Managing Stress, Gut Microbiome and Aging
Three podcasts/essays that I found interesting in the last few weeks:
I am fast becoming a huge fan of Andrew Huberman’s podcasts. I first wrote about him here. Though all of his podcasts are highly educative, I found this particular one on stress quite useful. Especially the fact that not all stress is bad. At times, the initial release of adrenaline is what pushes us into action mode. As long as stress does not become chronic, a reasonable amount of it may actually be welcomed. Related to this talk, I found another old interview where Kelly McGonigal — whose fantastic book ‘The Willpower Instinct’ I am finally reading — reiterates the same point. Huberman gives an array of techniques to deal with stress including one involving cyclical breathing. Breathing techniques have worked for me well in the past few years and I have made a conscious effort to learn a few and do them in conjunction with meditation. In this context, Huberman also refers to James Nestor’s book ‘Breath’ that goes into the science of breathing in more detail.
‘People whose gut bacteria transformed over the decades tended to be healthier and live longer’ so read this essay in NYT that caught my eye. While strong links have been established between the gut and mental health, this essays cites a new research that claims that in healthier people the composition of gut bacteria changes as they age, while in less healthy people ‘the opposite occurs: The composition of their microbiomes remains relatively static and they tend to die earlier.’ For good health, the gut bacteria should adapt as you age. To be clear, the causation is not clear, i.e., whether changes in the gut microbiome drive healthy ageing or vice versa. In any case, can you do anything about this? Not surprisingly, and as previous studies have shown, diet has a huge impact in maintaining gut health and its transformation over the years — and the favoured diet is one rich in fibre from foods like beans, nuts and seeds and fruits and vegetables.
Adam Coterill wrote this essay in the FT defending the tilted work-life balance as a junior investment banker. There is little new that you’ll find in it if you have had investment banker friends, for they would have already made you aware of this lifestyle. Coterill wears his formative years in investment banking that came laced with night-outs and with a badge of honour. He eventually ends up chastising the 13 newly hired analysts who recently complained about the work-life balance at Goldman Sachs. His message to the analysts - ‘your seat is rented. You can tap out at any point you choose — down the hall are thousands of people waiting for a seat to come free’. Well, that’s a fair comment, I would say.
A quote that I recently came across:
Remember books? They’re like twitter threads, but longer
— Demetrius Freeman
