtyard of their home, people first set the table with fruits, wine and dishes, worship the Cowherd and the Vega stars, hoping for good luck, and then go about sewing. The girls faced the moon, picked up the five-colored thread, and began to thread the needle. Anyone who could thread the needle had a skillful hand, which was called dexterity. Then, everyone laughed, ate, drank, sang and danced all night long.
As you can imagine, the difficulty is still relatively high. According to Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties, “The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao” records: “On Qixi Festival, Chen uses melons and fruits to bake in wine, worships the two stars of the Cow and the Girl, and uses a nine-hole needle and a five-color thread to pass through it. The Marquis of Good Fortune.”
Test your skill by throwing a needle
In addition to the above praying skills activities and customs, there is another custom, which is to test one’s skill by throwing a needle. This is also a traditional custom of Qixi Festival and was quite popular in the past.
Basic operation method:
There are many methods. Usually, on the sixth day of July, prepare a basin of water and leave it in the yard in the open air overnight. On the seventh day of July, it will be exposed to the sun for another day, and a thin film will form on the surface of the water in the basin. At this time, you can put an embroidery needle on it and look at the needle shadow under the water. If the shapes are different and graceful, it is said to be skillful; if the needle shadow is as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk, and as straight as a thread, it is clumsy, not Skillful.
This activity originated from needle threading, but it is different from needle threading. It was more popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Isn’t it interesting! Do you also want to try it? It’s actually not easy.
Lan Ye Dou Qiao
The seventh month of the lunar calendar used to be called “Lan Moon”, and the night of Chinese Valentine’s Day is also called Lan Night. Lanye’s fight for skill was carried out at this time.
Basic operation method
According to records, this entertainment activity originated from the palace games of the Han Dynasty. On July 7th, the colorful ladies of the palace go to the Guanjin Tower to study together, practice threading the Qiqiao needle, and prepare for the Qixi Festival night begging activity.
Among them, a palace maid carved lotus roots into various shapes of flowers, birds, fish, insects, etc., and presented them to the emperor. The emperor was very happy, so he put these handicrafts on the corner of the table, and then asked the palace maids to search for them in the dark. This is called “Lanye fights for skill”,
Everyone has seen it! “Lanye Douqiu” is a game activity like hide and seek. Whoever can find it will get the trick. Everyone is having a great time.
See it! The begging activities of Qixi Festival are rich and colorful. It is a recreational activity for girls to pray for skills and to hope that the Weaver Girl will give them a happy marriage.
There is an old saying: “On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Weaver Girl cries.” On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Cowherd meets the Weaver Girl. When the two meet, they inevitably burst into tears, and there will be rain on this day. Legend has it that the Weaver Girl’s tears. Of course, there are many colorful activities on the Qixi Festival. Especially in the past, people also had traditions such as worshiping the Weaver Girl, giving thanks to the old cow, eating Qixi fruits, drying books, washing hair and bathing, etc. There are many customs that are very popular.
Living a healthy and long life is the goal pursued by modern people.
Most of the people died due to diseases and some were caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters.
Although medical technology has advanced, it is not a magic bullet.
It is better to rely on yourself than ask for help from others .Relying on your own health and health to accumulate merit is the most important part.
The meaning of vegetarian food in GCIOSGF fashion Veggie Club’s monthly meal gathering is:
Lots of fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, onions, garlic, chives, eggs, ginger, and milk. Don’t eat any kind of meat. Pursue multiple wins: personal health, save the planet. The advantages are as follows:
Benefits of Vegetarian Diet
1 Helps in weight loss
2. Delay aging
3 Gain beautiful and glowing skin
4 Reduce chronic diseases, cancer
5 Feeling calmer
6 Stay away from toxins and eliminate toxins from the body
在地球暖化嚴重之當前，大中華留學生全球總會時尚蔬食薈的目的是集眾人力量每月吃一次蔬食救地球，給自己和家人積福德，同時也給自己的腸胃每月清爽一次。讓自己活得更健康長壽。蔬食薈勿政治，勿宗教，勿直銷，勿拉保險。只針對當前環保綠能議題與自我提升增進友誼等相關議題推廣活動。時尚蔬食薈任何人都可參加無年齡學歷要求.歡迎大家加入這個非常有意義的社團。謝謝！At a time when global warming is serious, the purpose of the Fashion Veggie of GCIOSGF is to gather everyone’s efforts to eat vegetarian food once a month to save the earth, accumulate merit for yourself and your family, and also refresh your stomach every month once. make yourself healthier and live longer. Fashion Veggie Club is not about politics, religion, direct sales, or insurance. We only promote activities related to current environmental protection, green energy issues, self-improvement and friendship enhancement, etc. Anyone can join Fashion Veggie Club, no age or academic requirements required. Welcome everyone to join this very meaningful club.Thanks!
Eating 15 vegetarian meals can reduce 12 kilograms of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to planting a tree.
Everyone actively participates in eating vegetarian food, planting trees, and loving the earth!
◎The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chairman Dr. Pachauri and world leaders, experts and politicians all unanimously pointed out that meat is the main cause of global warming, and eating vegetables can immediately reduce carbon emissions.
◎The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a 1kg carbon reduction campaign per person per day. As long as we don’t eat meat for one meal a day, we can reduce 780g of carbon dioxide.
◎Amount of carbon dioxide emitted by diet:
*Producing one kilogram of beef produces 36.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
*Meat eaters produce 1,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year from their diet.
*Vegetarians’ diet produces 430 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year.
*If people in Taiwan don’t eat meat for one day, they can reduce 161,000,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
This article is part of our Summer reads series. Visit the full collection for book lists, guest essays and more seasonal distractions.
Aglistening roast turkey. Rounds of golden, roast potatoes and parsnips. Pigs in blankets (because what meat-based meal is not improved by a side of sausages wrapped in bacon?). Brussels sprouts. Bread sauce. Cranberry sauce. Gravy. And, to finish, brandy-sodden pudding topped with butter.
Countries vary in their Christmas-meal traditions. Poles prefer fish, often carp. A Swedish julbord groans with variety, though herring will never be far off. But the repast served at most British tables on December 25th is iconic, and has been (with goose sometimes standing in for turkey) since the time of the Victorians.
A good meal has a positive impact on one’s mood. Part of that pleasure is immediate. Those who avoid overindulgence and family squabbles will enjoy a postprandial rise in their blood sugar. That will prompt a flood of endorphins—chemicals that act as happy hormones—to rush through their brains.
But the pleasure goes deeper. Animal proteins, such as roast fowl, hams or fish, contain all the amino acids that the body needs including many it cannot make for itself. Tyrosine and tryptophan are needed for the production, respectively, of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls feelings of pleasure and reward, and serotonin, another such, which helps regulate mood. Brussels sprouts contain folate, a vitamin without which the brain cannot function properly. And cranberries are high in vitamin C, which is involved, among other things, in converting dopamine to noradrenaline, another neurotransmitter, and a lack of which seems to be associated with depression.
With mental-health disorders rising, a growing number of scientists are investigating how food or nutritional supplements affect the mind. Brains, being the most complex and energy-demanding of the body’s organs, almost certainly have their own specialised, nutritional needs. Welcome, then, to the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry.
An adult human brain, which accounts for about 2% of a body’s mass, uses 20% of its metabolic energy. A host of vitamins and minerals are necessary to keep it going. Even in one small section of the brain’s metabolic pathways, many essential nutrients are needed. The conversion of tryptophan to serotonin alone requires vitamin B6, iron, phosphorus and calcium.
Disentangling the brain’s nutritional needs from those of the rest of the body is tricky. Recommended daily allowances (rdas) are little help. They were formulated during the second world war on the basis of the nutrients needed for the physical health of troops. No such rdas exist for the brain. Not yet, at least.
Compared with other fields, nutritional science is understudied. That is partly because it is hard to do well. Randomised controlled trials (rcts), used to test drugs, are tricky. Few people want to stick to an experimental diet for years. Instead, most nutritional science is based on observational studies that try to establish associations between particular foods or nutrients and diseases. They cannot be used to definitively prove a causal connection between a disease and a particular contributing factor in a diet. But as with smoking and lung cancer, put together enough of these kinds of trials and causal narratives begin to emerge.
It is now clear that some diets are particularly good for the brain. One recent study concludes that sticking to the “Mediterranean diet”, high in vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains, low in red and processed meats and saturated fats, decreases the chances of experiencing strokes, cognitive impairment and depression. Other recent work looking at a “green” Mediterranean diet high in polyphenols (the antioxidants found in things like green tea) found it reduced age-related brain atrophy. Another version, the mind diet, emphasises, among other things, eating berries over other kinds of fruit and seems to lessen the risk of dementia.
Scientists think such diets may work by reducing inflammation in the brain. This, in turn, may affect areas such as the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory and mood regulation—and where new neurons grow in adults. Studies in animals show that when they are fed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (from walnuts, for example), flavonoids (consumed mainly via tea and wine), antioxidants (found in berries) and resveratrol (found in red grapes), neuron growth is stimulated and inflammatory processes are reduced. This fits with research suggesting that those who regularly eat ultra-processed, fried and sugary foods, which increase inflammation in the brain, heighten their risk of developing depression.
The hanger games
That Christmas feast is often lambasted as an orgy of gluttony. In fact, with its sides of multiple vegetables, its nutritional density may make it among the healthier meals some people eat throughout the year. Only 10% of adults in America consume their recommended daily serving of vegetables, and just 12% get enough fruit. It is a similar story in much of the world. As a result, many turn to vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for their dietary deficiencies.
In 2018, 54% of North Americans and 43% of Asians were taking a nutritional supplement. The most common types are multivitamins, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. America spends the most on dietary supplements, followed by western Europe and Japan. One estimate put the global market at $152bn in 2021, with 9% annual growth expected until 2030. But in many places the regulation of the supplement industry is either weak or non-existent and little rigorous research has been carried out on either their benefits or risks.
The story of nutritional supplements starts in 1912 when Casimir Funk, a Polish-American biochemist, proposed that unidentified organic substances were required in tiny amounts to maintain human health. It was a revolutionary idea. And he was correct. Along with macronutrients such as protein and carbohydrates, there were undiscovered components of foods—micronutrients. The first vitamin to be isolated and then synthesised in 1936 was thiamine or B1. Deficiency causes beriberi, a disease that can affect both the cardiovascular and the central nervous systems. The discovery prompted a race to isolate, characterise and manufacture vitamins and ultimately launched the supplement industry.
Half a century after Funk’s discovery, the notion that nutrients might be able to treat mental illnesses took hold. Abram Hoffer, a Canadian psychiatrist, tried treating schizophrenics with high doses of vitamins B3. Then in 1968 Linus Pauling, a Nobel-prize-winning chemist, coined the term “orthomolecular psychiatry” to describe the theory that varying the concentration of substances normally present in the body could treat mental disease. But there was little evidence to support their claims and in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association released a report dismissing orthomolecular psychiatry, highlighting the lack of controlled experiments and concluding that large doses of B3 were “useless and not without hazard”.
The absence of any large-scale, serious studies in the field of nutritional psychiatry left an opening for those keen to promote the potential of supplements far beyond any existing science. Autumn Stringam is one such case. After her first baby was born in 1992 Ms Stringam, a Canadian, was admitted to a psychiatric ward with severe post-partum psychosis. Her family had a history of mental illness, including bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression and suicide. Her prognosis was grim. But then her father, together with a friend working in the animal-feed business, developed a supplement containing a range of vitamins and minerals that they claimed were based on supplements that reduced anxiety and stress in pigs. Ms Stringam credited the supplements with her recovery. Her story spread and the family started selling the pills widely.
There were, however, no trials proving efficacy or safety. The suggestion that the supplements were a cure-all led one schizophrenic to abandon his prescribed medication. He subsequently murdered his father and seriously injured his mother. In 2003 the Canadian drug regulator, concerned about the use of untested supplements for serious mental-health disorders, seized the pills. The episode cemented the idea in many minds that using micronutrients to treat mental-health conditions was pure quackery.
And yet today much science does support the idea that there is a strong link between what people eat and their mental health. Studies have shown that b12 shortages cause depression and poor memory and are associated with mania and psychosis. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased risks of dementia and stroke, and are implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. A recent rct found that high doses of B6—100mg per day rather than the rda of 1.3mg—reduces anxiety. In a study by Robert Przybelski of the University of Wisconsin of geriatric patients attending a memory clinic, 40% were deficient in one vitamin (of five that were looked for), and 20% in two.
Epicurious
So why not simply pop a handful of vitamins rather than bother with a complex, and perhaps expensive, diet? In part because you rarely know exactly what you’re getting. Ted Dinan, a professor of psychiatry at University College, Cork describes the supplement industry as the “Wild West”. Unlike tightly regulated drugs, supplements may contain more, or less, of what they claim. Too much vitamin A can be harmful in pregnancy. There are a variety of health risks from taking beta carotene and vitamin E. High doses of one nutrient can interfere with the absorption of others.
Any testing of the use of micronutrients in mental-health conditions in Canada stalled after the episode with Ms Stringam. And yet some remained intrigued. Julia Rucklidge, a clinical psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, was approached in 2003 by a Canadian colleague to see if she might be interested in running such trials. She was sceptical: “I had been taught that nutrition is completely irrelevant to brain health.” At the time, she recalls, she was immersed in positive data showing the efficacy of Prozac, an antidepressant, and stimulants such as methylphenidate for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd). She was excited, she explains, to have these new drugs as tools to treat mental-health problems.
Then she was forced to question those views. She had been treating a child with obsessive compulsive disorder for a year with no success. The family did not want medication. One day when they were leaving she remembered she had a box of supplements under her desk for a trial she was planning. She offered them to the parents with the caveat that she had no idea whether they would work. Two weeks later they returned, saying the child’s obsessions were gone.
Dr Rucklidge was sceptical that any improvement was due to the supplements but it nudged her towards conducting more trials. A few decades on and she has shown that supplements are helpful in children with adhd—particularly those who struggle to regulate their emotions. The trial was recently replicated in America. Other evidence of the efficacy of supplements is emerging. The results of a large rct published in September showed that taking a daily multivitamin may improve cognition in those over 65. Researchers followed more than 2,000 people and estimated that three years of supplementation led to a 60% slowing of cognitive decline.
Nutritional psychiatry is still in its infancy. As it becomes clearer which micronutrients affect the brain, the next stage is to determine how they do so. Another new field of research could help with that.
One of the most intriguing scientific developments of recent years is the discovery of the importance of micro-organisms in the gut as intermediaries between what goes into the mouth and what happens in the brain. Researchers now know that microbes form a complex ecosystem in the gut—known as the microbiome. These microbes need micronutrients. A diet lacking in them, such as that consumed by many in the West, may lead to an imbalance in the gut microbiome.
Could this affect how people think and feel? Evidence is mounting for a link between the gut and the brain in what is termed the psychobiome—part of the microbiome—that does just that. The substances that the various bacteria, viruses and fungi produce may go directly into the bloodstream and infiltrate blood vessels, or they may stimulate the vagus nerve that connects the gut and the brain. The bacteria in the gut produce, among other things, tryptophan, the amino acid thought to have come entirely from the diet.
The sorts of microorganisms found in yogurt specifically, and fermented foods generally, have also been shown by trials to reduce anxiety. Most astonishing to Dr Dinan is the finding that a person’s capacity to deal with stress can be altered by a single strain of bacterium. Studies show that two species of Bifidobacterium and one of Lactobacillus each reduce stress. In a trial on germfree mice, an abnormal stress response was reversed when they were given oral doses of Bifidobacterium infantis. These findings have given rise to the notion of “psychobiotics”—bacteria that, when ingested, may have similar effects to antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication.
The difficulty with developing this new field of researchlies in the economics. Unlike drugs, vitamins, minerals and microbes are not patentable. Pharmaceutical firms have nothing to gain commercially from running trials on pills that anyone can flog. It is difficult to trust industry-sponsored research since it has a bias towards favourable findings. Governments, universities and health systems are better placed to run such trials. None of this will replace the need for a good diet. But it would provide food for thought. ■
