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The Hidden Reason You Feel Mentally Stuck (& How to Fix It) — Transcript

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0:00Last year,
0:01>> [music]
0:01>> something a little crazy happened to me.
0:03Not good. See, I have a habit of
0:05measuring my waistline every [music]
0:07week to ensure that my body is doing
0:09okay, that I'm not putting on fat, that
0:11I'm not going through any inflammation.
0:12It's a really good habit that many
0:13doctors recommend that all of us do.
0:16But, here's what happened. I was
0:17traveling with my kids to Malaysia and
0:20Korea. Then I had to be in the United
0:22States for a business trip. And in that
0:24span of 7 weeks, I added 7 cm to my
0:30waist, [music] and I couldn't understand
0:32what the heck was going on. This is a
0:34screenshot on my iPhone where I logged
0:37my waist measurements, and look at that
0:39rise. It got to a level where
0:42I could only wear and fit three pairs of
0:46pants. Now, this was devastating for me.
0:48I literally had to walk around for
0:50months in big, baggy workout pants
0:53because I couldn't fit into anything
0:55else. I thought my body was broken.
0:59When I was in the US, I was living in
1:00LA. I was shopping at Whole Foods. I was
1:03trying to eat healthy. I was doing
1:04everything I could, but something about
1:07my body was not reacting to something
1:09about the food in Malaysia, Korea, and
1:11the United States. See, I normally live
1:13in Europe. In Europe, no issue. What was
1:16wrong?
1:17Well, when I returned to Europe, I
1:19decided to experiment. I pulled up
1:22ChatGPT, and I started photographing and
1:23logging everything I was eating. Now,
1:26like many men, I was optimizing for
1:28protein. This is what we hear. Protein,
1:30protein, protein. Like, get your 1 g of
1:32protein per pound of body weight. I was
1:34doing that. I was eating healthy. I went
1:37on cyclical keto.
1:39But on day five, my ChatGPT pointed this
1:43out.
1:44You're severely low on fiber. And I'm
1:46like, what? What What does fiber even
1:48do? Now, I hate to admit it, but I was
1:50unaware of how important fiber was, but
1:52ChatGPT, as I started asking it, pointed
1:55out that if you have a diet high in fat,
1:59Korean food, Malaysian food, American
2:03food, and you're not taking enough
2:05fiber,
2:06you're going to cause your body to put
2:08on weight. And worse, fiber is so
2:11important, it's going to affect other
2:13aspects of your wellness.
2:16I asked ChatGPT,
2:18"How do I start getting fiber?" And it
2:20recommended Greek yogurt with
2:23blueberries, chia seed,
2:25plant psyllium, cinnamon for taste, not
2:28sugar, and other raw seeds.
2:31And this is the one change I made to my
2:33diet. For the next 6 days back in
2:35Europe, I simply ate a bowl of yogurt
2:38every day with fiber. This is what
2:42happened. I started losing a centimeter
2:44off my waist in a week. Now, I was
2:48shocked because I'd never just shredded
2:50fat like that that quickly. I shared it
2:53with my cousin Marisha, who lived in
2:55Malaysia, another victim of Malaysian
2:57food. Marisha is a gym freak. She loves
3:00working out. But she said that when she
3:03started doing the same thing, she
3:05started losing weight.
3:07Why aren't more people talking about
3:09this? And I guess maybe most people
3:11aren't talking about this because fiber
3:13isn't something that is so easy for big
3:16pharma or for longevity companies to
3:19commercialize. Fiber is something you
3:20get from the local farmers market. Fiber
3:22is something you can pick up from any
3:23grocery store. It is cheap. It's readily
3:25available. But we ignore it.
3:28But the impact it can have on our gut,
3:30on our health, on our emotional states,
3:32on our sleep, even on our muscular
3:34system is phenomenal.
3:36And that's the purpose of this episode.
3:39We're going to talk to a molecular
3:41biologist by the name of Nora Kabani.
3:44Welcome, Nora.
3:45>> Good to be here, Marisha. Thank you.
3:46>> And I know as you're sitting next to me
3:48and people watching this video are
3:49probably wondering who Who that person
3:50sitting next to me. Well, let me explain
3:51who Nora is and then
3:53I'm going to ask Nora to explain to you
3:56why fiber is so important. Firstly,
3:58quick thing on Nora, she won an award
4:00for European Female Founder of the Year.
4:03She had one of the largest seed A rounds
4:04in Europe for her company Alba Health.
4:06We're going to come to Alba in a moment.
4:09Why did I invite Nora on this episode?
4:11So, the yogurt ritual was good. I was
4:14shedding weight. But, the normal
4:16recommended quantity of fiber per day is
4:1930 g and even with the yogurt, I was
4:22only logging around 15 g. So, I was at
4:26Mindvalley U in Amsterdam, the big mega
4:29event that my company Mindvalley host,
4:31200 people on stage and I witnessed
4:34Nora, who was a speaker, say something
4:37that really hit me. Nora explained that
4:4030 30 rule. You must get
4:4330 g of fiber a day from 30 different
4:47sources because it's not just the
4:49quantity of fiber, it's the variety of
4:52fiber. I'd hit the first spot. I was
4:54getting about 15 g, halfway there,
4:58but I was also only getting a few
5:00varieties. How do you increase that
5:03variety because
5:05increase of variety of fiber will
5:06increase the variety of your gut
5:07bacteria and the more gut bacteria you
5:10have, the more your entire body improves
5:14and almost all of us in the modern
5:16Western world have a deficit in gut
5:20bacteria variety. When they study
5:23African tribes, okay, a particular tribe
5:26called the Hadza that has been eating
5:28natural food for hundreds of years,
5:31their gut variety is significantly
5:35more more diverse than the average
5:38Western man or woman. How can we move
5:41back to that diversity? So, today we're
5:43going to be talking about the 30 30 rule
5:45and our special guest is fiber expert,
5:48molecular biologist, and Web Summit
5:50Female Founder of the Year Europe 2025,
5:52Nora Cabani.
5:53>> Amazing. Thank you so much for having me
5:55here. This is such an important topic
5:57for me because I went through a similar
5:59health problem. When I was 27 years old,
6:02I started having severe eczema on my
6:05entire body.
6:07It covered me from my neck to my feet
6:10pretty much, and all of a sudden, I was
6:12a chronically ill person. You know, I
6:15just wanted to go out with my friends,
6:17do my favorite activities, travel, live
6:20my life, and I could not do that. I was
6:22in pain 24/7. That was a terrible
6:25terrible time of my life because I went
6:28to so many doctors. I had these big
6:31rashes on my skin. Everyone was telling
6:34me, "Why don't you go to a specialist?"
6:36But I
6:37went to dozens of specialists. I went to
6:40so many doctors, and all they could
6:42offer was cortisone cream because that's
6:45the only thing you can do for eczema.
6:47So, my problems started piling up. Over
6:50time, it was eczema, allergies,
6:53digestive issues, mental health issues.
6:55It all piled up a lot, and all of a
6:57sudden, I found myself on Facebook
6:59groups trying to find a solution over
7:02time. Um so, because I have a background
7:04in molecular biology, I started looking
7:06into every single aspect of health. I
7:09actually spent some years in research in
7:12eczema, so I knew that diet was very
7:14important. And I um
7:17started looking into diet.
7:20Um and particularly in anything that can
7:23cause inflammation because eczema, like
7:25many other chronic conditions or
7:28symptoms, come from inflammation. So, I
7:31started looking into what could be
7:32causing that inflammation, and I came
7:35down to uh the importance of fiber. So,
7:40what is fiber? Uh fiber is this uh
7:43compound that cannot be processed by our
7:46own cells, but instead is processed by
7:49our gut microbiome, which is the
7:51collection of microbes that we have in
7:53our gut, right? And our gut microbiome
7:56is so important because it it affects
7:58pretty much every aspect of our health,
8:00our weight, our digestion, our immune
8:03system, our skin, our muscle, uh even
8:07healthy aging, hormones as well, mental
8:10health. Fiber fuels it.
8:13And what happens today is that 96% of
8:17people in Western societies don't eat
8:20enough fiber.
8:22And it seems that we've lost up to 50%
8:26of diversity in our gut microbiome
8:28compared to our ancestors.
8:30>> Wow. So, 50%
8:33of uh gut diversity has been eliminated,
8:36but why?
8:37>> So, there can be many reasons. One of
8:39them definitely antibiotics.
8:42>> Uh-huh.
8:42>> So, [clears throat] antibiotics have
8:43been this amazing revolution in health
8:46care, right? It extended our life ex-
8:48expectancy and they can be life-saving
8:51in many situations. Uh, however, they
8:54have a collateral damage.
8:56They kill bacteria. They kill bad
8:58bacteria, which is important, but they
9:01also kill our good bacteria, our gut
9:04microbiome. So, they can damage our gut
9:07microbiome. So, definitely antibiotics.
9:09And then secondly, our food today. So, a
9:13lot of our food doesn't contain fiber.
9:15You were saying, "Oh, why is fiber not
9:18in our food today?" Well, because it
9:20doesn't preserve as well as non-fiber
9:23options. Think about it. If you have
9:25white crackers, they have a shelf life
9:27of like forever. They can be on a shelf
9:29for a very long time. Every time you
9:32have something with fiber,
9:34it becomes more mushy. So, it's harder
9:38right. It's so it's harder to preserve
9:40for a long time. So, it's more
9:41profitable basically for for companies
9:44to produce
9:44>> So, so can I ask you a question, Nora?
9:47I read that white bread is a natural
9:50bread is meant to be brown. It's meant
9:52to have lots of fiber, but bread
9:54companies found that they if they remove
9:56the fiber from bread, the bread sits on
9:58the shelf longer.
10:00And [clears throat] therefore, they sell
10:01more.
10:02But ultimately, what we're really eating
10:04is unhealthy bread, which is mainly
10:07being converted into glucose in our body
10:09with low fiber.
10:10>> Exactly. So, white bread doesn't have
10:13fiber
10:14and has a quite high glycemic index.
10:16Even it can be even higher than table
10:18sugar.
10:19>> Wow.
10:20>> Yes, because it's it's processed.
10:23>> So, does that mean we shouldn't eat
10:24bread?
10:25>> Always avoid white bread. Go for whole
10:28grain instead. White bread doesn't have
10:30any fiber and it can really spike your
10:32blood sugar.
10:33>> So, that's one thing I got to teach my
10:35kids.
10:36So, what you're saying is that we're not
10:38getting enough fiber because food
10:40companies are optimizing for profit.
10:43They're optimizing to sell us things
10:44that would sit on our shelf. Fiber
10:46naturally causes foods to break down
10:49sooner.
10:50And so, fiber's being extracted from our
10:53foods and therefore, we got to find
10:54other ways to get it.
10:56>> Yeah, exactly. And also, fiber has been
10:59completely underestimated over time.
11:01We're focusing a lot on protein,
11:04on having low fat, low carbs,
11:06everything, but fiber has not been on
11:08the map for a really long time. It's the
11:11most underrated bio hack ever. One thing
11:14that most people don't know is that a
11:16disrupted gut microbiome is one of the
11:1912 drivers of aging. So, if you have a
11:22disrupted gut microbiome, you're going
11:24to age faster.
11:26>> Now, I read that over 95%
11:30of people are fiber deficit. Is this
11:33true?
11:34>> Yes, 96% of people don't eat enough
11:37fiber. They're under the recommended
11:41dose.
11:41>> And what's the recommended dose?
11:43>> 30 g per day and 30 different types of
11:47fiber per week.
11:48>> And that's the 30-30
11:51formula. Okay. Well,
11:53Nora, when I saw you speak on stage, you
11:55said something that that really stuck to
11:57me. You spoke about
12:00our gut as a forest.
12:02Tell us about that.
12:03>> So, people are very confused about the
12:05gut microbiome. They don't know exactly
12:07how it works. I tell everyone to imagine
12:09it as a forest. So, in a forest, you
12:11have different trees, plants, you have a
12:14lot of different types of plants that
12:16work together in a balance, right? Your
12:19gut microbiome as a forest produces
12:21compounds that help your entire body.
12:24So, what's happening today is that we're
12:26losing diversity in our gut microbiome.
12:28So, this forest is becoming less and
12:31less diverse and it's becoming more
12:32similar to a desert.
12:35So, that's very problematic for two
12:37reasons. Number one is that this desert
12:41doesn't have all the plants that produce
12:42good good compounds for your body,
12:44right? So, you're lacking something.
12:46Number two is that when you have a
12:48desert, new space is created and
12:51parasites, unfriendly bacteria can come
12:54in and colonize that space. When you
12:57have that,
12:58um those bacteria can create
13:00inflammation,
13:02infections,
13:03>> I see.
13:03>> and that can be a silent factory of
13:06inflammation inside of you.
13:08>> So, we have to really nurture diversity
13:11in our gut bacteria.
13:13>> Right.
13:13>> So, before we get to what this 30 g of
13:16fiber look like and also we're going to
13:18show you how to make one of the most
13:19amazing fiber foods. I eat this every
13:23day. Absolutely love it. My daughter
13:26loves this for breakfast. We're going to
13:27show you how to make it, and it has to
13:29do with Greek yogurt. Super affordable.
13:31You can get it from any corner grocery
13:33store.
13:34Before we get there, a couple of studies
13:36that talk about how important fiber is.
13:38First, fiber and muscle. Everybody
13:40thinks muscle is about protein. So,
13:42here's a study that surprised me. A team
13:43at Imperial College took 8 years of
13:45American health data, 6 and 1/2 thousand
13:47people all over 40, which is the age
13:49where muscle start to quietly leave the
13:52building. Okay, now they put all of
13:54these people through a body scanner and
13:56a grip strength test. And what they
13:58found is that the more fiber that people
14:00ate, the more lean muscle they carried,
14:03the less fat they carried, the better
14:05their blood sugar looked, and the
14:06stronger the grip. Now, this is an
14:08association. It doesn't prove fiber
14:10builds muscle, but it shows that people
14:12who eat more fiber tend to do other good
14:14things, too.
14:16Now, the second study is
14:18the fiber drink that changed grip
14:20strength. So, we know that grip strength
14:22is one of the most important markers of
14:24longevity. 60 people all over 65, all
14:27frail, living in care homes in Spain. A
14:30randomized double-blind study. Half of
14:32them got a fiber powder stirred into a
14:35glass of water after breakfast every
14:37morning. That's it. Just a fiber powder.
14:39It was inulin and
14:41fructooligosaccharides.
14:42That's bacteria food. The other got a
14:45placebo powder. Nobody lifted weight.
14:48Nobody changed anything else. 13 weeks
14:50later, the fiber group had measurably
14:52stronger hands. And they reported being
14:55exhausted far less. Small study, 60
14:59people, but it shows how valuable fiber
15:02could be, especially for the elderly.
15:04Third, fiber and mood. So, I want to be
15:07careful with this one because it's the
15:08kind of clip that ends up in Instagram
15:10with the important stuff cut out, right?
15:12So, researchers pulled 18 studies on
15:14fiber and depression across the adults.
15:15The people eating more fiber had 10%
15:19lower odds of depression. 10%. That's
15:22modest. Teenagers, the number was 57%.
15:26Let's do the math. Most people eat
15:27somewhere under 20 g, the target is 30.
15:31The gap is roughly 12 g.
15:33Now, here's the honest part. Almost all
15:34of these studies are snapshots. We don't
15:36know which way the arrow points. Maybe
15:38low mood changes how you eat. And the
15:41trials where people were actually given
15:42fiber, mixed. Not enough of them yet.
15:45But but these studies show that fiber
15:46could possibly have a profound impact on
15:48moods. I was particularly struck by the
15:51one on teenagers. I'm now encouraging my
15:54teens to eat as much fiber as they can.
15:56Now, this is the fourth one. The diet
15:59war nobody won, except fiber. A few
16:01years ago, Harvard and Pennington ran
16:03one of the big diet war trials. 345
16:06people, 6 months, four different
16:08studies. Low fat, high fat, high
16:10protein, normal protein. All cutting the
16:12same number of calories. The question
16:14was, which diet was best? And basically,
16:18none of them. The diets all came out the
16:20same. So, the second team went back into
16:22the data and asked a smarter question.
16:24Forget the label on the diet. What
16:27actually predicted who lost weight?
16:30Fiber. Out of everything they measured,
16:33the single strongest predictor of weight
16:35loss was how much a person increased
16:37their fiber. Roughly every extra 4 g a
16:40day, that's about half a tin of beans,
16:44went with an extra 3 lb lost over 6
16:47months on every single diet. Now, fiber
16:51wasn't a thing being tested,
16:53but it predicted better results than the
16:56diet itself. So, is dieting helping you?
16:59Or is it the fiber that's helping you
17:01lose weight?
17:03Now, this could explain why when I
17:05started eating fiber, I started shedding
17:07a centimeter around my waist. I was
17:08doing everything else the same. And when
17:10I shared this with my cousin, who lived
17:13in Malaysia, Asian food, high fat, very
17:16low in fiber, She saw similar results.
17:19It's worth trying this out. Now, the
17:22final one, one rule versus 13.
17:25University of Massachusetts, 240 adults
17:27with metabolic syndrome. That's the
17:29belly, the blood pressure, blood sugar,
17:31the whole package, right? They split
17:32them in half for a year. Half got the
17:34full American Heart Association diet, 13
17:37rules, cut saturated fat, cut sugar, cut
17:39salt, count your calories, balance your
17:41ratios, you know the list. The other
17:43half got one rule. One. Eat at least 30
17:46g of fiber a day. Nothing about what to
17:49cut, only what to add. Add fiber. The 13
17:52rule group lost about 2.7 kilos. The one
17:57rule group, they lost about 2.1.
18:00Statistically not that different. Now,
18:02the study was designed to show that
18:04fiber group could win, and it didn't.
18:06The full diet might still be a bit
18:08better, but think about what happened.
18:10One rule.
18:12No restriction. No counting. And it got
18:15people most of the way there.
18:18Would you rather have to follow 30 rules
18:20or follow one rule? And that's why I'm
18:23so excited to create this episode with
18:25Nora,
18:26the 30 30 system of fiber. Now, all of
18:30these studies looked at grams of fiber,
18:33but what Nora's advocating is growing
18:36the diversity of your rain forest,
18:38variety of fiber. And this is where
18:40we're going to go into next.
18:42>> Right. So, not eating fiber means not
18:45feeding your microbiome means
18:47creating inflammation, and that can
18:50suppress muscle growth, it can affect
18:52your mental health, it can affect your
18:54immune system, your skin, your aging,
18:58fertility as well, hormones.
19:00Um, so, pretty much everything in your
19:02health.
19:03>> Mhm. So, Nora, how do we get the 30
19:06different types of fiber?
19:08>> I always tell people, start with your
19:11breakfast. That's the easiest way to go
19:13about it. It's very complicated to
19:16understand all the different types of
19:17fiber and where you can find them, but
19:19breakfast is the easiest thing. And I
19:22always say, don't cut things. Add
19:25things. So, add fiber to what you
19:28already do.
19:29And we have now two examples of some of
19:33the easiest breakfast you can have. You
19:35could do a bowl of yogurt with a lot of
19:37different types of fiber in it. You
19:39could do chia pudding with a lot of
19:41different types of fiber in it. So, we
19:43can try it together.
19:44>> Let's do that. So, I'm going to film
19:45this with my iPhone as Nora prepares
19:48Greek yogurt.
19:49>> Um great. So, what I usually recommend
19:51is to start with a breakfast that has 15
19:55to 20 g of fiber. With that alone, you
19:59already are at half of your recommended
20:02dose or even above that. And once you
20:05have done that, with your other meals,
20:07you'll get to 30. It will be very, very
20:09easy.
20:10>> So, Nora, first thing is, what I'm
20:11holding over here says Greek style
20:13yogurt.
20:15Um there's Greek style, there's regular
20:17yogurt, there is um
20:19low-fat yogurt. What's the best type of
20:21yogurt for fiber?
20:23>> Yogurt doesn't contain fiber, but it
20:25contains live bacteria, and that's very
20:28important for your gut microbiome. And
20:30it's also a way to add your fiber to it.
20:35Which is going to be delicious.
20:36>> So, in short,
20:38you can't add this to your mouth. It's
20:42going to taste disgusting.
20:43>> Right.
20:43>> But yogurt is a carrier of this, and you
20:45can add chia seeds to yogurt. So,
20:47yogurt, in addition to the live
20:49bacteria, is the carrier of all of these
20:51other great fibers, and it makes it an
20:53amazingly good-tasting snack.
20:56>> And it's super easy to prepare. You
20:57don't need to prepare anything in
20:59advance.
20:59>> Let's get started.
21:00>> Uh one more thing, you have kefir as
21:02well. Kefir can have three times as much
21:06in terms of live cultures.
21:09So, you can you can mix it sometimes. A
21:12Greek style yogurt has more protein. So,
21:15you can do like a mix of yogurt, of
21:17kefir. You can alternate as well. It
21:19doesn't matter so much. Like variety is
21:21good.
21:22>> So, the yogurt is giving you protein and
21:24the yogurt is the carrier of fiber and
21:25the yogurt is like bacteria, but the
21:27yogurt isn't fiber itself. And you want
21:29to take high protein yogurt, so check
21:31the protein amount. This is Greek style.
21:33This is what we could get here in
21:35London, but ideally you want Greek
21:36yogurt, which is is rich in protein. And
21:40the yogurt is going to be topped with
21:42these items and we're going to show you
21:43how to make the most amazingly delicious
21:45breakfast. My daughter has fallen in
21:47love with how tasty this is.
21:50>> Great. So, we start with this. Let's
21:51let's start actually.
21:54And we're going to use the yogurt as a
21:56base for our breakfast.
22:00You can do 200 g of yogurt. This is 450,
22:04so it's roughly half
22:07for
22:08half of the pack. Okay, so we have our
22:11yogurt and then we can start adding our
22:14different fiber sources of fiber.
22:17So, one amazing source of fiber is
22:20raspberries or berries in general. We
22:22have raspberries, we have blueberries.
22:24Raspberries have a lot of fiber compared
22:27to their weight. They can have two to
22:28three times as much fiber compared to
22:31blueberries, so they're great. And the
22:34these berries also have polyphenols,
22:36which are compounds that are very
22:37important for the gut microbiome as
22:39well. So, we can add some raspberries to
22:42our yogurt.
22:57So, a handful of raspberries will give
22:59you about a g of fiber. That's already a
23:02lot. We're targeting 35 g of fiber
23:05already come from the raspberries. We
23:08can also add our blueberries.
23:10And a handful of blueberries will add
23:13maybe 1 or 2 g of fiber.
23:16So, that's a good addition as well.
23:19And another amazing source of fiber is
23:22fruit. Just to recap where you can find
23:24fiber, fruit, vegetables,
23:27legumes, nuts and seeds, and herbs and
23:31spices.
23:32So, for breakfast, fruit is great. And
23:36here we have a few a few things that are
23:38very very good for fiber. Kiwis have a
23:40lot of fiber. So, I always try to add
23:43kiwis to
23:45uh my breakfast bowl. And bananas are
23:47also great. They have a type of
23:49prebiotic fiber that feeds gut bacteria
23:52directly. And these are also slightly
23:56green bananas, which are great because
23:57they have resistant starch, which is a
24:00type of fiber that really feeds gut
24:02bacteria. So, we can do half a banana
24:05for a bowl and one kiwi each. And
24:08they're going to be a big contribution
24:12to fiber.
24:13So, one kiwi is going to add 1 to 1.5 g
24:17in fiber.
24:20And half a banana is also going to do
24:22about 1.5 g.
24:37Perfect. And then
24:40move the kiwi as well.
24:43>> Now, do we have to add all four fruits
24:45if we just add raspberries and
24:47blueberries? Is that enough?
24:49>> Well, this will take you to 15 to 20 g.
24:53>> Really?
24:54>> Yeah.
24:55So, it's better with the fruit. If you
24:57do the seeds only, it will not get you
25:00to 15 to 20, you know.
25:02But, you can do less.
25:05>> So, this one meal alone is half your
25:07fiber intake for the day.
25:08>> Right.
25:09>> And you also get protein as a bonus.
25:11>> Exactly. And live bacteria as well.
25:15Another great way to increase fiber is
25:18to add seeds. Chia seeds contain a lot
25:20of fiber, so I always add them. You can
25:23soak them before or you can add them
25:25directly to your bowl.
25:28>> And is that the amount you use, about 1
25:311 Tbsp?
25:32>> About 1 Tbsp. About 1 Tbsp will give you
25:345 g of fiber.
25:36>> Wow, that's a lot.
25:37>> It's a lot.
25:39And psyllium is also a great source of
25:42fiber.
25:43So, that's very easy to add.
25:45>> psyllium?
25:46>> Psyllium is a plant and it's it's a type
25:50of seed.
25:52>> This is starting to look like a work of
25:54art.
25:56>> Pumpkin seeds also have fiber
26:00and a lot of other nutrients. You can
26:02just add them in.
26:04And cinnamon as well has fiber. And it
26:07can also Yes. So, spices also have fiber
26:11and they add flavor.
26:13>> Now, for people who want to add peanut
26:15butter or honey to their yogurt, is that
26:17recommended or would you avoid it?
26:19>> Peanut butter, yes. So, nuts also have
26:22fiber. So, peanut butter is good. Honey,
26:25I would avoid because it's sugar and it
26:29it can add a little bit, but
26:31>> And cinnamon's going to give you the
26:32sweetness anyway, right?
26:34>> Right.
26:35>> So, shall we start feasting?
26:37>> Perfect. We have our breakfast bowl full
26:41of fiber.
26:42>> And look at how beautiful that looks.
26:45Okay.
26:48Mhm.
26:51This has become
26:54my favorite breakfast.
26:56>> I tell everyone, don't start difficult,
26:59start very easy.
27:00Starting in the morning, it can also be
27:02an afternoon snack. And this is very,
27:05very easy to do. It doesn't require any
27:07big preparation, and it will increase
27:09your fiber day by day. For some people,
27:11they need to start slow,
27:13because if they're not used to fiber,
27:15adding this every day can actually be a
27:17lot.
27:18>> But I also understand that when you
27:19start taking fiber, it takes a while for
27:21your gut to react to it. So,
27:25Dr. Ranjan shared this recently at a
27:27conference that we were at. You see this
27:29chart, and he mentioned that when you
27:31first start taking fiber, you may
27:32suddenly feel some bloating, you will
27:34suddenly feel some gas temporarily, but
27:37as your body adjusts to it, it starts
27:38going down, right?
27:39>> Right. For some people, if they're not
27:41used to fiber,
27:43they would eat a bowl like this, they
27:45would get bloated. So, you need to start
27:49gradually. Just like with everything,
27:52right? If you go to the gym all of a
27:54sudden and try to lift everything,
27:55you'll get injured. So, it's the same
27:57with fiber. You should start easy.
28:00>> But, okay, so really raw question, if
28:02you start this and you suddenly start
28:05farting,
28:06it's not a bad thing. It's a temporary
28:08adjustment your body makes, and as you
28:10go deeper into fiber, it's going to go.
28:13>> Uh yes, you should maybe reduce a little
28:15bit and just increase gradually over
28:17time.
28:18>> Okay. Now,
28:21you mentioned
28:22we can make simple changes to our daily
28:24meals, uh but it's not about removing
28:27things, it's about adding fiber.
28:29>> Adding.
28:29>> Okay, so give us an example of what that
28:31might look like in a in a family.
28:33>> So, for example, for any meal that you
28:36have, don't try to change that or don't
28:39try to remove things, but try to add one
28:42or two sources of fiber.
28:45Beans are an excellent source of fiber.
28:48Lentils, chickpeas, beans. You can get
28:51them
28:53um
28:53already even pre-boiled and you can add
28:56them to your meal and they would add
28:58fiber.
28:59>> What about kids? I'm the parent of two
29:02teenagers. What can we modify about what
29:04they can eat so that they are getting
29:06more fiber? I was particularly struck by
29:08that study that showed a a 57% reduction
29:12in depression in teens when they
29:14increase fiber.
29:15>> Right. It depends on their age, but
29:16something like this
29:18is excellent for them to start. Do you
29:20think they would they would like it,
29:21your kids?
29:22>> My daughter loves this.
29:23>> Right. So, for example, think about
29:26their favorite meal. Um let's say in the
29:28morning they like an omelet. You can put
29:31some fiber inside the omelet. You can
29:32put spinach. You can put seeds.
29:35>> Mhm.
29:36>> Let's say that they like pancakes. You
29:37can put um psyllium, you can put seeds,
29:42you can put different vegetables inside
29:44the the pancakes.
29:46Um if you uh bake something, you can use
29:49chickpea flour
29:51>> Mhm.
29:51>> instead of white flour.
29:53Um so, don't think about completely
29:55changing meals, but think about adding
29:57something on top of what they like.
30:00>> I created a fiber bar in my home that
30:02looks like this. Beautiful little glass
30:04bottles. And I call it our yogurt bar. I
30:07have a fiber bar on my desk at work and
30:10I keep yogurt in the refrigerator at
30:12work so I can eat this as a
30:13mid-afternoon snack.
30:15>> What kind of benefits have you seen?
30:17>> Well, the first thing is reduction in
30:18waistline. I went up to 87 cm waist. It
30:22shrank back to about 80 cm. And really
30:25the only change I made, this was summer
30:27of 2025, was increasing my intake of
30:29fiber. It was amazing the impact that
30:32had.
30:33So, that that was one. But I also
30:36understand that fiber influences our
30:38moods.
30:39>> Yeah.
30:39>> Can we talk about that for a second? Why
30:41is it fiber
30:43in some studies seems to lead to a
30:45reduction in depression?
30:46>> So, our gut and our brain are connected
30:48all the time bidirectionally. So, our
30:51brain and stress can suppress the gut
30:53microbiome. Our gut microbiome can boost
30:56our brain and mental health. For
30:58example, there are studies that show
30:59that antibiotics can make you sad or
31:03drive depression. It's because they kill
31:05gut bacteria. So, we know that the gut
31:08microbiome has super important role in
31:10mental health. And again, diversity is
31:12the most important thing. So, if we can
31:15increase diversity in the gut
31:16microbiome, um many studies show that
31:20they can have benefits on our mental
31:22health, especially depression and
31:24anxiety. This is just one breakfast on
31:27one day. So, we're already very far
31:29along in getting to 30, right? We're
31:32already getting about half of our
31:35recommended dose of fiber per day. And
31:37then we have two more meals. So, we can
31:38have lunch, we have dinner.
31:40>> 47% of adults in a in a in a study a
31:43couple of years back are clinically
31:45obese in Malaysia. The New York Times
31:47carried an article that declared
31:49Malaysia as the fattest country in Asia.
31:52And what happened is every time I go
31:55back to Malaysia to visit my parents,
31:58I end up putting on weight. I'll be
31:59there for 2 weeks and I end up putting
32:01on weight. And part of the reason was
32:03really rich and fat Asian food. But the
32:06typical Malaysian dish is extremely low
32:08in fiber.
32:09>> Mhm.
32:09>> So, I started doing this simple hack. As
32:11soon as I land in my country of
32:12Malaysia, I head to my favorite grocery
32:15store and I grab all of these different
32:17vegetables. I come back and every
32:19morning, I grab a handful of vegetables.
32:21I'll have maybe 12 or 13 different
32:23varieties in my fridge. I grab a
32:24handful, put it in the blender, I add
32:27half a green apple,
32:28and I add a little bit of mint for
32:30flavoring, and I add lime juice, and I
32:33make the most delicious green smoothie,
32:36and I take that every day.
32:38Now, since I started doing that, I
32:39observed two things. Number one, I
32:41stopped getting sick. When I started
32:43doing this,
32:43>> Right.
32:44>> no more colds, no more flus.
32:46That's probably from the vitamins from
32:47the vegetables.
32:48The second thing is, I stopped gaining
32:50weight in Malaysia.
32:51Having a veggie shake in the morning,
32:53and then yogurt for lunch, I could still
32:55eat all of the rich Asian foods, but I
32:57was no longer seeing my belly increase,
33:01and I became really lean.
33:04And this was really amazing for me
33:05because I loved the food from my
33:07country,
33:08but I didn't take anything away. Like
33:10you said, I didn't subtract. I simply
33:12added. I added vegetable juicing, and I
33:14added this beautiful yogurt fiber
33:16superfood that we just prepared.
33:18>> Right. And having a diverse gut
33:19microbiome can give you a stronger
33:21immune system. So, it's not just the
33:23vitamins in the fruit and veggies, it's
33:25also the gut microbiome.
33:26>> Mhm.
33:27>> And when you do a smoothie, keep it a
33:29smoothie, so keep the puree. Don't throw
33:31away the pulp
33:33because otherwise you're throwing away
33:34the fiber.
33:35>> Right.
33:35>> So, when you do a juice, you throw away
33:37the fiber.
33:37>> Mhm. [clears throat]
33:38We've shared with you two different
33:41things, the yogurt and then the green
33:43smoothie,
33:44and the importance of fiber. You've
33:46heard the studies, you understand what
33:48the evidence is saying, and you
33:49understand now that it is much easier
33:51than you think to get to 30 g of fiber.
33:54My final tip would be, track this. And
33:56there are several ways you can do it.
33:58There are many apps that let you
33:59photograph what you eat, and they help
34:02you track your intake of protein and
34:04fiber.
34:05My company, Mindvalley, has an app you
34:07can use. It's called Vibrantly. You can
34:09download it from the App Store and use
34:12it. I designed this to help me track my
34:14food, and I've now added it to the App
34:16Store. If you want to get your gut
34:18tested, you can also visit Nora's
34:21company's website, albahelp.com.
34:25And Nora, tell us what Alba does.
34:27>> We help you test your gut microbiome,
34:30how it's linked to your digestion, to
34:32immune system and skin, metabolic
34:34health, and brain health, and what you
34:36should do about it, how you can boost it
34:39with specific probiotics
34:41recommendations. So, what is the best
34:43probiotic for you? And number two, what
34:45are the best foods for you? And best
34:48additions to your meals. And also, how
34:50to modify your meals. So, in our app,
34:53you can see specific recommendations on
34:55how to modify your meal. We ask you what
34:57you eat today, and how [clears throat]
34:58we can make these simple hacks, simple
35:00additions to your meals for any age from
35:03birth. So, we actually cover all age
35:06ranges.
35:07>> And I just had my daughter do the Alba
35:10test cuz I want to make sure that my
35:11kids have a healthy gut diversity. And
35:15one of the things I appreciate about the
35:16work that you do, Nora, and Alba is
35:18Nora's recent activism work here in the
35:21United Kingdom, where her article in the
35:23Guardian recently got published, where
35:24she exposed baby food companies for
35:27putting excessive sugar in baby food,
35:30and this affects all of our children.
35:32And the UK government responded, and now
35:35there's an investigation in the UK to
35:37understand why are we feeding our
35:40children so much sugar. So, thank you,
35:42and we appreciate your activism there.
35:44Would you tell the audience, especially
35:46parents, why it's important to do a gut
35:48microbiome test for their kids?
35:50>> Right, the gut microbiome is even more
35:52important in the first years of life
35:54because it can affect not only their
35:56health in that moment, but also to their
35:58health later in life. Some studies show
36:01that if you test the gut microbiome of a
36:02child, you can predict their health
36:05later in life, even allergies,
36:07uh weight, obesity, and other conditions
36:11later life. So, what kids eat early on,
36:14which gut bacteria they have early on,
36:16matters for your health for life. Up to
36:1990%
36:21of babies and young children today are
36:23lacking a specific type of gut bacteria
36:25that is linked to to our immune system,
36:28to allergies, and other immune
36:29conditions. So, a lot of kids today are
36:32missing gut bacteria more than ever.
36:34Um so, we help parents understand
36:37their their children's gut microbiome
36:39now and which probiotics can help them.
36:41There's a lot of probiotics that work
36:43very, very well in children. And also,
36:45what to eat, what which products to buy,
36:48and which products are appropriate for
36:50their kids.
36:51>> Amazing. Now, one more thing. I
36:53mentioned the app on Vibrantly. This is
36:56an app that I built and I designed this
36:58after my success with ChatGPT detecting
37:01fiber. What Vibrantly does is it helps
37:03you track what you're eating. It gives
37:05you your macros. And Vibrantly also has
37:08an AI companion where you explain to it
37:11your goals, how you want your weight to
37:13be, what are your protein targets, how
37:16you're exercising, even your moods. And
37:18Vibrantly is designed to help you
37:20optimize fiber. Many other apps will
37:23simply count your calories and let you
37:25know, great, you hit your protein
37:26target. Vibrantly will intelligently
37:28tell you what to add to whatever you're
37:30eating, whether it's pasta or it's it's
37:33cooked baked salmon, so that your fiber
37:35intake goes up. That's what makes it
37:37different. So, go check it out on the
37:39App Store. Now, for those of you who
37:42want to actually put this into practice,
37:45we're launching a 30-day fiber challenge
37:47Mind Belly in partnership with Alba
37:49Help. And all you have to do is go to
37:51the website below to sign up for this
37:5230-day fiber challenge. What we want you
37:55to do is
37:57for men, measure your waist, for women,
37:59measure your hips.
38:00And for 30 days, we're going to show you
38:04how to increase your fiber intake until
38:06it's natural. Every single day, you're
38:08going to get a recipe, you're going to
38:09get a tip. It's going to come to you via
38:11email. And this is going to help you
38:14with your fiber. We want you to track
38:16what you're doing. You can download the
38:18Vibrantly app, you can use a
38:19spreadsheet, but track and take action
38:22every single day. We're going to give
38:23you tiny little micro things to do. Now,
38:25every week, once a week, Nora's going to
38:28come on live and you'll be invited to
38:30join where she's going to share tips,
38:32you get to ask questions, and together
38:34as a community, as a group, we're going
38:37to understand more about fiber. You
38:39don't have to show up for these weekly
38:40sessions, but if you do, it's going to
38:42be really inspirational. You're going to
38:43learn more really powerful tips. And
38:45we're going to encourage our entire
38:47community to share recipes with each
38:49other. And you're going to learn amazing
38:52dishes to prepare like this yogurt which
38:55doesn't exist anymore because it was so
38:57delicious I've consumed it in 5 minutes
38:59in the middle of a podcast episode.
39:02And this is what we want to know. At the
39:04end of 30 days, we want you to share
39:07with us how your body has changed. I'd
39:08like to show you something.
39:10So, let me show you why I'm doing this.
39:12This is my in body scan. And you know, I
39:15love tracking everything. And I want to
39:17show you this. So, this is where I was
39:20November 16, 2025. And let's look at my
39:24body fat. My body fat was was 18.1.
39:29And this is my latest in body. This time
39:32I have it on my phone. And my latest in
39:34body, I'm down to 14.4. That is a huge
39:37difference. I no longer can fit in only
39:40three pairs of pants. I now can wear
39:43pants that I could wear 10 years ago.
39:47But one of the biggest changes I made
39:49was
39:50stacking up my fiber. And that's why I'm
39:53so passionate about getting these ideas
39:54to you on this episode of Extraordinary
39:56Minds. Thank you, Nora, for being an
39:58extraordinary mind. And remember, when
40:00you can hit your fiber targets, when you
40:03can do the 30 x 30 formula, you're going
40:06to see so many profound changes in your
40:09life. And all we ask is share this
40:11episode. Talk about this. Help us change
40:15eating culture so we're not eating as
40:17much processed foods as we are, and moms
40:20and dads and people all around the world
40:22who want to live healthy understand that
40:25we actually carry really friendly pets
40:27in our gut, our gut microbiome, and we
40:30need to be feeding these creatures. Help
40:33spread the word. Thank you for
40:34subscribing. And thank you, Nora.
40:36>> Thank you for having me.
40:37>> Click below to get a link to all of the
40:40resources we shared and to sign up for
40:42the 30-day challenge. The challenge
40:44begins on November 1st. It ends on
40:45November 30th. And in 30 days, we're
40:49hoping to change the eating habits of
40:51thousands of people, you included. And
40:54all we want you to do is to bring your
40:55friends and your family into this.
40:59Thank you.

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