TEDMED 2011
AJ Jacobs: How healthy living nearly killed me
A.J. Jacobs: Como a vida sa case me mata.
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Durante un ano, A.J. Jacobs seguiu todos os consellos de vida sa que puido; desde poñerse crema solar ata levar un casco de bicicleta mentres vai de compras. No esceario de TEDMED, comparte as cousas sorprendentes que aprendeu.
AJ Jacobs - Author
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor. Full bio
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I've spent the last decade
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Pasei a última década
00:17
subjecting myself to pain and humiliation,
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someténdome á dor e á humillación,
00:20
hopefully for a good cause,
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coa esperanza de facelo por unha boa causa,
00:22
which is self-improvement.
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que é o crecemento persoal.
00:25
And I've done this in three parts.
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E fíxeno en tres partes.
00:27
So first I started with the mind.
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Primeiro comecei coa mente.
00:30
And I decided to try to get smarter
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Decidín intentar ser máis intelixente
00:34
by reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
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lendo a Enciclopedia Británica ao completo
00:36
from A to Z --
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desde a A ata a Z
00:38
or, more precisely, from "a-ak" to "Zywiec."
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(máis concretamente desde "a-ak" ata "Zywiec").
00:41
And here's a little image of that.
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Aquí vai unha pequena imaxe daquelo.
00:43
And this was an amazing year.
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Foi un ano incrible.
00:45
It was really a fascinating journey.
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Foi unha viaxe fascinante.
00:47
It was painful at times,
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Doloroso ás veces,
00:50
especially for those around me.
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especialmente para os que estaban comigo.
00:52
My wife started to fine me one dollar
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A miña muller comezou a cobrarme un dólar de multa
00:55
for every irrelevant fact I inserted into conversation.
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por cada comentario irrelevante que incluía na conversa.
00:58
So it had its downsides.
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Así que tivo un lado malo.
01:02
But after that,
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Pero logo diso,
01:04
I decided to work on the spirit.
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decidín traballar o espírito.
01:06
As I mentioned last year,
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Como xa mencionei o ano pasado,
01:08
I grew up with no religion at all.
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crecín sen relixión algunha.
01:10
I'm Jewish,
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Son xudeu,
01:12
but I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is Italian.
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pero son xudeu do mesmo xeito que o Olive Garden é italiano.
01:15
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:17
Not really.
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Realmente non.
01:19
But I decided to learn about the Bible and my heritage
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Pero decidín aprender sobre a Biblia e a miña herdanza
01:22
by actually diving in
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profundando nela
01:24
and trying to live it and immerse myself in it.
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e intentando vivila e mergullarme nela.
01:26
So I decided to follow all the rules of the Bible.
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Decidín seguir todas as regras da Biblia.
01:29
And from the Ten Commandments
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Desde os dez mandamentos
01:31
to growing my beard --
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ata deixarme barba,
01:33
because Leviticus says you cannot shave.
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porque o Levítico di que non te podes afeitar.
01:35
So this is what I looked like by the end.
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Así que ao final tiña esta pinta.
01:38
Thank you for that reaction.
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Grazas por esa reacción.
01:40
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:43
I look a little like Moses, or Ted Kaczynski.
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Parecía Moisés ou Ted Kaczynski.
01:46
I got both of them.
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Tiña un pouco dos dous.
01:48
So there was the topiary there.
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Aí está o topiario.
01:51
And there's the sheep.
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E aquí a ouvella.
01:54
Now the final part of the trilogy
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Na parte final da triloxía
01:56
was I wanted to focus on the body
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quixen centrarme no corpo
01:59
and try to be the healthiest person I could be,
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e intentar estar o máis san que un pode estar,
02:01
the healthiest person alive.
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a persoa viva máis sa.
02:03
So that's what I've been doing the last couple of years.
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Así que iso é o que fixen os dous últimos anos.
02:06
And I just finished a couple of months ago.
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Rematei fai dous meses.
02:08
And I have to say, thank God.
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E teño que dicir que grazas a Deus.
02:10
Because living so healthily was killing me.
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Porque vivir de forma tan sa estábame matando.
02:13
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
02:15
It was so overwhelming,
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Foi insoportable
02:18
because the amount of things you have to do,
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porque a cantidade de cousas que tes que facer
02:20
it's just mind-boggling.
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é incrible.
02:22
I was listening to all the experts
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Escoitei a todos eses expertos
02:24
and talking to sort of a board of medical advisers.
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e falei cunha especie de grupo de conselleiros médicos.
02:26
And they were telling me
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Eles dicíanme
02:28
all the things I had to do.
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todo o que tiña que facer.
02:30
I had to eat right,
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Tiña que comer ben,
02:32
exercise, meditate, pet dogs,
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facer exercicio, meditar, ter cans,
02:35
because that lowers the blood pressure.
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porque iso disminúe a presión arterial.
02:37
I wrote the book on a treadmill,
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Escribín o libro nunha cinta de andar,
02:39
and it took me about a thousand miles
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e tardei uns 1500 quilómetros
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to write the book.
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en escribilo.
02:43
I had to put on sunscreen.
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Tiven que usar protector solar.
02:45
This was no small feat,
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Foi unha gran proeza
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because if you listen to dermatologists,
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porque se lles fas caso aos dermatólogos
02:49
they say that you should have a shot glass full of sunscreen.
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dinche que tes que poñer unha copiña de protector solar.
02:52
And you have to reapply it every two to four hours.
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E tes que volver aplicala cada dúas ou catro horas.
02:54
So I think half of my book advance
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Así que a metade do avance do meu libro
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went into sunscreen.
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foi sobre o protector solar.
02:58
I was like a glazed doughnut
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Fun un donut glaseado
03:00
for most of the year.
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a maior parte do ano.
03:02
There was the washing of hands.
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Tamén tiña que lavar as mans.
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I had to do that properly.
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Tiña que facelo ben.
03:06
And my immunologist told me
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E o meu inmunólogo díxome
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that I should also wipe down
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que tiña que limpar cun trapo
03:11
all of the remote controls and iPhones in my house,
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todos os mandos e iPhones que tivese na casa
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because those are just orgies of germs.
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porque son orxías de xermes.
03:17
So that took a lot of time.
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E iso levoume moito tempo.
03:19
I also tried to be the safest person I could be,
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Tamén tratei de ser o máis seguro que puiden
03:22
because that's a part of health.
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porque iso forma parte da saúde.
03:24
I was inspired
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Inspiroume
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by the Danish Safety Council.
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o Consello de Seguridade Danés.
03:28
They started a public campaign
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Comezaron unha campaña pública
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that says, "A walking helmet is a good helmet."
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que di "un casco de camiñar é un bo casco".
03:33
So they believe you should not just wear helmets for biking,
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Pensan que non só debes levar un casco na bici,
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but also for walking around.
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senón tamén cando camiñas.
03:40
And you can see there
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Así que podedes velos
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they're shopping with their helmets.
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facendo a compra cos seus cascos.
03:45
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
03:47
Well yeah, I tried that.
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Si, eu intenteino.
03:51
Now it's a little extreme, I admit.
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Pero admito que é un pouco extremo.
03:53
But if you think about this,
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Aínda que si o pensades,
03:55
this is actually -- the "Freakonomics" authors wrote about this --
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en realidade -os autores do "Freakonomics" escribiron sobre isto-
03:58
that more people die on a per mile basis
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morre máis xente
04:01
from drunk walking
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por andar bébedo
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than from drunk driving.
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que por conducir bébedo.
04:05
So something to think about tonight
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É algo sobre o que pensar esta noite
04:07
if you've had a couple.
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se tivestes parella.
04:10
So I finished,
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Con iso rematei,
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and it was a success in a sense.
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en certo xeito con éxito.
04:14
All of the markers went in the right direction.
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E todos os marcadores foron na dirección correcta.
04:17
My cholesterol went down, I lost weight,
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O meu colesterol disminuíu, perdín peso,
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my wife stopped telling me that I looked pregnant.
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a miña muller parou de dicirme que parecía preñado.
04:24
So that was nice.
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Estivo ben.
04:27
And it was successful overall.
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En xeral, foi un éxito.
04:30
But I also learned that I was too healthy,
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Pero tamén aprendín que estaba demasiado san,
04:32
and that was unhealthy.
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e iso non era san.
04:34
I was so focused on doing all these things
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Centreime tanto en facer todas esas cousas
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that I was neglecting my friends and family.
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que estaba descoidando aos meus amigos e familia.
04:40
And as Dan Buettner can tell you,
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E como Dan Buettner pode dicirvos,
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having a strong social network
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ter unha rede social forte
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is so crucial to our health.
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é crucial para a nosa saúde.
04:46
So I finished.
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Así que parei.
04:48
And I kind of went overboard
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E en certo modo paseime
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on the week after the project was over.
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a semana despois de rematar o proxecto.
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I went to the dark side,
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Paseime ao lado escuro
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and I just indulged myself.
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e deime un capricho.
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It was like something out of Caligula.
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Parecía sacado de Calígula.
05:00
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
05:02
Without the sex part.
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Sen a parte do sexo.
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Because I have three young kids,
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Porque teño tres raparigos,
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so that wasn't happening.
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así que iso non pasou.
05:09
But the over-eating and over-drinking, definitely.
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Pero si polo de beber e comer en exceso.
05:12
And I finally have stabilized.
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E finalmente estabiliceime.
05:17
So now I'm back
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Así que volvín
05:19
to adopting many -- not all; I don't wear a helmet anymore --
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para facer moitas - non todas; non penso volver levar casco-
05:22
but dozens of healthy behaviors
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das conductas saudables
05:25
that I adopted during my year.
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que adoptei o último ano.
05:28
It was really a life-changing project.
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Foi un proxecto que me cambiou a vida de verdade.
05:31
And I, of course, don't have time to go into all of them.
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Pero non teño tempo para facelo todo.
05:34
Let me just tell you two really quickly.
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Deixádeme dicirvos dúas cousas rápidas.
05:37
The first is -- and this was surprising to me;
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A primeira - que me sorprendeu;
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I didn't expect this to come out --
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é que non esperaba que fose así,
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but I live a much quieter life now.
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pero agora levo unha vida máis tranquila.
05:44
Because we live in such a noisy world.
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Porque vivimos nun mundo barullento.
05:47
There's trains and planes and cars
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Hai trens, avións e coches
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and Bill O'Reilly, he's very noisy.
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e Bill O'Reilly é moi barullento.
05:54
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
05:57
And this is a real underestimated, under-appreciated health hazard --
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E isto está subestimado, un perigo para a saúde menosprezado,
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not just because it harms our hearing, which it obviously does,
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non só porque nos dana o oído, que o fai,
06:05
but it actually initiates
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senón porque inicia
06:08
the fight-or-flight response.
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a resposta de loita ou foxe.
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A loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going.
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Un ruído forte fará que esa resposta de loita ou fuxa se adiante.
06:13
And this, over the years,
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E isto, cos anos,
06:16
can cause real damage, cardiovascular damage.
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pode causar danos reais, danos cardiovasculares.
06:19
The World Health Organization just did a big study
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A Organización Mundial da Saúde fixo un estudo
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that they published this year.
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que publicou este ano.
06:24
And it was done in Europe.
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Fixéronno en Europa.
06:26
And they estimated
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Estimaron
06:28
that 1.6 million years of healthy living
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que cada ano en Europa
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are lost every year in Europe
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se perden 1,6 millóns de vidas sas
06:35
because of noise pollution.
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por culpa da contaminación acústica.
06:38
So they think it's actually very deadly.
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Realmente pensan que é mortal.
06:41
And by the way,
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E por certo,
06:43
it's also terrible for your brain.
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tamén é malo para o cerebro.
06:46
It really impairs cognition.
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Certamente afecta á cognición.
06:49
And our Founding Fathers knew about this.
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E os nosos Pais Fundadores sabían isto.
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When they wrote the Constitution,
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Cando escribiron a constitución,
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they put dirt all over the cobblestones outside the hall
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puxeron terra por todos os adoquíns da entrada
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so that they could concentrate.
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para poder concentrarse.
07:00
So without noise reduction technology,
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Sen a tecnoloxía de redución do ruído,
07:03
our country would not exist.
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o noso país non existiría.
07:06
So as a patriot,
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Como patriota
07:08
I felt it was important to --
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sentín que era importante.
07:10
I wear all the earplugs and the earphones,
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Eu levo tapóns e auriculares
07:12
and it's really improved my life
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e iso mellorou a miña vida
07:15
in a surprising and unexpected way.
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dunha forma sorprendente e inesperada.
07:18
And the second point I want to make, the final point,
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E a segunda e derradeira cousa da que quero falar
07:21
is that -- and it's actually been a theme of TEDMED --
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é que - isto está sendo un tema de TEDMED -
07:26
that joy is so important to your health,
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a alegría é tan importante para a saúde
07:30
that very few of these behaviors
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que poucos destes comportamentos
07:34
will stick with me
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se quedarán comigo
07:36
unless there's some sense of pleasure and joy in them.
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a non ser que conleven pracer e alegría.
07:41
And just to give you one instance of this:
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E para darvos un exemplo disto:
07:44
food.
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a comida.
07:46
The junk food industry
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A industria da comida rápida
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is really great
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é xenial
07:51
at pressing our pleasure buttons
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para presionar os nosos botóns do pracer
07:53
and figuring out what's the most pleasurable.
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e pescudar que é o máis pracenteiro.
07:56
But I think we can use their techniques
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Pero penso que podemos usar as súas técnicas
07:58
and apply them to healthy food.
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e aplicalas na comida sa.
08:00
To give just one example,
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Para dar só un exemplo,
08:02
we love crunchiness, mouthfeel.
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encántanos a sensación do crocante,
08:05
So I basically have tried to incorporate crunchiness
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polo que intentei incorporalo
08:09
into a lot of my recipes --
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en moitas das miñas receitas
08:11
throw in some sunflower seeds.
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engadindo sementes de xirasol.
08:13
And you can almost trick yourself
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E case te podes enganar
08:15
into thinking you're eating Doritos.
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pensando que estás a comer Doritos.
08:17
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
08:19
And it has made me a healthier person.
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Isto fíxome ser unha persoa máis sa.
08:21
So that is it.
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Iso é todo.
08:23
The book about it comes out in April.
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O libro no que falo disto sae en abril.
08:25
It's called "Drop Dead Healthy."
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Chámase "Drop Dead Healthy" (Deixa a saúde mortal).
08:27
And I hope that I don't get sick during the book tour.
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Espero non enfermar durante a xira do libro.
08:29
That's my greatest hope.
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E a miña maior esperanza.
08:31
So thank you very much.
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Moitas grazas.
08:33
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
AJ Jacobs - AuthorImmersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor.
Why you should listen
AJ Jacobs' writings stand at the intersection of philosophy, Gonzo journalism and performance art. Stubbornly curious and slyly perceptive, he takes immersive learning to its irrational and profoundly amusing extreme -- extracting wisdom and meaning after long stints as a self-styled guinea pig. For his widely circulated Esquire article "My Outsourced Life," he explored the phenomenon of outsourcing by hiring a team in Bangalore to take care of every part of his life -- from reading his emails to arguing with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his own son. A previous article, "I Think You're Fat," chronicled a brief, cringe-inducing attempt to live his life in Radical Honesty, telling all the truth, all the time.
Jacobs is author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight into history and human nature. In 2007 he released The Year of Living Biblically, in which he attempted to follow every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. His recent book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is a collection of numerous personal experiments. including living according to George Washington's rules of conduct, outsourcing every single task to India, and posing as a woman on an online dating site.
AJ Jacobs | Speaker | TED.com