Cristina Galafate
Updated Friday, March 8, 2024-02:18
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María Puntí
(Barcelona, May 12, 1996) studied Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing, but when she suffered a serious injury to her ankle and underwent three operations, she turned her career around.
"The doctor encouraged me to
eat better and train my strength
to recover, and that's where I started to get interested in health," she recalls.
She studied dietetics and did a master's degree in human microbiota (
Tech Schoool of Nutrition
) and formed a multidisciplinary team qualified to set up two integrative health clinics.
"I have brought together psychologists, registered nutritionists and dieticians, personal trainers and doctors specialized in integrative therapy to offer a vision of complete health by connecting all professionals. I saw that there were more and more
problems related to the microbiota
with stress and anxiety as a root," he explains.
Puntí is also a popularizer on social networks, where she has thousands of followers.EM
A health promoter on social networks, where she gathers thousands of followers, she has just published
The Longevity Pyramid
(Ed. Vergara), where she offers a guide to recovering vitality.
"The goal is not to age as late as possible, but as well as possible
," she defends.
Why do you place emotional health and tribe at the base of the longevity pyramid above, for example, diet? From the experience I observe with patients.
90% of the people who come to the clinic come with emotional situations that have been very shocking for them and that they have not known how to manage.
A
bullying
[harassment situation], a breakup of a relationship, a family problem... And that leads them to live with stress and anxiety that is totally inflammatory and that in turn triggers diseases.
For me it is important that people are clear that mental health is a priority.
Sometimes we start taking care of ourselves with
supplements or an extreme diet instead of laying the foundation
.
We use food as a way to escape from emotions.
In his book he talks about the so-called 'blue zones' where the oldest beings in the world live and in Spain, specifically, he cites Ourense, in Galicia, where for every one hundred thousand inhabitants, 75 are centenarians.
What do they have in common? It has been observed that each one has a different diet and is in a different part of the world, but they all share a
slow life
, that is, a quiet life where
time is dedicated to rest and caring for others
.
They have a very strong network of family relationships with several generations at the same time and a spirituality, religious or not, that provides them with a lot of calm.
What is the worst habit for longevity?
Little rest is the worst habit
we have.
We go to sleep at odd hours surrounded by screens and sleep for five or six hours of poor quality.
And the best one we should implement? The daily movement.
We are an increasingly sedentary society, where obesity rates continue to grow.
Dietary habits are essential and people are increasingly aware of this, but not so much with exercise.
We spend many hours sitting
, we don't even reach 8,000 steps.
It is also necessary to dedicate at least two days a week to
strength training
, even if it is 20 minutes.
That would do us a lot of good. The majority of society does not move, and those who do tend to focus more on cardiovascular exercise than on strength training.
If there is so much scientific evidence of its benefits, why does this happen, especially with women? It is the great unknown, because people think of strength as if it were a bodybuilder who moves 100 kilos.
It is not so much the volume of the muscle as its function.
The same muscle contraction already produces myokines, which are anti-inflammatory molecules that
enhance the immune system.
and they promote the generation of new bone, which is super important in menopause, with the absence of estrogen, which makes us suffer osteoporosis.
Hence training strength is vital.
And it also helps us better manage blood sugar.
We count calories but the more muscle mass we have, the more we burn and we can eat a normal and not so restrictive diet.
Muscle is a combustion machine to maintain itself.
Moving more and moving well, with strength as well as cardio, will give us all these benefits.
And on a mental level? It also promotes neurogenesis [the process by which new neurons are generated].
It is a fundamental stimulus to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.
And
it generates dopamine
, we feel very good after training, in times where anxiety and depression are the order of the day.
It is an ally to take care of mental health. The pace is very fast in Western societies and everyone has that feeling that they cannot complete an infinite list of obligations.
What do you propose against this loop race? It depends a lot on each person's situation, but I summarize it as knowing how to establish priorities.
Sometimes we say yes to everything and don't take a moment to think about what life we want to lead.
We need to ask ourselves.
I work with people from 16 to 80 years old and, at any moment, they change their direction.
They study a career at 40, for example.
We are usually very afraid to break with that
status quo
.
If you are not happy, it is never too late to change
.
In the book he talks about supplementation that helps with longevity, making it clear that it is the tip of the iceberg and not a panacea.
What are the accessories you recommend?
Magnesium is involved in more than 200 functions in the body.
It is one of the supplements that has the most scientific evidence for multiple reasons.
It helps us synthesize vitamin D, so necessary in winter, which for me would be essential in areas where you cannot enjoy the sun as much, because it strengthens the immune system and bones.
And what about adaptogens to reduce stress? These types of supplements help regulate the nervous system using natural substances.
In the book I mention
Ashwagandha and gaba
.
But of course, if we live a stressful lifestyle, they are a help, they do not go to the root of the problem.
I also include probiotics, because for me digestive health is essential. There are many currents in nutrition.
In the book he debunks many myths.
Which one do you think confuses us the most? Carbophobia.
Thinking that the ketogenic diet is the panacea and carbohydrates the great evil.
In cases of prediabetes, keto is proven because the body is not managing carbohydrates well, but for the general population they help us maintain muscle mass, sleep better at night... In the end we have people
without nutritional education eating ultra-processed
, high-calorie foods and to people who do care about their diet and train doing ketogenic.
The contexts must be taken into account to use the correct diet, because in the long term it does not make any sense to eliminate fruit and whole grains, I am not talking about refined flours and poor quality breads or pastries.
He also dedicates a chapter to eggs, associated with the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases in a belief that he describes as erroneous. They are said to clog the arteries.
No, what clogs the arteries is low-grade inflammation, the consumption of hydrogenated fats, poor sugar regulation due to a sedentary lifestyle, by taking so much sugar that our muscles are saturated and it remains circulating in the blood, causing arterial problems. .
The egg is a multivitamin.
It has A, E, B2, niacin, iron, zinc and selenium.
People are afraid to eat eggs but they eat three packages of cookies
.
It is a paradox that traditional foods that we have been consuming for years are associated with modern diseases.
We are blaming these foods without any sense, because what has changed is the stressful rhythm and not moving.
A sedentary lifestyle supported by ultra-processed foods that are highly caloric and do not provide nutrients. Is the Mediterranean diet, as the studies say, the one that helps the most with longevity? Yes, and the Atlantic one.
For me they are the two most recommended.
But the Mediterranean diet is not morning toast with coffee.
There is great confusion.
It is the lifelong diet rich in fruits, vegetables, oily fish, grass-fed meat and olive oil.
It is very easy to say on networks that meat kills or dairy kills
, generating attention, views and
likes.
.
But foods close to the earth have been consumed since ancient times. More and more people take melatonin, it is not known if the real medicine or sugar gummies in the form of fructose.
Are there other better habits for resting? We use supplements or medications without observing circadian rhythms.
There are habits as simple as not drinking stimulating drinks after three in the afternoon, such as coffee or energy drinks.
Moving during the day makes us spend calories, because if we sit all day we will not rest properly.
And we are exposed to screens until late at night.
This inhibits the production of melatonin, which regulates our exposure to light.
If half an hour before going to sleep we read or draw we will fall asleep better
.
What percentage is genetic and what percentage can be modulated through epigenetics to live longer? The data speaks of between 20 and 25% determined by our genes and the rest of other factors.
There are things that are not under our control, like where we were born, but we do have the ability to eat a better diet, do strength training, go dancing or climbing, walk with friends, go to the mountains...
Lower the Pacing ourselves to our demands is also key to combating anxiety
.
We can't be on autopilot all day.
Human beings cannot do everything perfect and we must apply the handbrake to this current pace of life.
The Longevity Pyramid
is edited by Vergara and you can buy it here