TEDMED 2011
AJ Jacobs: How healthy living nearly killed me
A.J. Jacobs: 訴說健康的生活如何幾乎殺了我
Filmed:
Readability: 3.4
2,005,709 views
整整一年，A.J.Jacobs跟從他可以的每一個健康忠告-- 從塗上烈酒杯份量的防曬液到戴自行車頭盔購物。他在TEDMED台上，訴說他了解到的令人吃驚的事情。
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
0
0
2000
我花了過去十年
00:17
subjecting myself to pain and humiliation,
1
2000
3000
在令自己遭受痛苦和屈辱，
00:20
hopefully for a good cause,
2
5000
2000
希望是一個好的因由,
00:22
which is self-improvement.
3
7000
3000
便是自我改良。
00:25
And I've done this in three parts.
4
10000
2000
有三個部分。
00:27
So first I started with the mind.
5
12000
3000
首先，我由腦部開始。
00:30
And I decided to try to get smarter
6
15000
4000
我嘗試變得更聰明,
00:34
by reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
7
19000
2000
我決定閱讀整本大英百科全書,
00:36
from A to Z --
8
21000
2000
從A到Z--
00:38
or, more precisely, from "a-ak" to "Zywiec."
9
23000
3000
或者更確切地說，由「A-AK」到「Zywiec」。
00:41
And here's a little image of that.
10
26000
2000
這裡便是一張圖像。
00:43
And this was an amazing year.
11
28000
2000
這是了不起的一年。
00:45
It was really a fascinating journey.
12
30000
2000
真是一個迷人的旅程。
00:47
It was painful at times,
13
32000
3000
有時是痛苦的，
00:50
especially for those around me.
14
35000
2000
特別是對我身邊的人。
00:52
My wife started to fine me one dollar
15
37000
3000
我的妻子開始每到我們談話中我插入
00:55
for every irrelevant fact I inserted into conversation.
16
40000
3000
不相關的知識事實，便我罰我一美元。
00:58
So it had its downsides.
17
43000
4000
因此，這個過程有它的缺點。
01:02
But after that,
18
47000
2000
在那個過程之後，
01:04
I decided to work on the spirit.
19
49000
2000
我決定把工作集注在精神上。
01:06
As I mentioned last year,
20
51000
2000
正如我去年提到，
01:08
I grew up with no religion at all.
21
53000
2000
我從小沒有宗教。
01:10
I'm Jewish,
22
55000
2000
我是猶太人，
01:12
but I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is Italian.
23
57000
3000
但我的猶太人作風差不多是如同Olive Garden是意大利的象徵。
01:15
(Laughter)
24
60000
2000
（笑聲）
01:17
Not really.
25
62000
2000
差不多不是。
01:19
But I decided to learn about the Bible and my heritage
26
64000
3000
不過，我決定探悉聖經和我的文化
01:22
by actually diving in
27
67000
2000
以實在置身於其中,
01:24
and trying to live it and immerse myself in it.
28
69000
2000
嘗試把自己沉浸在這種生活方式。
01:26
So I decided to follow all the rules of the Bible.
29
71000
3000
因此我決定按照聖經的所有規則。
01:29
And from the Ten Commandments
30
74000
2000
從十誡
01:31
to growing my beard --
31
76000
2000
到鬍子的增長--
01:33
because Leviticus says you cannot shave.
32
78000
2000
因為利未記說你可以不刮鬍子。
01:35
So this is what I looked like by the end.
33
80000
3000
這便是我在最終的樣子。
01:38
Thank you for that reaction.
34
83000
2000
謝謝你們這樣的反應。
01:40
(Laughter)
35
85000
3000
（笑聲）
01:43
I look a little like Moses, or Ted Kaczynski.
36
88000
3000
我看有點像摩西或特德卡欽斯基(大學炸彈客)。
01:46
I got both of them.
37
91000
2000
我捕捉到了他們兩人的影子。
01:48
So there was the topiary there.
38
93000
3000
因此便有了修剪。
01:51
And there's the sheep.
39
96000
3000
還有羊。
01:54
Now the final part of the trilogy
40
99000
2000
現在是三部曲的最後一部分，
01:56
was I wanted to focus on the body
41
101000
3000
我想著重身體,
01:59
and try to be the healthiest person I could be,
42
104000
2000
我想成為在我能力之內最健康,
02:01
the healthiest person alive.
43
106000
2000
成為活著最健康的人。
02:03
So that's what I've been doing the last couple of years.
44
108000
3000
所以這是我過去兩年一直在做的事情。
02:06
And I just finished a couple of months ago.
45
111000
2000
我剛剛在兩個月前完成。
02:08
And I have to say, thank God.
46
113000
2000
我必須說，感謝上帝。
02:10
Because living so healthily was killing me.
47
115000
3000
因為健康的生活是要命的。
02:13
(Laughter)
48
118000
2000
（笑聲）
02:15
It was so overwhelming,
49
120000
3000
它是這樣鋪天蓋地，
02:18
because the amount of things you have to do,
50
123000
2000
因為你所要做的事情的數量，
02:20
it's just mind-boggling.
51
125000
2000
是令人難以置信。
02:22
I was listening to all the experts
52
127000
2000
我聽着所有專家的建言
02:24
and talking to sort of a board of medical advisers.
53
129000
2000
和與一組委員會的醫療顧問交談。
02:26
And they were telling me
54
131000
2000
他們告訴我
02:28
all the things I had to do.
55
133000
2000
我所有要做的事情。
02:30
I had to eat right,
56
135000
2000
我要吃得健康，
02:32
exercise, meditate, pet dogs,
57
137000
3000
要運動，打坐，寵愛狗，
02:35
because that lowers the blood pressure.
58
140000
2000
因為這可以降低血壓。
02:37
I wrote the book on a treadmill,
59
142000
2000
我在跑步機上寫這本書，
02:39
and it took me about a thousand miles
60
144000
2000
我寫這本書
02:41
to write the book.
61
146000
2000
花了約一千哩。
02:43
I had to put on sunscreen.
62
148000
2000
我要塗好防曬霜。
02:45
This was no small feat,
63
150000
2000
這是一個不小的壯舉，
02:47
because if you listen to dermatologists,
64
152000
2000
因為如果你要聽皮膚科醫生的話，
02:49
they say that you should have a shot glass full of sunscreen.
65
154000
3000
他們說你應該要塗上一個烈酒杯份量的防曬霜。
02:52
And you have to reapply it every two to four hours.
66
157000
2000
你必須每兩到四個小時重新搽上。
02:54
So I think half of my book advance
67
159000
2000
我認為我寫書預支付款的一半
02:56
went into sunscreen.
68
161000
2000
都是花費在防曬霜上。
02:58
I was like a glazed doughnut
69
163000
2000
我當時一年中大部分時間
03:00
for most of the year.
70
165000
2000
都看起來像釉面甜甜圈。
03:02
There was the washing of hands.
71
167000
2000
還有洗手。
03:04
I had to do that properly.
72
169000
2000
我不得不正確做。
03:06
And my immunologist told me
73
171000
2000
我的免疫學家告訴我，
03:08
that I should also wipe down
74
173000
3000
我應要擦拭我家的
03:11
all of the remote controls and iPhones in my house,
75
176000
3000
所有的遙控器和iPhone，
03:14
because those are just orgies of germs.
76
179000
3000
因為這些是細菌酒池肉林的地方。
03:17
So that took a lot of time.
77
182000
2000
這花了很多時間。
03:19
I also tried to be the safest person I could be,
78
184000
3000
我亦想試過當最安全的人，
03:22
because that's a part of health.
79
187000
2000
因為這是健康的一部分。
03:24
I was inspired
80
189000
2000
我的靈感來自
03:26
by the Danish Safety Council.
81
191000
2000
丹麥安全局。
03:28
They started a public campaign
82
193000
2000
他們啟動了一個公開活動，
03:30
that says, "A walking helmet is a good helmet."
83
195000
3000
說：「步行頭盔是一個很好的頭盔。」
03:33
So they believe you should not just wear helmets for biking,
84
198000
4000
他們相信你不應該只是在騎自行車時佩戴頭盔，
03:37
but also for walking around.
85
202000
3000
走路時都應戴頭盔。
03:40
And you can see there
86
205000
3000
你可以看到他們
03:43
they're shopping with their helmets.
87
208000
2000
一邊戴着頭盔一邊購物。
03:45
(Laughter)
88
210000
2000
（笑聲）
03:47
Well yeah, I tried that.
89
212000
3000
是啊，我試過了。
03:51
Now it's a little extreme, I admit.
90
216000
2000
我承認, 這是有點極端。
03:53
But if you think about this,
91
218000
2000
但是，如果你想想，
03:55
this is actually -- the "Freakonomics" authors wrote about this --
92
220000
3000
這實際上是 -- 〈魔鬼經濟學〉作者對此寫道 --
03:58
that more people die on a per mile basis
93
223000
3000
死於酒後醉着走的人
04:01
from drunk walking
94
226000
2000
每英里基礎上比
04:03
than from drunk driving.
95
228000
2000
酒後駕車死去的人更多。
04:05
So something to think about tonight
96
230000
2000
因此這是你今晚需要想想的，
04:07
if you've had a couple.
97
232000
3000
如果你喝了一兩杯的話。
04:10
So I finished,
98
235000
2000
所以我完成了，
04:12
and it was a success in a sense.
99
237000
2000
在某些意義上它是成功的。
04:14
All of the markers went in the right direction.
100
239000
3000
所有的里程碑都是向着正確的方向。
04:17
My cholesterol went down, I lost weight,
101
242000
3000
我的膽固醇降低，我減去了重量，
04:20
my wife stopped telling me that I looked pregnant.
102
245000
4000
我的妻子不再告訴我看起來像懷孕。
04:24
So that was nice.
103
249000
3000
所以這是很好的。
04:27
And it was successful overall.
104
252000
3000
整體來說它是成功的。
04:30
But I also learned that I was too healthy,
105
255000
2000
但我也了解到我太健康，
04:32
and that was unhealthy.
106
257000
2000
而這是不健康的。
04:34
I was so focused on doing all these things
107
259000
3000
我是如此專注於做所有這些事情，
04:37
that I was neglecting my friends and family.
108
262000
3000
我忽視了我的朋友和家人。
04:40
And as Dan Buettner can tell you,
109
265000
2000
Dan Buettner可以告訴你，
04:42
having a strong social network
110
267000
2000
擁有一個強大的社交網絡，
04:44
is so crucial to our health.
111
269000
2000
對我們的健康至關重要。
04:46
So I finished.
112
271000
2000
所以我終止了。
04:48
And I kind of went overboard
113
273000
3000
我在項目結束後的
04:51
on the week after the project was over.
114
276000
3000
一週實在有些過火。
04:54
I went to the dark side,
115
279000
2000
我墮進了黑暗的一面，
04:56
and I just indulged myself.
116
281000
2000
我只是放縱着自己。
04:58
It was like something out of Caligula.
117
283000
2000
就像出於卡里古拉(羅馬帝國艷情史)的東西。
05:00
(Laughter)
118
285000
2000
（笑聲）
05:02
Without the sex part.
119
287000
2000
沒有性的那部分。
05:04
Because I have three young kids,
120
289000
2000
因為我有3個年幼的孩子，
05:06
so that wasn't happening.
121
291000
3000
所以那部分沒有發生。
05:09
But the over-eating and over-drinking, definitely.
122
294000
3000
但過量進食和過度飲酒，絕對有。
05:12
And I finally have stabilized.
123
297000
5000
我終於進入了穩定。
05:17
So now I'm back
124
302000
2000
我現在重返
05:19
to adopting many -- not all; I don't wear a helmet anymore --
125
304000
3000
採取許多 -- 不是所有的，我不戴頭盔了 --
05:22
but dozens of healthy behaviors
126
307000
3000
但数十個我在
05:25
that I adopted during my year.
127
310000
3000
我一年中採取的健康行為。
05:28
It was really a life-changing project.
128
313000
3000
它實際上是一個改變生活的項目。
05:31
And I, of course, don't have time to go into all of them.
129
316000
3000
而我當然沒有時間深入說明所有。
05:34
Let me just tell you two really quickly.
130
319000
3000
讓我很快的告訴你們其中兩個。
05:37
The first is -- and this was surprising to me;
131
322000
2000
首先是 -- 這是我感到驚訝的，
05:39
I didn't expect this to come out --
132
324000
2000
我完全沒有想到這個 --
05:41
but I live a much quieter life now.
133
326000
3000
但我現在是有一個更安靜的生活。
05:44
Because we live in such a noisy world.
134
329000
3000
因為我們是生活在這樣一個嘈雜的世界裡。
05:47
There's trains and planes and cars
135
332000
4000
有火車和飛機，
05:51
and Bill O'Reilly, he's very noisy.
136
336000
3000
汽車和Bill O'Reilly，他非常嘈雜。
05:54
(Laughter)
137
339000
3000
（笑聲）
05:57
And this is a real underestimated, under-appreciated health hazard --
138
342000
5000
這是一個真正被低估和不被重視的健康危害問題--
06:02
not just because it harms our hearing, which it obviously does,
139
347000
3000
不僅是因為它顯然是損害我們的聽力，
06:05
but it actually initiates
140
350000
3000
但它實際上是發起了
06:08
the fight-or-flight response.
141
353000
2000
攻擊或逃離的反應機制。
06:10
A loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going.
142
355000
3000
一聲巨響會讓你的戰鬥或逃跑反應揭發出來。
06:13
And this, over the years,
143
358000
3000
而多年來, 這一點
06:16
can cause real damage, cardiovascular damage.
144
361000
3000
可以造成真正的損害，心血管損害。
06:19
The World Health Organization just did a big study
145
364000
3000
世界衛生組織剛做了一個大型的研究，
06:22
that they published this year.
146
367000
2000
今年出版的。
06:24
And it was done in Europe.
147
369000
2000
在歐洲進行。
06:26
And they estimated
148
371000
2000
他們估計，
06:28
that 1.6 million years of healthy living
149
373000
4000
每年在歐洲
06:32
are lost every year in Europe
150
377000
3000
噪音污染令160萬年的
06:35
because of noise pollution.
151
380000
3000
健康生活失去。
06:38
So they think it's actually very deadly.
152
383000
3000
所以他們認為它實際上是非常致命的。
06:41
And by the way,
153
386000
2000
順便說一下，
06:43
it's also terrible for your brain.
154
388000
3000
它對你的大腦也是可怕的。
06:46
It really impairs cognition.
155
391000
3000
它真正損害認知能力。
06:49
And our Founding Fathers knew about this.
156
394000
2000
而我們的開國元勳們知道這一點。
06:51
When they wrote the Constitution,
157
396000
2000
當他們在寫憲法，
06:53
they put dirt all over the cobblestones outside the hall
158
398000
4000
他們把大廳會堂外的鵝卵石上覆蓋着泥土，
06:57
so that they could concentrate.
159
402000
3000
使他們可以集中精力。
07:00
So without noise reduction technology,
160
405000
3000
因此，假如沒有降噪技術，
07:03
our country would not exist.
161
408000
3000
我們的國家便不會存在。
07:06
So as a patriot,
162
411000
2000
因此，作為一個愛國者，
07:08
I felt it was important to --
163
413000
2000
我覺得這是非常重要的 --
07:10
I wear all the earplugs and the earphones,
164
415000
2000
我戴着所有耳塞和耳機，
07:12
and it's really improved my life
165
417000
3000
它以驚訝和意想不到的方式，
07:15
in a surprising and unexpected way.
166
420000
3000
真正改善了我的生活。
07:18
And the second point I want to make, the final point,
167
423000
3000
第二點，最後一點，我想說的是 --
07:21
is that -- and it's actually been a theme of TEDMED --
168
426000
5000
它實際上是一個TEDMED的主題 --
07:26
that joy is so important to your health,
169
431000
4000
喜樂是對你的健康非常重要的，
07:30
that very few of these behaviors
170
435000
4000
這些行為很少會
07:34
will stick with me
171
439000
2000
讓我堅持，
07:36
unless there's some sense of pleasure and joy in them.
172
441000
5000
除非它們有某種意義的樂趣和喜悅。
07:41
And just to give you one instance of this:
173
446000
3000
給你這方面的一個實例：
07:44
food.
174
449000
2000
食物。
07:46
The junk food industry
175
451000
3000
垃圾食品行業
07:49
is really great
176
454000
2000
是真正精巧的
07:51
at pressing our pleasure buttons
177
456000
2000
能夠弄清楚什麼是最有樂趣的，
07:53
and figuring out what's the most pleasurable.
178
458000
3000
以至可以觸及我們的快樂按鈕。
07:56
But I think we can use their techniques
179
461000
2000
但我認為我們可以利用他們的技術
07:58
and apply them to healthy food.
180
463000
2000
應用在健康食品上。
08:00
To give just one example,
181
465000
2000
舉一個例子，
08:02
we love crunchiness, mouthfeel.
182
467000
3000
我們愛脆的口感。
08:05
So I basically have tried to incorporate crunchiness
183
470000
4000
所以我基本上嘗試將我的食譜
08:09
into a lot of my recipes --
184
474000
2000
納入了很多脆的東西 --
08:11
throw in some sunflower seeds.
185
476000
2000
加入一些葵花籽。
08:13
And you can almost trick yourself
186
478000
2000
你幾乎可以欺騙自己，
08:15
into thinking you're eating Doritos.
187
480000
2000
以為你在吃多力多滋。
08:17
(Laughter)
188
482000
2000
（笑聲）
08:19
And it has made me a healthier person.
189
484000
2000
它便使我成為一個更健康的人。
08:21
So that is it.
190
486000
2000
就是這樣。
08:23
The book about it comes out in April.
191
488000
2000
關於它的書在4月發行。
08:25
It's called "Drop Dead Healthy."
192
490000
2000
稱為〈Drop Dead Healthy〉(健康砸不死)。
08:27
And I hope that I don't get sick during the book tour.
193
492000
2000
我希望我不會在書宣傳期間病倒。
08:29
That's my greatest hope.
194
494000
2000
這是我最大的希望。
08:31
So thank you very much.
195
496000
2000
非常感謝你們。
08:33
(Applause)
196
498000
3000
(掌聲)
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