The following is a conversation with Dr. Petra Louis, Senior Research Fellow at the Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen.

We entertained various subjects in a fun, but also quite serious manner. We got into some nitty gritty fun topics with regards to diets, supplements, fibre, and all the things that we've talked about before in the podcast, but going into quite some significant detail.

The following is a conversation with Erin Kenney, the CEO of Nutrition Rewired. Erin is a registered dietitian with a Master's in nutritional science.

She's done an amazing job in building a business that helps people take control of their lives through modulating their diet, improving their gut health and ultimately looking after the gut microbiome.

Today's conversation was far-reaching. We talked about fibre, We talked about gums, we talked about artificial sweeteners, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and supplements. This was pretty much an A to Z of what to do to look after your gut health, what works and what doesn't. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the listeners and supporters of the podcast for everything you've done to help us build the name, and the brand, and to get the message out there around microbiome being critically important and gut health being important for wider body health.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:19 How Erin became interested in gut health

00:04:32 Biggest impacts on Erin’s health

00:06:09 Stress and gut health

00:09:22 Does caffeine give us energy?

00:14:46 Bone broth instead of coffee

00:16:06 Coffee and our liver

00:16:48 Taking control of gut health

00:18:42 The role of a good breakfast

00:21:55 Lean muscle mass and women

00:23:07 Importance of protein

00:26:32 Role of supplements

00:29:35 Creating an optimal regime

00:32:33 Ketogenic diets

00:38:34 SIBO

00:46:24 Microbiome testing

00:49:00 Vitamin D

00:51:51 Green powder supplements

00:55:19 Heavy metals

01:01:38 Artificial sweeteners

01:05:58 Gum instead of gluten

01:10:18 Palm oil

01:12:20 Nutrition Rewired

 

Full Transcript:

[00:00:00] JAMES: The following is a conversation with Erin Kenny, the CEO of Nutrition Rewired. Erin is a registered dietitian with a master's in nutritional science. She's done an amazing job in building a business up that helps people take control of their lives through modulating their diet, improving their gut health and ultimately looking after the gut microbiome.

[00:00:24] JAMES: Today's conversation was far reaching. We talked about fiber, We talked about gums, we talked about artificial sweeteners, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, supplements. This was pretty much a A to Z of what to do to look after your gut health, what works and what doesn't. I really appreciated how simply Erin put lots of complicated topics for the listener.

[00:00:49] JAMES: She podcast so that might explain why she was such a good guest. This is an amazing episode for anyone who's wanting to enter into this field, but we also digged into some [00:01:00] technical aspects, and I learned a lot over the course of the conversation. This is Inside Matters. My name is Dr. James McIlroy. I hope you enjoy it.

[00:01:16] JAMES: So how did you get interested then in gut health?

[00:01:19] ERIN: It was a very selfish Journey for me, I, from a very young age, struggled with digestive issues. They had to take me off of being breastfed when I was a baby and got on to formula fed. And, you know, I was struggling with a ton of digestive issues. And basically they just slapped me with a diagnosis of lactose intolerance.

[00:01:42] ERIN: And basically what most of my childhood, struggling with horrible pain, horrible bowel movement. I will honestly say that a majority of my childhood was spent in the bathroom because Of how bad things were with my gut and [00:02:00] I really didn't have much help, you know, it was kind of just, you know, let's watch out for dairy and let's watch out for, you know, triggers and things like that, but it was kind of just, you know, take elodium and, and hope for the best.

[00:02:13] ERIN: So, fast forward, you know, as I started to get older, I was a full time athlete, I was, you know, in high school, and really wanted to start taking care of myself. I struggled with mental health issues, I lost my father to his battle with mental health struggles, and it started to connect with me that on the days when my stomach was at its worst, my mental health was also at its worst.

[00:02:42] ERIN: And so I was starting to make these connections and, you know, learn and, Spent a lot of time on Google, which, you know, we all know is not a reputable source of information. But nonetheless, I was, I was interested in, in seeking alternative ways to help [00:03:00] support my body. And when I went to college, I didn't really know what I wanted to major in.

[00:03:05] ERIN: And I thought, you know, nutrition sounds like something that I could use some support with, considering everything that I'm going through and. You know, the things that I've read online and from there on out, it was just about healing myself. I learned, you know, after being on a decade of medications from birth control to fix the hormone imbalance, from PPI's to address the chronic acid reflux, you know, it was just being thrown medication after medication because doctors were just treating symptoms.

[00:03:40] ERIN: So I, I've dedicated all my time to researching about, you know, the gut microbiome and nutrition. And then I was in school for nutrition. And I started following people in the field who were talking about these things, talking about the gut microbiome, talking about how nutrition impacts mental health. I [00:04:00] just lit up, you know, it was, it was like, for the first time in my life, someone was speaking to me and, you know, I felt validated too, for so many years, it's like, oh, it's just all in your head, you just gotta, you know, stop eating dairy, and I have now, Basically built a business on helping individuals get to the root cause of their digestive issues and imbalances because of everything that I went through.

[00:04:25] ERIN: So I'm incredibly passionate about what I do and I'm just really excited to chat with you today.

[00:04:32] JAMES: So what were some of the key things then as you went along your own journey that made the biggest impact to your own health?

[00:04:39] ERIN: I will highlight a very important one that I think a lot of people don't consider and that's stress.

[00:04:45] ERIN: It's Uh, you know, there was a lot of stress in my life and I was kind of putting that on the back burner as something that, yeah, you know, I'm stressed, I'm, you know, working out intensely and doing all this stuff, but that [00:05:00] can't, you know, that's not going to make a huge difference. So I really had to prioritize stress as one of them.

[00:05:06] ERIN: Diet, as we all know, you know, is incredibly important. My diet was Not supportive of what I needed for my body. I played around with a plant based diet, and I have no shame for anybody who is, who loves their plant based diet, but for me it was not the right fit. I needed a plant forward diet, but I also needed protein.

[00:05:30] ERIN: I needed to really hone in on, like, focusing on diversity of what I was eating. I was eating a lot of the same things over and over again. I think a lot of us can get into a rut pretty easily with that. And then I learned, you know, how much diversity our gut needs in terms of the microbiome. So stress, diet was huge.

[00:05:50] ERIN: And then I had to address imbalances. I had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth because I was On proton pump inhibitors long term, I had yeast [00:06:00] overgrowth. Uh, so a lot of these things I learned from stool testing and I was able to Going

[00:06:09] JAMES: back to the stress then. So how do people identify if their stress levels are too high?

[00:06:15] JAMES: And you mentioned exercise, maybe exercise is a double edged sword. If you do too much, it might be actually a big stress on your body. So what are your tools and tips then for stress management? I guess a little bit is good for you, right? But too much is detrimental.

[00:06:31] ERIN: Sure. Yeah, we call that eustress, right?

[00:06:33] ERIN: It's that, that, that period where you're kind of in that Goldilocks sweet spot where stress is, is beneficial. It helps us grow. It's good for inflammation. But in terms of my own journey, I, I would love to say that I had this like, you know, lovely revelation of your stress and you need to pull back. It was.

[00:06:53] ERIN: One of those moments, I say this to clients all the time, it's if you listen to your body when it whispers, you don't have to hear [00:07:00] it when it screams. And I was at the screaming point where I was running seven to ten miles a day and You know, I got to a point where I couldn't barely even walk because I was just like so obsessed with how exercise made me feel, how good it was for my mental health.

[00:07:16] ERIN: So I was basically forced in to loving yoga. It wasn't love at first. It was a, it was, it was not love at first. It was a rocky relationship to begin with, but I thought this is the only thing I can do. Yoga is the only thing that I physically can do that's going to support my mental health and I just fell in love with it.

[00:07:37] ERIN: And to this day has always been an incredible stress management technique for me because not only do I get to move my body, but I'm doing it in a way that's not inflammatory. I'm doing it in a way where I'm, I'm like feeling everything of what's going on in my muscles and how tight I am and breath, right?

[00:07:57] ERIN: I'm breathing. So a lot of times [00:08:00] people will say, I'm just not good at meditation. And I'll say, well, have you tried yoga? Have you tried walking or yoga? Like those are also forms of meditation because you have to focus on your breath. If you're in a down dog position and you're sweating and you're tired, the only way you're going to get through that pose is that you're going to breathe.

[00:08:20] ERIN: So meditation has been, meditation and yoga have been incredible assets to my healing journey, but also just the way that I Manage my stress now and also just the awareness of what is my threshold for stress and what are some of the signs that come up for me when I know I've hit my breaking point and become more irritable towards the people that I love.

[00:08:45] ERIN: My sleep starts to suffer. My digestion starts to go off a little bit. So these are kind of my. Red flags of, Hey, Aaron, let's check in with yourself. You might be doing a little too much. So are those

[00:08:59] JAMES: [00:09:00] the sort of whispers then before the screams, the irritability, the sleep? Yeah.

[00:09:05] ERIN: And for females to even males, people think, yeah, changes in hormones, like you'd notice changes in your menstrual cycle or your libido, like those types of things can, can also take a hit when you're dealing with chronic stress.

[00:09:22] JAMES: Cause I guess a lot of people think, Oh, well. You know, I'm a little bit tired today. I'll just drink more coffee or I'm a little bit sore today. I'm just gonna train more But what you're saying is maybe you need to just slow down to perform

[00:09:34] ERIN: better. Exactly. And I also love to talk to clients about how caffeine actually works.

[00:09:41] ERIN: Caffeine doesn't give us energy. It actually blocks these adenosine receptors in our brain. And these adenosine receptors are like those little whispers of us hearing the signal that we're tired. And once that caffeine wears off, those [00:10:00] adenosine receptors don't go away. They're still there to then tell our brain, hey, we're really tired.

[00:10:07] ERIN: So I always Tell people that, that you're not giving yourself more energy by loading up on caffeine, you're decreasing your perception of how tired you are, which is allowing you to push through something, whether it's a workout or a long, you know, night at work. And over time, especially your body is going to shut down.

[00:10:33] JAMES: As an avid coffee drinker, I'm sort of running through my head, am I drinking? I'm not listening to the whispers, but have you got recommendations then for your clients around coffee and caffeine, like some rules or suggestions in terms of when to drink, how much to drink? Cause that could be really interesting for the listeners on Inside Matters.

[00:10:52] ERIN: My number one tip is that, and I say this to clients, you have to eat a full breakfast before you have your [00:11:00] cup of coffee. And when we do this experiment, sometimes my clients will say, after I had,

[00:11:10] ERIN: they'll say, I didn't, I didn't even want my cup of coffee after I had my breakfast. And it's because we're not using artificial fuel, right? We're eating. Some nice eggs with, you know, some sweet potatoes and avocado and, you know, we're energized and now we don't have this craving for a stimulant. And I'm not shaming caffeine completely, especially coffee.

[00:11:36] ERIN: There's numerous health benefits in addition to the microbiome, but it's, it's evaluating that relationship with it. And so. So I always say, no coffee until you've had a, a, a full breakfast. Coffee does not count as breakfast. I tell them no caffeine after noon. Uh, the researcher, Michael, is it, oh, Matthew Walker.

[00:11:58] ERIN: He talks about [00:12:00] metabolism of caffeine and, you know, the half life and how long that caffeine can stay in your system. And You could be laying in bed at night if you had your cup of coffee at 3 p. m., and you're still metabolizing it in the middle of the night, impacting your quality of sleep, and then the cycle just starts again, right?

[00:12:18] ERIN: You wake up, you're exhausted, you're groggy, and that's because That's You know, that the later in the day that can impact your sleep.

[00:12:27] JAMES: So someone maybe like me who wakes up in the morning and finds a way over to the coffee. I know myself. It just, it's like part of the routine and I kind of love it to be honest, but so someone's addicted to that morning routine and they come to you and they become a client.

[00:12:45] JAMES: How do you get them to break that cycle and get into the routine of. I don't know, maybe cold shower and then they come in, they've had their breakfast, then they have their coffee. Is it a slow process or do you just say, right, that's it, cold turkey.

[00:12:58] ERIN: I'm never, [00:13:00] I'm never militant with my clients ever because I'm also human and the I also understand that, you know, when we make changes, that they don't need to happen overnight and it certainly doesn't usually feel good to our nervous system or mental health wise when someone says, just cut it out.

[00:13:17] ERIN: And now, don't get me wrong, I've got clients that are all or nothing and they just, when I tell them generally what I've just told you, they'll say, forget it, I'm cutting it out. I want to do this, I want to do it perfectly, that's type of person. Right. So when we, when we start, you know, I, I get to know what their relationship is like.

[00:13:36] ERIN: I had a client one time and she had this, you know, whole setup in her house. The whole side of the wall was dedicated to coffee. So for the client like that, we're going to say, okay, you know, let's. Maybe switch to a decaf or switch to, you know, less of a serving and put more, you know, almond milk in it to just cut down on the, on the portion.

[00:13:56] ERIN: And then we, we work our way towards, uh, maybe after [00:14:00] breakfast, but there's lots of alternative things that you can do to still have that routine. So I'll, I'll just give my example. I drink a bone broth, hot chocolate in the morning and that bone broth, hot chocolate. It doesn't, you know, contain loads of caffeine.

[00:14:16] ERIN: It's still got the gut health benefits. It's still bitter because of the cacao. And so I drink that it's got 20 grams of protein and it's warm and it's, it still gives me that so people can find, you know, there's all these like, you know, medicinal mushroom type of blends and things like that. So if you can find something that you like.

[00:14:36] ERIN: That isn't that, you know, bursts of caffeine and acidity to your stomach on an empty stomach, then that might help the transition be a little bit easier. Thank

[00:14:46] JAMES: you so much for that example. Mark, who's one of the hosts here at the podcast studio has bone broth and cayenne pepper. Okay. There you go. In the morning.

[00:14:56] JAMES: Yep. And bizarrely, I was speaking to him on Tuesday because we're [00:15:00] planning for the week and we're talking about you. Um, and I said, cause he was drinking in the same type of Yeti coffee mug as me. And I was like, Oh, nice mug. Like you're one of the good guys. Um, is that a coffee? He explained that no, it was just his bone broth and it's part of his routine to get, you know, great nutrition and in the morning and it's still warm.

[00:15:18] JAMES: And as you say, it sort of feels like a coffee, but it's not really a coffee. So. Um, I'm going to go for it. I'm going to start my day with some bone broth.

[00:15:27] ERIN: I expect a report back. I'd love to hear from you.

[00:15:31] JAMES: I'll give you a report. I can't promise to stop the coffee. That's not the goal. I might go from two shots to one shot.

[00:15:39] JAMES: I think two shots to one shot. That's success. You know, you mentioned the health benefits of coffee. It's really interesting. I've had several people come on. So one of them was Professor Debbie Shawcross, who's like a leading authority on, on liver health, basically saying drink more coffee because for some reason it's protective [00:16:00] against, um, cirrhosis and, uh, non alcoholic fatty changes.

[00:16:05] JAMES: So there's, there's something in there, isn't there?

[00:16:06] ERIN: This, I think there's so many, there's so many asks. Aspects of it. I think, you know, you and I are big into gut health, right? So we're probably gonna always look at it from a gut health lens. And, you know, my scientific brain goes to, well, you know, coffee helps people have a bowel movement, right?

[00:16:22] ERIN: It stimulates the liver and digestion. And if we're having regular bowel movements and, and stimulating that process, that's great for the liver, right? We don't want, that's good. You know, sluggish digestion. So just one of the many, I mean, there's, there's antioxidants in there, there's. The polyphenols that feed beneficial bacteria and you know, the liver and the gut are most certainly connected.

[00:16:48] JAMES: So could you maybe walk the listeners through some of the other things you try and help your clients with? So you mentioned stress, diet, maybe we can unpack diet a little bit more because that must be huge. We hear. In terms [00:17:00] of. You know, taking control of your health and your microbiome and your gut.

[00:17:04] ERIN: Sure. Yeah. As a dietician, you know, people expect that we just focus on food and we, we often do. There's not usually one client that comes in that there's not something diet related that we're talking about and everyone's starting at different ends of the spectrum, right? Some people have no knowledge that.

[00:17:23] ERIN: You know, they're not even getting nearly enough protein. They're not eating any vegetables, you know, that, that kind of standard American diet where a lot of processed foods, you know, a lot of refined grains that aren't providing any fiber or nutrition. So there's so many different ends of the spectrum of things that we work on.

[00:17:41] ERIN: And then you have, you know, clients who have overgrowth or SIBO, like SIBO, for example, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and they're eating super clean. You know, air quote clean, where they're not touching your processed food. They're loading up on fiber because they've been told, [00:18:00] fiber, fiber, fiber, if you want better gut health, eat more fiber.

[00:18:04] ERIN: And that's making them feel worse. So there's that end of the spectrum where we have to. obviously address the underlying root cause, but we need to simplify their diet, make it easy for them to break things down a little bit, give their gut some rest. And then there's the other spectrum where, you know, I have a woman come to me and she's eating one egg for breakfast.

[00:18:25] ERIN: And I'm saying, where's your protein? She said, well, I haven't had an egg for breakfast. I said, well, one egg is six grams of protein. We need 25 or 30 grams of protein to start our day. Right? So there's, there's all these missing links.

[00:18:42] JAMES: We've talked about breakfast quite a lot then because as you know, within the sort of wellness health sphere, there's this debate around intermittent fasting and it sounds like you're very much in favor of, you should have a really great nutritious breakfast with macronutrients to set you up [00:19:00] for the day.

[00:19:01] JAMES: Is that the case? So you're big, big on breakfast for you and your clients.

[00:19:06] ERIN: So for me, yes, I, I've always tried to adopt that my philosophy on my own nutrition and what I think makes me feel best is not going to determine what I think is best for a client. And I think that's really important. I think a lot of, you know, health professionals, it's, you know, they find something that works for them or works for some of their clients and then everyone should do it.

[00:19:28] ERIN: Now. Do I often, would I recommend intermittent fasting to people? No, it wouldn't be my first recommendation for the majority of people that I work with. I have worked with clients and most of those clients end up being males who do really well with intermittent fasting. Maybe it's males or oftentimes it's women who are post menopause and they have specific goals, maybe related to body composition and hormone balance.

[00:19:55] ERIN: And they found that these practices of intermittent fasting in whatever [00:20:00] fashion make them feel really good. A lot of these are CEOs of companies that like, they love the focus aspect of it during the day. And, you know, so I'm just going to come in and I'm going to work with them and say, Well, if this works for you and you're not, Uh, binge eating at night and feeling like you're deprived during the day and you're getting good nutrition and you're fast, you're feeding window, then I'll work with you.

[00:20:23] ERIN: We'll work with where you're at. But the majority of my clients, you know, especially those that are female and they're still cycling, this can really disrupt their hormones. It can disrupt their ability to work out during the day. And so we have to really personalize that if it's going to be part of the protocol and, and the research that I've seen, my biggest concern is the body composition.

[00:20:46] ERIN: I've seen the loss of muscle mass be a potential and I think that's a huge issue for a lot of people, right? We all need nice lean muscle mass and if fasting, you know, if we continue to see research that [00:21:00] fasting negatively impacts our lean muscle tissue, I don't love

[00:21:04] JAMES: that. Yeah. I mean, intuitively it makes sense, right?

[00:21:08] JAMES: You stop consuming calories, you've got no protein intake, therefore there's no amino acids moving around. So it kind of makes sense that your body is going to look for energy. Yeah. And I guess muscle is, is, is a target is probably less desirable than, than fat and certainly your glycogen stores kind of make sense that it forms part of that source of energy that we need.

[00:21:32] JAMES: Our bodies are incredible. I'm just on the muscle mass thing. Oh yeah, absolutely. And on the muscle mass thing then, you know, I guess maybe some women listeners might think. It doesn't really apply to me. You know, that's for men that lift and train and work out, but that's not the case, is it? It's, it's just as important, maybe even more important.

[00:21:54] JAMES: I,

[00:21:55] ERIN: I'm a, I'm not a buff woman. Okay. I, I [00:22:00] get, you know, up to 130 grams of protein per day. And I'm not, you know, what, what people, a lot of women would think I would turn into by eating as much protein as I do. But I will tell you. Some things about me is that I'm very strong, very strong in the gym. I have a good lean body mass My hormones are balanced.

[00:22:20] ERIN: I don't have cravings for sugar throughout the day. Those are the things that protein does for us. And so I think we need to understand that from a, you know, biochemical aspect, protein is essential. It is protective. It increases our metabolism. It's the only macronutrient that has a higher thermic effect of food like that.

[00:22:41] ERIN: That's incredible. So we, you know, just old school recommendations that always seem to sneak their way into further generation.

[00:22:50] JAMES: So, um, how does someone know, I mean, if they're not got the benefit of working with an expert dietitian like you, how do they know if they're on the right track for protein? And in [00:23:00] addition to like the actual macronutrient gram per day recommendations, how important is the source of protein for people?

[00:23:07] ERIN: Hmm, that's a great question. So we have two different types of protein. We have a complete protein, which is basically a protein that combines all of the essential amino acids, which amino acids are the little building blocks of what protein is. And essential, meaning our body needs them to survive and to produce the daily functions and live optimally.

[00:23:30] ERIN: So that's, that's an essential amino acid. That's a, that's a complete protein. Those Food sources are things like meat, fish, eggs. These are animal proteins. And then you have the incomplete side where we have incomplete, and these are going to be plant based foods. There are a few plant based foods that are complete proteins, but the majority, things like beans and lentils, these are not complete proteins.

[00:23:55] ERIN: So they're just missing a few of those amino acids that we need for [00:24:00] essential daily living. Now, this doesn't mean that non complete proteins are not beneficial, but the requirement of how much you would need per day slightly goes up because the digestibility, how able we are to digest these proteins, is not as efficient, you know, if you were to eat eggs or a piece of fish, for example.

[00:24:24] ERIN: So my approach is try to get some really good quality complete proteins in your diet and also get some incomplete protein sources in your diet, like lentils and beans and nuts and seeds, if that's something that works with, you know, your individualized physiology. But this idea that everything has to be a complete protein, I think is also, you know, too far left because, you know, bone broth isn't a complete protein, but it's still an excellent source of protein.

[00:24:53] ERIN: And I'm still going to have, you know, salmon for dinner, and I'm going to hit my Total, you know, amino acid needs for [00:25:00] the day, if you will,

[00:25:01] JAMES: and the total amino acid needs for the day. How does one calculate what they may or may not need?

[00:25:07] ERIN: That's a great question. So the amino acids themselves, you could use something like I think chronometer might do this on a very, you know, specific level.

[00:25:17] ERIN: I don't know if it goes that into detail, but we look at the total grams of protein as a dietitian, you know, so we're looking for Usually around 1.2, up to two kilograms, sorry, grams per kilogram per day of protein for each person. So the minimum, like the USDA requirements for protein, we're talking 0.8 grams per kilogram per day for a person.

[00:25:43] ERIN: Uh, however you need to convert that, but it's what 0. 8 is not a recommendation I use for any of my clients. We're always going above that, especially when my clients are more active or they're looking to optimize their body composition. We're looking closer to like, uh, up to one [00:26:00] to two grams per kilogram.

[00:26:03] ERIN: So that's your, that's your goal is to really figure out like what is that number for you based on your body weight and then how can you spread that throughout the day. You know, you don't have to completely spread it evenly, but I usually just tell people to make it easier. Get 25 to 30 grams at each meal and then adjust, you know, add to that to meet your needs and then add snacks where appropriate.

[00:26:27] ERIN: But that's a good baseline if they're kind of starting from ground zero.

[00:26:32] JAMES: That's an amazing summary of protein. Thank you so much. How do supplements fit into that? And I'm asking you in the context of this minimally processed versus like ultra processed food debate we have all the time. So some people say, Oh yeah, whey protein supplement contains the essential amino acids.

[00:26:50] JAMES: Go for it. But other people say, Whoa, it's so processed you shouldn't have it. So what are your thoughts then, um, on supplements and How do [00:27:00] they fit in?

[00:27:01] ERIN: I think supplements can be great. I think they have a time and a place and you know, a lot of the time is convenience is, is a big reason, you know, for somebody that has a protein goal of 180 grams per day.

[00:27:15] ERIN: You know, meeting that might be really challenging if they're not throwing in some whey protein into a smoothie or a shake. Whey protein is excellent. Yes, it's processed, but so is your oatmeal and your brown rice and your ground meat. Like everything is processed. And if you choose grass fed, you know, protein powder, a whey protein powder with minimal ingredients that maybe just has whey, maybe some, you know, sweetener and something to Add some salt or whatnot.

[00:27:43] ERIN: But if you have like a three ingredient protein powder, it's high quality grass fed, and you add that to your smoothie, you're doing wonderful things for your body. So I think it, it really comes into when you see these, you know, those, you know, body building companies always start these protein [00:28:00] powders and it's , you know, strawberry cheesecake or cookie dough.

[00:28:03] ERIN: Yeah. And. I used to eat these. I'm not, I'm not saying I've never tried them. They do taste good. They do. They taste just like they say they do, or at least when you're, you know, eating healthy, they do. And, you know, that's when we get into the long list of ingredients. We see, you know, binders and gums and artificial sweeteners.

[00:28:24] ERIN: And we see, you know, things that can really not make us feel good, especially from a gut health perspective. So a good quality You know, one that's been maybe tested for heavy metals, things like lead that can be common in plant based protein powders, arsenic. If we get a good quality protein powder, minimal ingredients, uh, high quality testing, ask for the certificate of analysis from the company.

[00:28:51] ERIN: Then, you know, you're, you're, you're gonna help yourself out if you're struggling to get your protein intake. Thank you for

[00:28:57] JAMES: that. I've, I've got so many things written down to ask, you know, I'm [00:29:00] actually not even sure where to start. Fibers, gum, sweeteners, heavy, heavy metals, other macronutrients. Before I jump into sort of more supplements and sweeteners and the heavy metals, I'd kind of like to.

[00:29:16] JAMES: Round off the diet piece with you more generally. So maybe talk a little bit about fiber, um, fruit and veg, talk about carbs and fats. Yes. You know, when you're working with all your clients and for yourself as well, how do you build like an optimal diet? Big question.

[00:29:35] ERIN: Yes. No, it's, it's a great one. How do you create like an optimal regime?

[00:29:38] ERIN: Absolutely. So we start with again, base, like we kind of find this base for people to start. And that's where the three meals per day comes in. You know, if someone's not used to eating breakfast, we're going to try to get them to start eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or we can call it meal one, meal two, meal three, whatever your schedule is like.

[00:29:56] ERIN: And at that meal, we're aiming to get again, that 25 to 30 grams of [00:30:00] protein. We want to hit. half a plate of vegetables that are colorful, usually like darker leafy greens tend to be an area that a lot of people struggle. So we try to look for those dark pigments. And then the other portion of that, usually I say like a fist of carbohydrates minimum at your meal.

[00:30:18] ERIN: And we try to choose carbohydrates every meal and we try to choose carbohydrates that are more complex. So things like. higher fiber carbs. So if you're looking at a label, you're going to see fiber there. But if you're just in the produce section and you're looking at carbohydrate sources, potatoes have fiber, both sweet and white potatoes.

[00:30:37] ERIN: Uh, things like quinoa, plantains, bananas. These are all sources of carbohydrates that are very nutrient dense. If a client's more active, those carbohydrates Intakes might go up. We might be consuming more carbohydrates per day. Um, and then fat is, is incorporated into those meals. We, we try to focus on healthy fats, particularly omega [00:31:00] 3 fats.

[00:31:00] ERIN: So things like wild caught salmon, we're looking at things like mackerel, sardines, herring. These are omega 3 rich fats that we have to get two to three servings per week. So we've got three meals per day, protein, vegetable, carbohydrate, healthy fats included. And then, then we kind of go from there. We say, okay, are you working out?

[00:31:22] ERIN: Okay, well, we need a pre workout, post workout routine. And how can we adjust there? Um, you know, you're training for a marathon. Okay, your carbohydrate needs go up significantly. We're going to have to adjust that. But once we have that base, you know, and, and You don't have to focus so much on the grams of fiber, although we are aiming for about 25 to 35 grams per day, if you're choosing complex carbs, if you're choosing half your plate of vegetables, then you're likely going to hit your fiber needs for the most part.

[00:31:53] JAMES: It's going to happen, right? It's going to happen just by default, you know, because it's quite difficult to [00:32:00] find the fiber on the foods and to figure out.

[00:32:04] ERIN: Yeah. And if you're focusing on it, we're

[00:32:08] JAMES: sorry, there's a bit of a, a bit of a, a like you. Please continue, please.

[00:32:13] ERIN: No, no. I was just going to say, so if you're focusing on getting the majority of your foods from less processed foods, then you're again, likely to hit those fiber goals because you're going to be choosing those types of fruits and vegetables and things like that that just naturally come with, you know, the, the benefit of the fiber.

[00:32:33] JAMES: Absolutely. I'm going to just push you a little bit, um, on. Ketogenic diets and people even go more extreme and they have these um, carnivore diets. They're great. And you've been quite clear in your recommendation around you should have some carbohydrate with each meal. So, could we just unpack that a little bit and what some of the, you know, why is that part of your recommendation versus, you know, just eat meat and [00:33:00] veg, for example?

[00:33:01] ERIN: Mm hmm. So, the, the main focus there is blood sugar balance and this is something that people think this is a discussion just reserved for people who have, say, diabetes. You know, oh, well, you know, they gotta watch their blood sugar and, you know, gotta make sure they don't eat too many carbohydrates. But the reality is, is we all should care about blood sugar.

[00:33:22] ERIN: Blood sugar impacts our cardiovascular system. It impacts our mental health, it impacts our hormones, it impacts our muscle growth and maintenance. So having stable blood sugar throughout the day is absolutely key to optimal performance, energy, all those things that we're talking about. And so being able to get a steady adequate amount consistent throughout the day is going to allow that blood sugar to just kind of have this nice little up and down throughout the day.

[00:33:52] ERIN: And we're going to stay within this nice range that the body likes to stay in for optimal health. When you go get your blood work done and you get your [00:34:00] hemoglobin A1C tested, that's your report card of how well you've been managing That blood sugar over the past three months, how well you've been staying within that range.

[00:34:10] ERIN: And when you don't eat carbs for breakfast, and you don't eat carbs for lunch, and then you have a carb dinner, you're more likely to see a larger spike in those blood glucose levels. Again, this isn't the case for everybody. If somebody has been on a low carb diet, and they've maintained that, and their blood sugar is great, and they're feeling awesome, I'm so happy for them, and I would support them in that way.

[00:34:34] ERIN: But for the majority of us, We have these habits where our carbs are not distributed properly. We're not eating the right amount. We're either eating too much in one sitting, not enough at one sitting, and we're wondering why we're craving sugar all the time, and why we're tired all the time. And if we just got high quality carbohydrates at every meal in adequate amounts, not overdoing it, not underdoing it, [00:35:00] we might find a really healthy balance.

[00:35:02] ERIN: And not to mention, the trouble with those low carb diets is the number one symptom is constipation. Because These carbohydrates feed our beneficial bacteria. I probably see 10 to 15 stool tests per week, and any time I see someone come in with a carnivore, keto, low carb diet, they have very low beneficial bacteria.

[00:35:30] ERIN: And it is pretty much causation, right? We can pretty much assume that the correlation there is because they're not So, my theory, you know, the, the keto diet, it's originally designed for, for medical purposes, and it's incredible for, you know, patients who are diagnosed with a, a type of epilepsy, and it has, been proven to And, uh, yeah, I mean, I don't [00:36:00] think that the majority of the United States needs to be on a carnivore or ketogenic diet, especially long term.

[00:36:08] ERIN: We don't really know the long term effects of eating, you know, a ketogenic carnivore diet. it's, You know, I suspect that a lot of people that have found that they feel so good on those diets could be because they have an underlying gut imbalance, and now they're not feeding it with any fiber, any carbs, and that's kind of maintained their symptoms, so they feel really good.

[00:36:36] ERIN: And that's, that's just a theory, it's just my thought, you know, that a lot of people find those diets because they're looking for relief and to feel good, and Ultimately, we all want to feel good, right? But if we're not addressing a root cause, then that, that's a, that's a problem, especially if it, it forces you to be on that restrictive of the diet.

[00:36:57] ERIN: I

[00:36:57] JAMES: mean, the way I like to describe the carnivore diets [00:37:00] to some people is you're essentially starving your microbiome. Yeah. It's not getting anything that it needs, really. I mean, there's, there's some microbes that can metabolize amino acids, um, and, and maybe some more complex chains and proteins, but it's, as you mentioned, it's really the fibers.

[00:37:23] JAMES: It's the complex carbohydrates that they really, truly need.

[00:37:27] ERIN: Yeah, there's, there's a few specific bacteria that the few specific bacteria, the Fecalobacterium Presnitzii. Uh, the aphromancia, these are two keystone, I'm sure you're familiar with them, they're two keystone bacteria in our gut. And one of the things that they thrive on is polyphenol rich foods.

[00:37:47] ERIN: Polyphenol rich foods are going to be things like our berries, our, you know, pomegranates and grapes and those, those dark pigmented. fruits and, uh, leafy green vegetables, which wouldn't essentially be [00:38:00] allowed on some of those diets. And those are keys on species for protecting our gut lining for protecting us against things like inflammatory bowel disease.

[00:38:10] ERIN: So I just, I don't know how you could convince me that a diet void of all these amazing foods and mentally for myself, I could never, you know, that's just. No, it's not for me.

[00:38:26] JAMES: I've got a note to ask you about your diet and your routine in this totality, but just like to explore this, this fiber concept a little bit more.

[00:38:34] JAMES: So one of the things that you said at the start, which I think was absolutely fascinating and you just touched on that again with people getting relief. I think maybe you're talking about the SIBO and how things are just going a bit crazy and counterintuitively, whilst perhaps in someone who doesn't have SIBO and who's functioning correctly otherwise, fibre is brilliant.

[00:38:57] JAMES: For them, who've got too many bugs in the [00:39:00] upper GI tract, maybe fibre's not so good. So maybe you can walk the listener through that and Also, how you help these people get them to a state where maybe they can tolerate

[00:39:08] ERIN: fiber again. Yes. And, and this would go for, you know, certain condition as patients who have inflammatory bowel diseases.

[00:39:16] ERIN: Well, you know, if they're dealing with a lot of chronic inflammation, again, fiber is hard to break down. And that's part of what makes it good for healthy individuals, is that it's hard to break down. We don't digest a good majority of it, therefore it feeds our beneficial bacteria. But for those who are struggling, those who really find that, you know, they start to eat.

[00:39:37] ERIN: a salad and it completely destroys them or, you know, the thought of any sort of vegetable on their plate is a nightmare. Then we're basically going to go forward and do some sort of testing. So the gold standard for the the SIBO is going to be a breath test. We're going to be testing for three types of gases, methane, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide.

[00:39:58] ERIN: And then we're [00:40:00] also probably going to do a GI map to look at overgrowths in the colon, the lower part of the digestive tract as well. And If that person has a lot of overgrowth, then typically the course of action is going to be some sort of antimicrobial. And that could be either you could go to your conventional medicine doctor and you could choose to go that route, or you could choose to take the more natural route and use things like berberine, allicin, grapefruit seed extract, neem.

[00:40:32] ERIN: These are all natural antimicrobials that have been shown to be very effective at, killing off harmful bacteria, both in the small intestine and the large intestine. And it's not just as simple as killing them off, right? We want to figure out what else is going on. You know, are they super stressed all the time?

[00:40:50] ERIN: Do they have low stomach acid? Are they on a proton pump inhibitor, which is again, further reducing their stomach acid. We also want to look at the whole picture so [00:41:00] that this doesn't happen again. Cause the number one thing with SIBO is that people have reoccurrence because they just go in. They say, let's kill this off, but they don't address the fact that they have motility issues, thyroid issues, you know, stress that is just like, unbearable, and then they wonder why it comes back.

[00:41:21] ERIN: So that's the, that's the big thing with addressing the gut is that we don't, we don't hone in on one specific thing. It's not as simple as like, oh, vitamin D is low, we, we increase it or. You know, it's, it's okay. So how did we get here? This is your gut is like a forest, right? You go into a forest and you just pull one thing out.

[00:41:39] ERIN: You still have the whole forest there.

[00:41:42] JAMES: So how do you then in your practice help your patients with SIBO? Do you recommend the berberine, the grapefruit extract, that kind of thing? And have you had good success with people?

[00:41:52] ERIN: Yes. Yes. So I, those are the herbs that I like to use. Those are a few of the evidence based herbs that have been very [00:42:00] effective with my patients.

[00:42:01] ERIN: And I've seen a lot of my clients get better with just a few rounds of these. Some, they do one round and we've addressed everything else and they're totally better. Some of my clients have had to go through two or three rounds of it to really fully get rid of it. But we'll retest it. We'll continually see those levels go down and down and down.

[00:42:21] ERIN: And it's just, it's amazing to, to see people feel better. You start to see. Their iron labs start to go up because they start absorbing their nutrients, their vitamin D levels start to go up, you know, it's, it's a fascinating, you know, uh, progression of how people can be impacted by, by SIBO and for so long, you know, the, the, the statistics show that about 70 people who are, who are diagnosed with IBS actually have SIBO and they'll go their whole lives not knowing that because they're just going to say, well, I've got IBS.

[00:42:56] ERIN: It's gotta, you know, be careful, follow a little FODMAP diet, and they don't ever [00:43:00] think to look further. And most doctors, some of them don't even, you know, we were talking about belief systems. Some of them don't believe that SIBO is a thing when it's clinically documented. So

[00:43:12] JAMES: still to this day, to this day, for sure, it's still not widely accepted amongst the medical community.

[00:43:20] JAMES: And some of the things you're talking about in terms of. Using these, you know, natural means rather than the classical antimicrobials. Also, we're just not there yet, I don't think. What's your

[00:43:32] ERIN: experience? Yeah. And there's a lot of great doctors out there, especially gastroenterologists. And uh, I can't give you a long list of them, of great doctors that I know, but I can give you, um, you know, some experiences from clients who their doctors are, are really open to, they have a good understanding.

[00:43:52] ERIN: You know, they, they see this in their practice every day. Uh, a lot of the doctors that say they don't believe in it, you know, they're, they're a [00:44:00] little outdated, right? They haven't been keeping up on the research. They have not been seeing patients and, and truly hearing them for what their symptoms are.

[00:44:08] ERIN: And I think that, that there actually is, uh, a large amount of. Uh, physicians out there who are, are truly taking it seriously and treating and they're very, you know, there's a lot of doctors who are very quick to treat for, for SIGO with antibiotics and they do recognize how important it is. But, you know, it's just unfortunate that there are some out there that are leaving patients, you know, feeling very defeated.

[00:44:35] JAMES: And with regards to the herbs that you recommend, is there like, this is the entrepreneur in me now, just my mind's going, is there like, you know, one supplement that has all the key elements in terms of all the herbs that have been beneficial or do you ask your patients while just. Maybe try a bit of the, the grape for effect, maybe try a bit of the berberine and see what happens.

[00:44:56] ERIN: Yes, that's a great question. There, there are [00:45:00] formulations of herbs out there that are designed or supplements out there that are designed specifically for SIBO. So they'll usually have a combination of. You know, some of those more broad spectrum antimicrobials, I typically use them in a more isolated fashion because I love using tinctures.

[00:45:18] ERIN: I like to try to reduce the amount of pills that a client will take. So oftentimes, you know, it will be like. Three times a day, you're doing your drops of oregano, your drops of neem, and then we'll do a berberine in a pill form. And, you know, we do that for a course of four to six weeks, and then we reassess symptoms.

[00:45:35] ERIN: But there are, there are formulations out there. There's ones that are even more broad spectrum that, you know, are gonna have additional things like wormwood in them, and Uh, you know, things that can address yeast and candida, you know, knowing that those things can sometimes coexist, but the benefit of my practice is that I'm able to test with coins and I'm able to see, like, okay, how can we really hone in on this and instead of doing [00:46:00] this broad, you know, formulation, we do something much more specific to what you need.

[00:46:05] JAMES: Yeah, my brain was just ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. And also, I was wondering That's just how it works in my brain. The, the tests that you do, I'm also fascinated. So I'm, I'm very familiar with the hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen methane, because Um, and terabiotics is actually going to be doing a clinical trial, uh, in the IBS area.

[00:46:24] JAMES: So I've been reading all about IBSC IBSD, post infectious SIBO and so on. Um, but I wondered because what you're talking about, it's fascinating, it's, it's a combination of the breath test. It's a combination of the stool test. So do you have providers that you go to and that you trust to give you the right kind of data, or do patients come to you having done a microbiome test?

[00:46:46] JAMES: Like at home. Mm hmm.

[00:46:48] ERIN: Yes. So the majority of, of what I will have clients do with their providers is have their standard colonoscopy, endoscopy, get their blood work done. If they [00:47:00] can get, you know, the things that I like to see, like the ferritin, iron, B12, vitamin D. Uh, so I'll usually have them do that just because it's covered by insurance, right?

[00:47:09] ERIN: We try to save clients as much money as possible knowing that these types of cases can be, you know, more intensive and, and costly. And so the stuff that we will do together, luckily as a dietician, we have, uh, different resources where I have an ordering physician on my team who can order the labs for me.

[00:47:30] ERIN: And I've been trained to evaluate and interpret these labs over the past 10 years. And so I get these results, we sit down, we go over them together, and you know, we either work with their physician or just on our own, depending on how willing their, their other providers are. We try to work as a team to help this client get better in whatever way that looks like for them.

[00:47:54] JAMES: Got it. Thank you. I just wondered if there was like a. Best in class microbiome testing service [00:48:00] that you just thought was unbelievably good. That gave you so many insights. Yeah,

[00:48:04] ERIN: I, yes, much more simple. I will answer that more simply here. So the, I love the GI map. I've been using the GI map by diagnostic solutions for several years.

[00:48:16] ERIN: I also love, uh, Jenova. That's another really great one. Um, sometimes that might be a better fit for a client based on kind of their symptomatology. But those are really the two main ones. And then, you know, the breath test, I use the TrioSmart because they do all three of the, the, the breath gases versus, you know, if you go get it done in your conventional doctor, they're likely just going to test for the hydrogen and the methane and they might miss the hydrogen sulfide.

[00:48:46] ERIN: No affiliations with the brands. Thank you.

[00:48:51] JAMES: Thank you for that. Um, you got quite excited when you talked about vitamin D, iron, and ferritin. Can you just like maybe unpack that a little bit? Why is that so important? [00:49:00]

[00:49:00] ERIN: These are basic, you know, labs that should be run for all of us. And I laugh about it because it's so frustrating how it's like pulling teeth with providers that you want to know what your vitamin D levels are.

[00:49:14] ERIN: Especially when we're in New England over here. So we're not getting UVB rays from the sun to produce vitamin D on our skin for a very large portion of the year. And also just scientifically knowing that 90 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D impacts our hormones, our mental health, our risk for inflammatory bowel disease, everything.

[00:49:35] ERIN: It quite literally impacts everything. Uh, so vitamin D, I always have clients advocate for that. And if it's not done over here in the U. S. as a standard blood panel. Iron is another one. Iron typically is tested, but ferritin, the storage form of iron, is not always tested. And this can tell us a lot about inflammation in the body.

[00:49:56] ERIN: This can tell us a lot about our body's ability to absorb [00:50:00] iron. So that one is another one. Especially, I work with a lot of athletes, especially endurance athletes, and they tend to be very low in ferritin. And so, you know, if a provider saw, oh, in 2017, your iron looked good, they're not going to test it again.

[00:50:15] ERIN: And, you know, hello, it's 2024. Things can change pretty quickly. So, I like ferritin. I also like B12. Both B12, ferritin, vitamin D can tell us that there maybe is malabsorption going on related to SIBO. So, these are things that are common deficiencies that I see in my practice. You know, we should just be knowing regularly what our values are.

[00:50:39] JAMES: Got it. Are there any other blood tests that you recommend for the sort of general person? Um, and I'm assuming you recommend vitamin D supplementation.

[00:50:49] ERIN: Yep. If you are deficient in vitamin D to a point where, you know, you're getting into the twenties and lower. You're not going to be able to eat food and get your values back [00:51:00] up.

[00:51:00] ERIN: You're going to need to supplement unless you're living in a place where it's very sunny And it's very clear that you've been hibernating and lathering the sunscreen and then you can change that habit But the majority of people in order to get their vitamin D levels back up will need to supplement So that's really important for people to know and you always want to take vitamin D 3 plus K 2 K 2 It prevents us from absorbing too much calcium into our, um, the vascular system, which can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease.

[00:51:32] ERIN: So vitamin D3 plus K2, always have that combination together and just make sure that you're advocating for it. If you have a deficiency in vitamin D, you're going to need to supplement. There's very few food sources of vitamin D. And those really aren't likely to move the needle if you have a deficiency.

[00:51:51] JAMES: And on the subject of supplements, do you recommend anything else? Like, for example, a greens powder, which are all the rage at the moment.

[00:51:59] ERIN: Yeah, [00:52:00] I, I don't recommend those supplements. You know, there, there's, um. There's some out there, you know, there's ones that I've taken that I feel really good on, you know, the, the athletic greens was a big, it, it blew up and I, you know, they sent me a sample and I thought, oh, you know, this is like another greens powder and I'll be honest, I felt really good.

[00:52:20] ERIN: You know, I'm not going to lie to people. I felt really good when I took it. And that could be due to the fact that it's basically like a multivitamin. And it's got adaptogens like ashwagandha, which I love ashwagandha. And, you know, it was great. I was taking it for a little while. And then, you know, consumer labs came out.

[00:52:38] ERIN: They, they independently tested all of these greens powders. And they found higher levels of lead in a lot of them, which something that just naturally occurs in the soil. You know, plants are growing, they absorb these heavy metals from the soil. And lead is not good for us. As someone might imagine, that getting lead in, in [00:53:00] higher doses regularly, ideally we want no lead.

[00:53:03] ERIN: But we're always going to be exposed to some level of heavy metals. But when you take something and you concentrate it down, that means you're going to get a larger dose in a small serving. And so, you know, certain brands that I mentioned, like You know were above the limit that I would consider safe to consume on a regular basis for optimal health And so I wow, you know stopped using that and I you know, I I really caution My clients to be using these powders You know, even if they are passing heavy metal testing, you know, they're, they're not a replacement for food.

[00:53:36] ERIN: You know, if someone's really struggling, they might offer some assistance. There are certain fruit and vegetable capsules out there that have passed heavy metal testing, you know, don't have any fillers in them. Um, the brand like Juice Plus, for example, over here in the U S you know, they, they seem to kind of pass with flying colors.

[00:53:55] ERIN: So I would say. You know, I think of someone like my grandmother who, you know, [00:54:00] she maybe eats, like, two meals a day, if even that, and she doesn't touch fruits or vegetables. She might be a good candidate for someone to take these fruit and veggie capsules, just to get something in her body, but For the majority of us, you know, we don't need 17 different, you know, powders and vitamins in one sitting.

[00:54:20] ERIN: First of all, it's really tough for our body to absorb that all in one. So you've got that aspect of it, where are you really getting all the nutrients out of it? Number two is the heavy metals. And number three is there's typically lots of additives to them, artificial sweeteners and flavors and, and things like that.

[00:54:37] ERIN: So I, I don't, you know, I don't recommend them, but I'm sure there are times and places for, for those and in people's lives, but the majority of us should be just focusing on high quality foods from our diet. Aaron, this

[00:54:50] JAMES: has been such a, an educational journey for me, uh, in addition to the listener, cause I also.

[00:54:55] JAMES: take AG1 once or twice a day and have done for quite a long time. [00:55:00] Also a powder called Vibey Greens. And I had no idea about the heavy metal piece. Just no idea. And to be honest with you, I actually don't know that much about heavy metals and how they can impact on health. So could we talk about that for a little bit?

[00:55:19] JAMES: Like How do we know if we're have, you know, if we've got too many heavy metals, what's the health and impacts of heavy metals? And then if there's too many and it's having an health impact, what do we do?

[00:55:35] ERIN: So heavy metals. Each different type of heavy metal, from lead to arsenic to cadmium, those are two very those are three very common heavy metals that we typically see in supplements, powders, even chocolate.

[00:55:49] ERIN: We see high levels of lead, unfortunately. Big chocolate fan over here, so, trust me, I'm not Nooooo! You're like, you're taking away my coffee and now my [00:56:00] chocolate. No, but what's going

[00:56:01] JAMES: on here? But again, my AG1 and coffee, now my

[00:56:04] ERIN: chocolate. So again, like I will use AG1 if I know I'm going out and I'm going to have a really long run.

[00:56:10] ERIN: You know that that's that's the kind of thing I'm trying to really educate clients on is like I'm not taking it every day But I'm not never using it because I like the way it makes me feel I'm also consuming chocolate regularly But I'm choosing brands that are at least not the highest in lead and I'm moderating my intake But I probably eat chocolate at least three to four times a week.

[00:56:31] ERIN: Like I'm not gonna lie. It's just You know, you can't avoid all of these things, but you know, there are some that are avoidable that are just, you know, we're getting too much and that could be impacting certain people. So you know, heavy metals can impact all of our organs. A lot of them can accumulate in our body and it's really hard to get rid of.

[00:56:49] ERIN: Some are actually impossible to get rid of. So the kidneys can be affected. The gut can be affected. The liver, right? We can have this buildup of these heavy metals. And then on top of [00:57:00] that, if you have an unhealthy gut, then you're more likely to have these accumulate because if you have that intestinal permeability where things can move from your gut into your blood because you have leaky gut, you're in a, you're in a worse shape to be consuming these heavy metal, you know, containing products.

[00:57:17] ERIN: But generally speaking, they have, they have widespread impact on our health from our brain health to our, our organ function. And over time, this can be very serious for people and it's, it's hard to say, you know, okay, look for these symptoms, it's, it's, you know, the, the, this happens slowly. So this could be you show up with dementia or Alzheimer's when you're, you know, 50 years old and you don't realize how much of something you've been consuming.

[00:57:43] ERIN: But there's testing that you can do. There's hair mineral analysis testing that can look at heavy metals, which can be really helpful. Um, you know, mercury is another one that will accumulate in the body. And even just reducing your high mercury fish can really help your body, um, [00:58:00] work more efficiently.

[00:58:01] ERIN: And then, you know, you can kind of go back to working in moderation versus. Eating high mercury tuna for lunch every day, for example, so this is a very big stressor for me is like we need to think about moderation. We don't need to fear monger people into being afraid of consuming chocolate or, you know, things like that.

[00:58:18] ERIN: It's education, making better choices. And then if you are someone who has really poor detox, methylation issues, like MTHFR mutation, poor gut health. We might need some extra support with heavy metals, so we might use certain, like, green algaes to help just pull heavy metals out of your system. Um, we might use things like NACL cysteine, which, you know, helps upregulate glutathione levels in the body.

[00:58:43] ERIN: You know, these are things that, essentially what we're doing is we're working on chelating, um, things like charcoal and, and algae, green algae vegetables. And then we're working to support the liver and, and, and all those other Um, up regulation processes that naturally happen in the body and then we [00:59:00] support the gut and we support sweating and we make sure our bowels are moving and, you know, we make sure nutrient deficiencies are addressed and that helps us just ensure that we're, you know, well oiled machines that can handle, you know, the daily toxins that we're always going to get no matter what, right?

[00:59:16] ERIN: We're always going to get these things, but how can we educate ourselves, make better choices and reduce our total heavy metal load?

[00:59:27] JAMES: What are some of the signs and symptoms that someone might have if they're sort of high and heavy

[00:59:31] ERIN: metals? So kidney, you know, kidney issues can be a big one. Um, having, you know, kidney.

[00:59:37] ERIN: So if you're doing blood testing or things like that, if you're, you know, consuming a lot of brown rice, very high in arsenic, um, that's something that over time, especially with smaller kids, you know, they're even more sensitive to these levels of arsenic, for example. Um, but, but kidney issues, liver issues, brain, um, if you're noticing, like I said, you know, early signs of Alzheimer's, dementia, [01:00:00] Parkinson's disease, uh, there's even, this is not my expertise, but, um, you know, a lot of dieticians who focus on the autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, um, a lot of discussion around how they have a harder time with detoxification and, and Some heavy metal accumulation.

[01:00:17] ERIN: And so, you know, refer to them for more information on that. But I've learned from other dieticians about how that can be, um, you know, a way that these types of things can show up, um, gut issues, you know, you know, heavy metals can really disrupt the gut, the gut microbiome. So. Again, there's not really like obvious symptoms for a lot of people that you would say, Oh, that's, that's gotta be heavy models.

[01:00:40] ERIN: Sometimes it's, you know, your body just kind of slowly not functioning optimally and not realizing that your total toxic burden is just too high.

[01:00:50] JAMES: Gosh, it just made me wonder, I mean, imagine how many people with autoimmune disease, for example, may actually just be too high in, in these heavy metals. [01:01:00] It's again, I think it's one of these things where the traditional classical medical community probably aren't that interested.

[01:01:08] ERIN: Yeah, unfortunately not. And you know, it's, it's, it's a, it's a very broken system overall. And, you know, I wish I had, I wish I had the solution. I wish that I could say that I could see things getting better in the future. But I think when you involve finances, when you put money into the, the picture, you know, it, the, yeah.

[01:01:30] ERIN: The priority of healthcare, uh, preventative care really just. Yeah,

[01:01:38] JAMES: I'm with you. So I'm going to bring us back now to some of the things I've wanted to discuss with you. Um, artificial sweeteners is top of the list. So as a dietitian and expert in gut health, what are your thoughts and recommendations relating to artificial sweeteners?

[01:01:55] JAMES: Because I think this is one of the ones that comes up the most when you speak to people. Yeah. You [01:02:00] know?

[01:02:00] ERIN: So what are your thoughts? Yeah. So I've, you know, I've done pretty extensive research on the artificial sweetener side of things. And this, this, we can also call them non nutritive sweeteners, right?

[01:02:10] ERIN: Meaning that they essentially don't provide any nutritional value to our bodies. And the goal of why people are typically using them, right, is they're trying to cut back on sugar. They want something to taste good and they don't want the, the sugar addition. And while that is very appealing and we love that idea, that sounds, you know, all in theory would be great for optimal health, but we do see some concerning research.

[01:02:34] ERIN: We see some concerning research about the. specifics on how these artificial sweeteners can impact our gut microbiome. So a lot of these are not fully digested and broken down in our gut and they can make their way further down through the digestive tract and then feed beneficial bacteria. So if you have a pre existing overgrowth, Or, you know, if you don't want these certain compounds feeding beneficial [01:03:00] bacteria, then that might be, you know, it might not be advantageous to the individual.

[01:03:05] ERIN: A lot of these artificial sweeteners also can create a lot of gas and bloating, which most people come into my office trying to avoid. And at the end of the day, like, you know, it's, it's not, they're typically not in products that are You know, a potato or a piece of fruit, you know, these are in, in products that are usually more processed, right?

[01:03:29] ERIN: They're more heavily processed, um, you know, some of those foods that, that really just aren't the first choice for what we should be making. So do I think that if you have, you know, a piece of gum once a day, you're, you're gonna destroy your gut health? No. But I think if you're putting artificial sweeteners in your coffee and then you're having a cookie with it at lunch and then at dinner you're making this, like, keto dessert with artificial sweeteners, I, I don't know that that's going to be the best choice for optimal gut health, really.

[01:03:56] ERIN: And so, you know, you, you can, you know, break down [01:04:00] each individual artificial sweetener and say, this poses this much risk and this poses that much risk. But in general, I just advise clients to really try to choose products without that, uh, try to practice moderation if you're using them, um, and, you know, pay attention to your symptoms and see, you know, how you can feel if you don't have them in your diet.

[01:04:20] JAMES: And are there any. Um, groups that are maybe better than the others. So like I've heard some people say stevia, you know, the plant based one is maybe better than aspartame and some of the sucralose, that kind of thing. Do you have a view on that based on the research you've done?

[01:04:34] ERIN: Sure. Yes. I think the one that I'm, that I actually use the most.

[01:04:38] ERIN: is monk fruit. I've seen no negative side effects of monk fruit on the gut microbiome. I have seen, you know, actually only positive benefits, especially from like an anti diabetic standpoint, blood pressure standpoint. So I actually, I like monk fruit personally. I think that stevia can be a good choice. I think the only [01:05:00] research that I would, uh, point to was that it could potentially lower the lactobacillus bacteria in the gut.

[01:05:06] ERIN: Which, you know, is a very important type of bacteria that we have there. Um, but stevia and menthrut, you know, they're, they're quoted as being the safer choice, but you always have to look at how they're processed. You know, were they extracted using really harsh solvents like hexane? Um, and you know, you go to the store and you've seen monk fruit and then you turn around and you see monk fruit, erythritol is the second ingredient and erythritol is a sugar alcohol that causes a lot of bloating and indigestion and can really just like rip people's stomach apart.

[01:05:39] ERIN: That's what, that's what patients describe it. They're like, it feels like there's someone in there just ripping my stomach apart. So monk fruit can be great, but check your labels because a lot of them can then have additional, you know, sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners that might really hurt your gut to quality.

[01:05:58] JAMES: Superb advice. [01:06:00] And while we're on the subject, because you mentioned gums, tell us a little bit more about gums. Yeah. And after that I'm going to ask you more about your business and your vision and how you've created your brand. I'll stop interrogating you and quizzing you about all these things, but I'm fascinated and I know the listeners are going to be fascinated as well.

[01:06:18] ERIN: Absolutely. Now, what about gums? So gums, you know, these are going to include things like, you know, Acacia gum and war gum xanthan gum. Um, I'm trying to think of other ones. Those are probably the main ones that I see in a city nowadays and you're going to start to see these in, you know, so many different products.

[01:06:35] ERIN: They might be in your toothpaste, they might be in crackers, they could be in your ice cream. And the purpose of why companies add these to your foods is because they're binding. They help to bind things together. And now that we've moved also towards this, like, gluten free, you know, era, this, you know, this area where people are choosing lower fat, lower sugar items, they're putting [01:07:00] those in to help replace What those other ingredients used to do.

[01:07:04] ERIN: So they're giving us this nice mouth feel. They're helping thicken a product when gluten's not there because gluten is great at thickening. So they're, they're in a lot of different products. You know, I even went to the grocery store last week and I was looking at sweet potato fries, thinking, you know, there shouldn't be any gums in sweet potato fries.

[01:07:23] ERIN: There were. It was, you know, just, just ridiculous how many gums we're getting in our diet, you know, from, from these more packaged items. Now, not

[01:07:33] JAMES: all gums, sweet potato fries should just be, sorry, sweet potato fries should just be sweet potatoes. Right.

[01:07:38] ERIN: Exactly. You know, you could put a little olive oil or you could put a little salt in there.

[01:07:41] ERIN: Like that's fine. But to put gums in there just seems, you know, ridiculous. So, you know, obviously it would just make them at home, but you know, every once in a while, it'd be nice to be able to go to the store and get a product without gums in it. So these, these products are, they, they serve [01:08:00] as prebiotics, meaning they feed beneficial bacteria in the gut.

[01:08:04] ERIN: And that can be great actually, like guar gum and Acacia gum have been. actually pretty well researched to be helpful for certain people. Um, partially hydrolyzed war gum, for example, is something that I, I actually use as a protocol sometimes when I'm treating SIBO with patients because that in combination with antimicrobials has actually been shown to be very beneficial for treating SIBO.

[01:08:28] ERIN: So not all gums are, are created equal, but most of them serve as prebiotics. Uh, they do typically alter the gut in some way, whether that's positive or negative. And it also depends on the person's gut microbiome, what that's going to be like. But a lot of the side effects that can come with these guns, especially the amount that you're consuming, um, a lot of gas, bloating, diarrhea, and potentially even constipation.

[01:08:53] ERIN: And so, you know, it's, it's almost impossible to isolate like what it is that's causing the issue [01:09:00] for you. But oftentimes. Clients will start to notice once we have this conversation. They'll say, oh my gosh Everything I was eating had gums in it my creamer that I was putting in my coffee My bread that I had for lunch my Crackers that I had so when we start to reduce these we of course start reducing processed foods overall But we also start to you know Just focus on the amount, which we always talk about with nutrition, right?

[01:09:26] ERIN: Like, the, the poison is in the dose, is what I say. It's like, you can probably consume a little bit of something every once in a while, but when you consume it all day, every day, and you're Maybe even already at higher risk for digestive issues, these gums might not be good. And then there's, how are these gums made?

[01:09:45] ERIN: So there are certain gums like xanthan gum that can be derived from wheat, soy, corn, genetically modified ingredients, which are things that people want to maybe steer away from. And so the source of them and the, the way that they're manufactured, [01:10:00] kind of similar to the sweeteners, right? Like how are they produced?

[01:10:03] ERIN: Where do they come from? What? Processing was involved, which isn't always something we'll be able to know from the final product is just another thing that we want to, we want to look out for

[01:10:18] JAMES: now in terms of poison in the dose devil in the dose. Is there any thing which is an absolute no go like palm oil, a Big Mac, beer, not Luton. Is there anything that's an. Not in my world. Nothing's an absolute no no. Even

[01:10:37] ERIN: palm oil? Unless you have an allergy. No, I just, I've never seen, like, it's, it's, it's what you do consistently that will determine the outcome of your health.

[01:10:48] ERIN: Right. You having palm oil, like, you know, once in a given week or a month or a year, whatever, as long as you are consistent in supporting your body for optimal health the majority of the [01:11:00] time, that Big Mac shouldn't destroy you. Like, you should, your body should be resilient enough. That if you were to go eat a Big Mac, yeah, you might not feel great, like digestive wise per day, but you shouldn't feel the effects of that or feel like that throws off your inflammation for a week.

[01:11:17] ERIN: That is, that's a sign that that body is not resilient to me, and I want patients to be able to understand that. Being healthy is not about perfection. It's about doing the right things consistently the majority of the time and then Understanding that if you do, you know, let's say again You skipped one gym workout in the course of a month like tell me how much of an impact that's really gonna make on the outcome of your physique.

[01:11:43] ERIN: Not much, right? So we have to put things into perspective of, you know, we can't, we can't say that, you know, there's certain things that we can't do that are better for us. Of course, we know there are certain things that are better for us to do, but those things that aren't so good for us, as long as they don't make up the majority of our [01:12:00] diet.

[01:12:00] ERIN: I, I don't see that as a

[01:12:01] JAMES: problem. I can just feel the passion resonating from your body and it's clear that this aligns to what you're doing on a day to day basis through Nutrition Be Wired. So I think this is a great opportunity to segue into what you're trying to achieve through your platform. You've built a big following.

[01:12:20] JAMES: On social media, which is really impressive. People obviously love your content based on the engagement. So what, what is your vision for how you're building your brand and where you want to go next and what your aims and objectives

[01:12:33] ERIN: are? Yeah, yeah, this is a great question. And it's, you know, this year has been a big year of, you know, just kind of evaluation for me and just in a stage of my life, you know, I'm.

[01:12:44] ERIN: I'm just over 30 years old and I, you know, never really thought about where my business was going. I just, things took off really quickly. You know, I wasn't necessarily ready for what was going to happen with my business. I just had a passion for what I was [01:13:00] doing and I just knew that like me and that other person on the side of that table or screen, we need to get together and that's where the magic's going to happen.

[01:13:08] ERIN: And over the years, you know, one thing that's really come up for me is we need a team, right? We need a team of people because this person, you know, I can only do so much, right? I can do testing. I can do this. I can do that. There's so much that as dieticians now we are, we have access to, but you know, I want an acupuncturist on my team.

[01:13:29] ERIN: I want a psychologist on my team. I want to, you know, I'm a personal trainer, but I don't have time to do that. I want a personal trainer on my team. I would love to. Get to a place where I have built, you know, maybe it's a physical facility because I love, I love being in person, I love being with a crowd of people, I love community, but I want to build, and there, you know, there's plenty of these types of places out there, I'm, you know, I've even worked for, um, companies like this, but I, I'd love to build that where I feel like I have this community [01:14:00] of people, we're all aligned, and we're all just so invested in helping each individual get better, And that's my dream.

[01:14:08] ERIN: That is, that's my dream right now. And, uh, I don't think it's a far off one. I think it's achievable. It's just a matter of, you know, when is it gonna happen? And I have full, full faith that it, it will happen at the right time. But, you know, in terms of, of goals, it's just, you know, how can I help more people?

[01:14:27] ERIN: And in, in what capacity? Because I'm You know, I see clients all day, every day, you know, up to 35 clients a week and you know, I need, I need more time and I can't get more time. Right. We all know that. So, uh, being able to get people better access to, to healthcare, I love

[01:14:46] JAMES: it. And as I said, the passion has really shone through throughout the whole conversation.

[01:14:51] JAMES: You obviously love this and I think it stems back from you essentially helping yourself through this journey. And now you're helping [01:15:00] others through. So, if people want to learn more about gut health, uh, their diet, what dietitians do, have you got any resources that you recommend in this? Opportunity to plug your own.

[01:15:14] JAMES: Of course. Um, yeah. Yeah. Where should people go to learn more?

[01:15:18] ERIN: Mm-Hmm? . Yeah. I mean there's, you know, if people wanna reach out to me too, if they're looking for specific, like books on specific topics, whether it's acid reflux or sibo, or. You know, specific goals of things that they're working on. Please message me.

[01:15:32] ERIN: I'm happy to to send out any resources specific because there's not like one guidebook that that covers it all. Unfortunately, unless you're, you know, human nutrition science is a great book, you know, get something like that. And you learn about just the basics of physiology. You can really You know, I've seen things even on social media from a different lens and it's empowering to really understand the science, but nonetheless, I, I have a great podcast, [01:16:00] Nutrition Rewired, where I try to bring in experts and tie in, um, this holistic health aspect.

[01:16:05] ERIN: So, you know, if you're looking for some free information and, and enjoy this type of long form content, then I would definitely check that out. Otherwise, you know, I'm on Instagram at Nutrition Rewired and I always try to, again, really provide people with practical, free tips that they can take away to optimize their health, whether it's hormone balance, you know, sports nutrition, gut health, uh, really trying to cover all, all the different areas.

[01:16:30] ERIN: But I would love to stay in touch if anybody has questions or needs resources, I'm always happy to, to share any of those.

[01:16:38] JAMES: Fabulous. You've been very, very generous with your time. Really appreciate

[01:16:43] ERIN: it. Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. This is great. Really appreciate it.

The following is a conversation with Mollie Hughes, a British alpinist, world record holder, company director, and entrepreneur.

This podcast will appeal to anybody and everybody. It's very easy to listen to Mollie speak and you can kind of get a sense of what it takes to summit Everest and go to the South Pole. She broke the world record for becoming the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest and the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole. And now she's building an amazing adventure business, going around the world talking about her endeavours, and writing a book.

We explore how Mollie developed her mindset both before and during her incredible quests, she explains what it’s like to be caught in an 8-day whiteout on the South Pole and how affirmations helped keep her skis moving.

Everyone can get something practical from this conversation, especially when it comes to developing a mindset to enable you to achieve your goals and deal with adversity along the way.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:33 Mollie’s background

00:05:00 Tackling extreme activities

00:08:59 Controlling fear

00:10:46 Deciding to climb Everest

00:11:34 Fitness to climb Everest

00:15:00 Costs to climb Everest

00:17:47 Kit required to climb Everest

00:20:14 Mollie’s first climb of Everest

00:23:29 Everest’s death zone

00:26:22 Hillary’s Step

00:32:51 Communication and food on Everest

00:35:06 Climbing north face of Everest

00:44:59 Human landmarks on Everest

00:52:31 Skiing to the South Pole

00:58:58 Dealing with isolation

01:07:16 Silence of the South Pole

01:09:20 Joining Ocean Vertical

 

The following is a conversation with Dr. Alan Walker, a senior lecturer at the Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen.

Dr Walker has worked in the microbiome field for the last 20 years. Throughout this episode, he shared with us some of his insights into how the field has developed, and how new technologies have improved our understanding of the microbiome. We also spent a lot of time Having some fun debates about the pros and cons, some of the benefits associated with microbiome modulating therapy, and where some myths and misconceptions lie.

For the generalist who wants to learn more about the microbiome, I think this is an excellent episode. We also get pretty deep and pretty technical in some areas, like, for example, microbiome sequencing, next-generation probiotics, and whether the microbiome causes obesity or contributes to obesity. There are tons in here and we go right the way across the microbiome field talking about diagnostics, at-home microbiome testing, the use of faecal microbiota transplantation, and what is a healthy microbiome.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the listeners and supporters of the podcast for everything you've done to help us build the name, and the brand, and to get the message out there around microbiome being critically important and gut health being really important for wider body health.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:39 Microbiome research 30 years ago

00:05:17 Why is the microbiome important?

00:10:08 How does the microbiome develop?

00:12:52 Do we have a core microbiome?

00:14:51 What is a healthy microbiome?

00:20:22 Health and poor microbiome diversity

00:22:55 Technology shifts in microbiome research

00:31:13 Microbiome human database

00:33:54 AI helping us understand the microbiome?

00:38:27 Convincing others of the importance of the microbiome

00:40:18 Importance of fibre

00:45:27 Microbiome and obesity

00:49:31 How to improve microbiome

00:56:03 Probiotics

01:02:29 Differences in animal and human microbiome

01:04:00 Genetics and genomic diversity

01:05:38 Phabe bacteria

01:06:17 Where is the field going?

01:08:35 FMT

01:12:39 Processed foods

The following is a conversation with Jordan Haworth, a gut health physiologist working at the Functional Gut Clinic who are based in Manchester and London.

In this conversation, we covered probably, possibly the widest range of gut health-related topics in the history of Inside Matters, so this could become a reference episode for all things gut health in the future.

Jordan is a fountain of knowledge relating to basically all things to do with the gastrointestinal tract, prebiotics, probiotics, polyphenols, everything. We covered what to eat for your microbiome, what not to eat for your microbiome, what IBS is, including how to potentially classify it in a way that's not currently widely accepted amongst the broad range of medical community specialists that currently focus on IBS.

We talked about antibiotics, in particular an antibiotic called rifaximin, which counterintuitively may actually be good for gut health in specific situations. We also talked about food sweeteners, emulsifiers, and some of the really exciting research that Jordan and the team at the Functional Gut Clinic are focused on.

I absolutely love this episode. I've learned a heck of a lot. I'm absolutely sure you will as well.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:26 IBS: what is it?

00:03:29 Bloating

00:04:30 IBD causes & diagnosis

00:09:38 What is bile?

00:11:54 Different categories of IBS

00:18:18 Coffee a laxative?

00:19:18 What is gut health?

00:21:38 What aren’t normal gut responses?

00:23:23 Most common symptoms

00:28:53 Mr Gut Health’s journey

00:32:51 Stool sampling

00:35:46 Functional Gut Clinic

00:37:18 Definition of probiotic

00:43:46 Probiotics: what to look for

00:48:14 Tummy MOT

00:53:15 Microbiome is an orchestra

00:55:30 More on Tummy MOT

00:57:00 Prebiotics: what are they?

01:01:04 Partially hydrolyzed guar gum

01:03:59 FODMAP diet

01:07:27 Best food for microbiome

01:10:49 How to improve microbiome

01:12:52 ChatGTP for gut health tips

01:15:17 Fermented foods

01:22:08 What’s bad for the microbiome?

01:26:30 Artificial sweeteners

01:30:15 Gluten intolerance

01:34:22 Cutting out dairy for the gut

01:41:33 Testing for SIBO on the NHS

01:49:47 TikTok gut health trends

01:53:20 Things to avoid for a healthy gut

02:00:53 Colonic irrigations

Learn more about this episode's guests and the topics discussed - https://insidematters.health/

The following is a conversation with Professor Konstantinos Yerasmididis, a professor in clinical nutrition at the University of Glasgow, who has a special interest in the gut microbiome and dietary interventions to treat disease. We also had Dr Richard Hansen, consultant paediatric gastroenterologist, who was on episode number one of the podcast.

This is the first time I had two guests participating in the Inside Matters podcast at the same time. It was an absolute pleasure. Given that Costas and Richard are experts in inflammatory bowel disease and that they've collaborated on several different research initiatives, we spent a lot of time talking about inflammatory bowel disease.

We spoke about their work which is focused on using nutrition and personalized dietary therapy in the context of Crohn's disease in particular. So they've been involved in a program called CD-TREAT where they've tried to mimic the effects of something called exclusive internal nutrition, essentially an entirely liquid diet with a diet that contained real food.

Why is that important? 

Well, for four out of five children with newly diagnosed Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, this exclusively liquid diet has a profound impact on Crohn's disease. So four out of five of them go into what we call remission. i. e. no clinical symptoms.

However, there are challenges associated with EEN. Most notably, it's very restrictive. You can't eat any food for six to eight weeks. So what Costas and Richard have been trying to do is, can we give children and potentially even adults a diet that contains the same components? as a liquid diet. It allows people to eat real food without having to have an exclusively liquid diet.

We also talked about some common myths and misconceptions associated with the microbiome. We asked the question, does the microbiota cause obesity? We also spoke about the microbiome field more generally and how it's progressed over time. and some of the challenges that both the field and the academic researchers have faced over the last decade.

This is a really interesting conversation that I think should be accessible to most of the listeners. We did go quite deep on some areas but we always brought it back to well, what does that mean for the listener and what can a listener take away from it?

I believe that you will particularly enjoy this podcast if you're someone with inflammatory bowel disease or if you know somebody suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. You will also enjoy this podcast if you're interested in diet, nutrition, and how the diet interplays with the microbiome and how the microbiome interplays with the rest of the body.

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro

00:04:00 Welcome to the guests

00:04:48 What is a healthy microbiome?

00:09:24 Microbial therapeutics

00:14:00 Intersection between disease and diversity in the biome

00:17:41 Insights from research

00:22:36 Should we drink milk

00:31:47 CDG

00:34:39 Mediterranean diet pt1

00:40:51 Carnivore diet

00:47:52 Personalised dietary intervention pt1

00:50:22 Microbiome testing

00:55:14 Personalised dietary intervention pt2

01:02:23 Measuring inflammatory cytokines

01:08:55 Mediterranean diet pt2

01:14:40 Fermented foods

01:18:59 Plant-based diet

01:22:10 Microbiome and obesity

01:26:50 Do the scientists take supplements?

01:30:12 Composition of microbiome

01:37:43 Treating IBD

01:43:28 Training gastroenterologists

01:47:16 Importance of hydration to the guy

01:47:57 Obesity and the gut microbiome

01:56:31 What’s next?

02:00:12 The future of research and treatment

With a wrap-up of 2023, Dr James McIlroy reflects on his journey hosting the Inside Matters Podcast so far.

I have to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed the first year and a bit of the Inside Matters podcast.

I'm thrilled actually that I took that step to start it. And there was an element of not sure what I'm getting into here. Can I produce content once every two weeks? And are people going to want to come on and talk to me?

But fast forward to December 2023 and we've had genuinely some of the best minds in the microbiome space on the podcast. And we've got a loyal listener base who listened to most episodes. Some every single episode, there's a group of people who write into the podcast and say they're enjoying it.

They've learned a lot. Some people have taken action themselves on their health and some people are reporting amazing benefits. I feel better. Some people have had an impact on their disease and that just makes me happy. Because, fundamentally, I believe that the microbiome is extremely important.

I believe that gut health contributes to wider body health in a way that's currently underappreciated by the general medical community. And even specialist medical doctors who, for some reason, even with all the evidence that's available now, don't think it's as important as it is. So what it's about on Inside Matters is connecting with people on a really deep level and helping them live a better, longer, healthier life through taking steps to improve their microbiota and microbiome, in doing so improving their gut health, in doing so improving their wider body health.

And this is just the start, you know, we're, we're just at the start of this journey, which is why I'm excited. And we're starting to build good traction, you know, 35 5-star reviews on Spotify, I think it's 17 or 18 on Apple podcasts, people commenting on the videos, people writing it on Instagram, stopped once on the subway in Glasgow, which is a bit of a claim to fame.

And it sounds very egotistical, but it was pretty damn cool. And that just motivates me to keep going and to create. Even better content on a week-to-week basis for the listeners. None of it would have been possible without the team at the Podcast Studio Glasgow who've gone above and beyond to help build this because they believed, and believe in me as the founder and the host.

They believe in the vision and the mission of the podcast and Without them, we wouldn't have built the brand. We wouldn't have been able to get it going in the way that we have, and I've learned a huge amount from Mark and more laterally cam about podcasting and creating great content and this new world of education.

21st century year education.

I wanted to take this opportunity on, on record to thank Mark and Cam for their belief in the partnership that we've established. And I'm looking forward to 2024.

What have you got to look forward to in 2024 as a listener?

More great content. A couple of really high-profile people actually in this space booked in for the first couple of quarters in 2024, which I'm excited about.

We're going to continue with the content once every two weeks. We're going to have more solo episodes where I'm talking about topics that are probably more easily accessible to the general population. Why is that? Well, we've had great top minds coming on this podcast and we get deep, really deep actually probably deeper than any other platform on the internet for microbiome.

And for some people that's gold dust.

In episode 24 we once again meet up with IFBB bodybuilder Andy Scott.

Hopefully, you can see for those of you who are watching the video Andy is massive. He's 130kg and there are just slabs of muscle on his body. So he knows a thing or two about how to gain muscle. If you're interested in how to gain muscle, lose fat, and get in shape, this is a podcast episode that you’ll want to listen to.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/IViPBxJ8ZFE

For those of you who want to connect with Andy and learn more or perhaps have him as your personal trainer, I would highly recommend him because he blasts you and teaches you the true meaning of training to failure. If you think you're training to failure, and you've not been trained by Andy Scott or someone similar, you probably actually haven't trained to failure and doing so is worthwhile to get maximum gains.

Reach out to Andy on Instagram.

I'm very grateful to all of you. the listener for the support that you've been giving us so far. The best way you can support the podcast is by liking, subscribing and very kindly giving us a five-star review. People are messaging that I don't know and even bumped into someone recently who I didn't know who said they were listening to the podcast, which was frankly awesome.

We started this podcast over a year ago to produce high-quality gut health content for people all over the world and we've been delivering that content every second Thursday. If you know someone who’d benefit from the conversations on the Inside Matters Podcast, I’d encourage you to share the podcast with them.

 

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:06 How Andy got started

00:03:23 Socks and Crocs?

00:06:18 Are we in a simulation?

00:07:31 Switching rugby for bodybuilding

00:10:17 Being introduced to testosterone

00:11:58 Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary

00:13:03 Andy’s first competitive show

00:14:49 Show prepping as a living

00:17:49 The realities of pro bodybuilder physique

00:19:39 Magnesium dosing

00:21:16 Psilocybin dosing

00:23:15 Treating cachexia with CBD

00:24:47 Parkinson’s disease

00:32:52 Dealing with injuries

00:36:17 Dorian Yates and training to failure

00:43:23 TRT cycles and contest prep

00:53:51 Victor Black

00:55:01 Optimal recovery

00:56:57 Trenbolone

00:58:54 Focus on overall health

01:03:56 Drugs don’t make mass

01:08:25 Getting a pro card

01:14:44 If you’re considering a steroid cycle

01:16:50 Women aren’t interested in bodybuilders

01:22:46 Longevity

01:26:32 Creating programs for clients

01:29:20 Do women want to bulk?

01:35:35 Avoiding crash diets

01:39:01 Supplements

01:42:51 Swimming for fitness

01:47:52 Conclusion

 

In episode 23 we chat with Dr. Simon Baunwall, a medical doctor and scientific researcher focused on fecal microbiota transplantation, also known as FMT. Dr. Baunwall is based at Arras University Hospital in Denmark.

This conversation centred around the establishment of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a therapy in Denmark.

Simon talked to us about his work which centres around establishing FMT as a standardised, scalable approach using a blood banking type model, is fascinating. We talked about his perspectives on how the field might evolve looking forward, the next indication after recurring C-difficile infection, and the progression of FMT delivered by colonoscopy to delivery by capsules.

And we had some interesting philosophical discussions around what is the mechanism of action and how do you define a dose. This is important, as historically what researchers have used is the wet mass of starting material, in other words, stool, that goes into the process. But what we discussed is actually, that's probably not a good definition or metric for dose!

Additionally, we talked about the regulations, which Simon's been very heavily involved with. I particularly enjoyed this episode because Simon is a self-confessed lover of the Inside Matters podcast.

In fact, he has listened to pretty much all the episodes. So it was amazing to have a loyal listener on the podcast to talk about their fantastic work in the microbiome and FMT space.

 

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:38 How Simon got involved in the microbiome

00:04:01 We can do better

00:05:47 Low tech

00:09:21 Patient improvement

00:12:33 The metabolite perspective

00:14:18 How the process is evolving

00:19:31 Universally perfect donor?

00:23:29 Are we doing too much?

00:25:25 Likelihood of false-positives

00:30:18 Undergoing repeated screenings

00:42:02 Preparing for it going wrong

00:44:51 Safety issues

00:50:29 What is your vision?

00:57:31 Is it actually safe?

01:01:48 Building in scale

01:05:20 Accessing screening as a private company

01:10:43 Two different donor types

01:20:09 The struggle to get enough donors

01:24:15 Limitations of diet studies

01:28:07 Dr Mark Hyman

01:30:39 Regulating FMT

01:34:50 Presenting stool as a “drug”

Following is a conversation with Dr Indrani Mukhopadhyay, a lecturer at the Institute of Medical Sciences Microbiology and Immunology Group at the University of Aberdeen.

Over the last ten years, we’ve started to understand more and more about why the virome is important in both health and disease. Indrani is an expert in the viral and has been involved in some of the seminal research to characterise profiles and help us understand why the virus is important. So if you're interested in that, this is a great episode for you.

We also spoke about probiotics and what a next-generation probiotic might be in terms of its composition, structure and function. We spoke about Indrani's career progression. She's been all over the world involved in exciting research and setting up her new lab recently here in Aberdeen. So we covered a range of topics. 

Finally, we spoke about inflammatory bowel disease, how the viral elements of the microbiome might be important and how specific depletions of bacteria might be important too. 

As always, I wanted to thank you, the listener, for tuning in and for supporting the podcast. It's fantastic to get the feedback we've been getting about people enjoying it and if you are enjoying it and haven't yet liked and subscribed, please do that.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:52 - How did you get into the field of the microbiome?

00:06:32 - Research into developing vaccines

00:12:58 - Effectiveness of vaccines

00:14:24 - Complexity of the rotavirus

00:16:28 - Seasonal flu

00:20:01 - Viruses in our gut

00:24:17 - Viral metagenomics

00:33:06 - Knowledge of viruses greater than of bacteria

00:35:53 - What’s the most important part of the microbiome?

00:37:06 - Bacteriophages

00:40:15 - Enteric viruses

00:41:29 - Fungus in the gut

00:42:39 - Viruses keep bacteria in check

00:43:07 - Most exciting development in microbiome research

00:46:10 - Women in science

00:47:00 - Immunomodulator’s effects on gut viruses.

00:49:23 - Next-generation probiotics

00:52:20 - Taking probiotic supplements

00:54:28 - Manufacturing bacteria to treat patients

00:55:39 - Benefits of single strain vs consortia

00:56:34 - Universally beneficial probiotic?

01:00:25 - Thanks and conclusion

In episode 21 we chat with Professor Karen Scott of the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen.

Watch the podcast on YouTube.

Professor Scott is one of the world's leading researchers for gut health, gut microbiome and all things microbial. 

We had a fascinating and at times humourous chat about all things microbiome and bacterium. We cover questions such as;

Does Professor Scott take probiotics? What are some of the limitations of current microbiome research? What is a healthy microbiome and how can you make yours healthier through diet, nutrition and potentially supplements? We also cover the role of fibre in our diet and whether we really need to be eating 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day to get our fibre intake, or whether we can find good sources of fibre in other foods. And we chat about where Professor Scott sees the research into the gut microbiome heading in the next 5 years.

You can listen to this episode as a professor with a keen interest in the subject matter of the gut microbiome and still learn things. Likewise, this could be your first ever Inside Masters podcast and you'll learn a lot.

00:00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:47:09 - Getting into the field of the microbiome

00:06:38:08 - Detriments to bacteria transfer

00:11:17:05 - The problem of antimicrobial resistance

00:18:23:01 - Restoring the microbiome post-antibiotics

00:20:53:10 - Illegal to refer to “probiotics”?

00:21:51:23 - Is it a viral or bacterial infection?

00:25:21:07 - Discussion on vancomycin

00:30:29:02 - Does the microbiome change from when people are born and as they get older?

00:32:17:23 - Understanding how bacteria “use us”

00:34:58:13 - Why fibre is so important to the gut

00:40:30:01 - The risks of too much protein

00:41:48:08 - Are some fibres better than others?

00:48:40:04 - Does our gut make us “crave” certain foods?

00:50:17:14 - What is a “healthy” gut microbiome?

00:53:02:17 - Bacteria and inflammation

01:01:59:08 - Advancements in culturing bacteria

01:06:42:13 - Taking probiotics

01:08:42:09 - Thoughts on FMT

01:12:31:07 - The importance of feeding our gut bacteria

01:15:33:08 - Where is the field heading? And conclusion

In episode 20 we chat with Kristina Campbell, microbiome science communicator, educator and author.

In this episode, I had a fascinating chat with Kristina Campbell, a science writer who specialises in tiny things. In other words, all the microorganisms that live on and inside of our bodies. It was our first remote podcast with a guest, and I'm really grateful for Kristina joining me and helping me produce such amazing content for all of our listeners.

We talked about what makes a good probiotic “good” and what makes a bad one “bad”. If you're somebody who consumes probiotics or is thinking about taking probiotics, you should tune into this episode because we really dig into where the field is and what are some of the key quality criteria that you should be looking for if you want to embark on a probiotics journey.

We also talked about where we see the field going in the next five years and even further on from that talked about some of the recent drug approvals as well, which we're all really excited about, plus some tips for parents who want their children to health a gut-healthy diet. This was the first remote recording that we did and it went really well.

As always, I would encourage you, if you're enjoying this podcast, to like and subscribe, the best thing you can possibly do to support Inside Matters is to hover your finger over the five-star reviews and kindly give us five stars. This helps bump us up the algorithm, helping the podcast reach more people who will ultimately benefit from the no-cost scientific information that we're delivering to you, the listener.

Timestamps:

00:00:00:00 - Intro

 

00:02:01:20 - Kristina introduces herself and outlines her background

 

00:05:13:09 - Kristina shares some of her own health journey

 

00:07:18:06 - Why the interest in probiotics?

 

00:11:32:01 - What to look for when considering a probiotic

 

00:14:33:24 - Probiotics vs life beneficial microbes

 

00:23:09:21 - Role of microorganisms and our digestion

 

00:32:24:02 - Microorganisms and new drug developments

 

00:35:13:01 - Fecal transplantation derivatives

 

00:37:24:09 - Developing bugs as drugs

 

00:40:10:22 - Should everyone take a probiotic?

 

00:43:00:18 - Kristina’s books

 

00:47:50:08 - What about prebiotics?

 

00:51:58:01 - Can a dead microorganism confer a health benefit

 

00:53:06:15 - The future of microorganism therapeutics

 

00:58:15:23 - Pioneers of the microbiome space

 

01:01:30:15 - Distilling the best information

 

01:08:31:21 - What’s next for Kristina?

 

01:11:30:15 - Tips for parents

In episode 19 we chat with Dr Megan Eldred, Senior Policy Advisor and Dementia Mission Lead at the Office for Life Sciences.

Megan walked us through her journey from PhD and potential academia, to transition into the UK Civil Service and the work she does with the Office for Life Sciences. She told us about her journey to becoming the senior policy adviser and dementia mission lead on everything that entails.

More generally, the Mission aims to develop novel precision medicine tools that help boost the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia neurodegeneration. This is a much-needed and highly impactful endeavour. We all know somebody who is suffering from or who has suffered from dementia. It is devastating and still has massive unmet clinical needs and is a huge cost and burden to society that is a burden that is getting bigger because of an ageing population.

Megan talked about some interesting scientific and commercial developments in this field, including the approval of two drugs to slow the progression of dementia. We spoke about cures for Alzheimer's disease and how close and how far away we are. We also spoke about psychedelics, exercise, the mind-body connection and burnout.

As always, I would encourage you, if you're enjoying this podcast, to like and subscribe, the best thing you can possibly do to support Inside Matters is to hover your finger over the five star reviews and to kindly give us five stars. This helps bump us up the algorithm, helping the podcast reach more people that will ultimately benefit from the no-cost scientific information that we're delivering to you, the listener.

Timestamps:

00:00:00:00 -Intro

 

00:01:51:04 - Dr McIlroy’s neurodegenerative family history

 

00:04:01:20 - Dutch care home designed for dementia

 

00:04:43:02 - Japanese robotic seal

 

00:06:35:06 - Pet dogs and our microbiome

 

00:07:41:10 - Link between microbiome and depression

 

00:09:17:07 - Mice research

 

00:11:44:02 - Can the microbiome cure depression longterm?

 

00:13:30:01 - How habits are formed

 

00:15:22:27 - Addictions and their cure

 

00:19:15:28 - Fight or flight responses

 

00:25:41:01 - Building resilience

 

00:27:57:24 - Choosing a career path

 

00:30:36:20 - Undertaking a physiology degree

 

00:33:03:02 - Unknown unknowns

 

00:35:50:08 - The cell fate in the retina

 

00:37:55:24 - Intelligent design?

 

00:41:55:10 - Micro-dosing

 

00:49:33:11 - Understanding the retina

 

00:55:10:29 - Starting a career in the civil service

 

00:59:13:24 - Scientists working for the government

 

01:04:59:23 - Centre for Science and Policy

 

01:08:59:15 - Role as lead at Office for Life Sciences

 

01:14:46:09 - Focus on biomarkers

 

01:17:52:04 - Drugs approval for treating dimensia

 

01:20:10:10 - Understanding the disease pathway

 

01:24:51:08 - Funding research

 

01:26:44:21 - Our Future Health

 

01:34:28:01 - Sharing IP with competitors

 

01:39:45:24 - CSF testing

 

01:41:51:12 - Inflammation and the disease pathway

 

01:43:13:15 - Vaccine for cognitive disease?

 

01:46:19:27 - Conclusion

 

 

The following is a conversation with Dr. Momo Vuyisich, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Viome. Viome is a life sciences company that analyses the activities in your oral microbiome, gut microbiome, and blood using RNA, essentially measuring gene expression.

This gives the company the ability to be able to assess what the microbiome in these various areas of the body is doing and gives insights into potentially how that links to diseases, which gives you personalised recommendations for how to improve your microbiomes through your environment. So basically your diet.

Their vision is that in the future, through the analysis of all of this data, they're able to make predictive bets on who is at higher risk of developing particular diseases and issues due to the composition and function of the microbiome.

Momo is an amazing communicator. You'll learn about. the microbiome and its importance in gut health. You'll hear about his own story in terms of how he managed to cure chronic disease through his own diet. You'll hear about his vision for Viome, how the pharma industry works in his opinion, and how things are going to improve over the coming decades.

Fascinating discussion, I enjoyed it. I wanted to thank Momo for coming on as such a busy person. Now, with the introduction done, I wanted to say thank you to all of our listeners for supporting the podcast. Some of you are listening to every single episode and sending feedback about the episode, what you liked, what you didn't like, and what you learned.

We've been going now for a year and a half. And we're loving every single moment and the feedback from listeners makes it all worthwhile. So if you're enjoying it and you haven't yet liked and subscribed, please hover your finger over that button and give us a five-star review.

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:27 Momo’s vision

00:08:08 Is science improving human health?

00:15:58 Applying science to big health problems

00:18:11 Human genome

00:27:46 Vaccines with probiotics?

00:36:27 Is the microbiome undervalued?

00:45:59 Next gen RNA sequencing

00:52:37 Building Viome

00:58:34 Preventing all disease through diet

01:00:41 Sialic acids

01:11:16 Food industry

01:14:24 Importance of sleep

Dr Laura Craven is Lead Research & Development Scientist at EnteroBiotix and has a  PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, specialising in gut microbiome modulation.

Dr Craven’s studies include research into the gut's role in auto-immune diseases like MS.

In this episode, Dr Craven joins James to discuss her journey from completing her PhD in Canada and the impact the NEMJ’s paper on Duodenal Infusion of Donor Feces for Recurrent Clostridium difficile” had on her science career, along with her own personal health diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.

They chat about the difference between FMT and IMT, leaky gut syndrome and the factors, including stress, which play a part in us developing this challenging condition. And they broach the topics of probiotics, improving gut permeability, and whether having a morning coffee is actually a good idea.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 intro

00:00:29 getting into the field of the microbiome?

00:01:45 impact of the NEMJ  paper

00:03:10 what was Dr Craven’s PhD on?

00:05:33 what’s the difference between “FMT” & “IMT”?

00:08:51 treating NAFLD with FMT

00:14:23 Enterobiotix and staff dietary provisions

00:16:18 Dr Craven discusses leaky gut syndrome

00:18:06 Wim Hof being injected with bacterial endotoxins

00:20:35 more discussion on leaky gut

00:21:22 getting a strong gut rather than a leaky one

00:22:26 How do doctors diagnose leaky gut?

00:24:06 how does FMT/IMT have an impact on leaky gut?

00:26:22 Dr Craven's study findings in relation to treating NAFLD

00:27:32 discussion around endogenous alcohol production

00:31:12 how has the public’s perception of FMT/IMT changed

00:34:14 gut permeability can be improved via FMT

00:37:41 treating MS with FMT/IMT

00:38:51 what factors cause leaky guy and what's the role of stress?

00:41:48 the connection between leaky guy and autoimmune diseases

00:44:10 what is a probiotic?

00:47:15 Dr Craven's move from Canada to Scotland

00:54:45 living with Type 1 diabetes

00:57:58 how do I improve my gut health?

01:10:32 hopes for diabetes and the role of FMT/IMT

01:20:04 is having a morning coffee a good idea?

01:21:18 where is the microbiome field heading in the future?

01:25:57 interaction between the microbiome and the host

01:26:54 what is engraftment?

01:32:13 what's FMT/IMT going to be used for next?

01:35:08 dietary challenges upon moving to Scotland

01:37:38 other scientific interests outside of the microbiome

01:39:14 the potential role of AI for health management

Professor Harry Flint is a world leader in gut microbiome science and Professor Emeritus at the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen. He's known for his book, "Why Gut Microbes Matter" and has two species of gut bacteria named after him: 'HarryFlintia' and 'Flintibacter'.

As part of a research collaboration, Professor Flint helped to identify a combination of six naturally occurring bacteria that work to eradicate a highly contagious form of Clostridium difficile (C. diff). The results of this research illustrated the effectiveness of utilising a mix of bacteria naturally found in the gut to displace C. diff and supershedder microbiota. The research helped develop a standardised mixture treatment for FMT.

Professor Flint began studying ecology at university before switching to genetics, completing his PhD in this field. He then worked as a lecturer for 6 years and then came back to Edinburgh to start a training fellowship to learn molecular biology in 1982. His career began at the Rowett Institute in 1985, with a focus on the rumen of animals due to the complexity of the microbiology of that system of digestion.

He joins James in this episode of Inside Matters, the Gut Health Podcast, to chat about his career as he nears retirement, and the ground-breaking research into the complex universe of the gut microbiome. They cover a variety of topics including the importance of the digestive system of rumens, symbiosis in living organisms and dive into the different levels founds in the gut's microbiome.

 

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Intro 00:00:26 How did you get into the field of the microbiome 00:04:07 What was known of the rumen in the 80s 00:08:20 The discovery of key gut bacteria 00:10:07 What's the story with termites? 00:12:23 Does every living thing have symbiosis? 00:14:31 How diverse is the rumen? 00:17:00 Transition into human gut research 00:19:29 In the 90s what was known of the gut biome? 00:22:07 The different levels of the gut microbiome 00:26:19 The importance of starch for the microbiome 00:30:08 What is a keystone species and how many? 00:35:11 What is an enterotype? 00:37:56 What is prevotella? 00:41:12 Should everyone have a fibre supplement? 00:44:58 Does going plant-based improve overall health? 00:47:29 Why are the microbes in our gut in the first place? 00:51:08 The uniqueness of each human's microbiome 00:56:27 10 functional groups found in human stool? 00:59:11 Are there disease states with all functional groups? 01:02:45 Breast-fed babies with less biome diversity? 01:07:39 Important metabolites from the biome 01:11:16 What determines ph balance in the biome? 01:13:29 What still needs to be characterised in the biome? 01:18:51 Do gut bacteria have a form of consciousness? 01:24:23 Will AI help gut biome research advance? 01:28:03 What about fungi in the gut? 01:29:38 What should a healthy microbiome look like?

 

Learn more about Inside Matters - https://insidematters.health/

Professor Simon Carding is Group Leader at the Quadram Institute and is a Professor of Mucosal Immunology at the University of East Anglia.

Professor Carding's research covers a broad area of gut biology including epithelial cell physiology, mucus and glycobiology, mucosal immunology, commensal microbiology, foodborne bacterial pathogens, and mathematical modelling and bioinformatics. The success of this programme has led to the establishment of the Gut Microbes and Health research programme that is integral to the research agenda of The Quadram Institute.

In this episode, Dr McIlory chats with Professor Carding about his journey into the field of the gut microbiome and they discuss some of the ground-breaking ways his research is revealing the connection between gut health and debilitating conditions such as Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's and ME. They also cover the topics of how to ensure good gut health while debunking some popular myths on the topic.

Learn more about Inside Matters - https://insidematters.health/

In this week’s episode, James has a lively discussion with Dominic Falcão about science, new technologies, starting and securing funding for tech companies and their personal philosophies and outlooks when it comes to development.

Dominic is a co-founder of Deep Science Ventures (DSV), a company that focuses on four key outcomes: restorative cultivation, scaling intelligence, reversing global heating and curative therapeutics.

He previously led Imperial College London’s science startup programme: worked with over 200 student companies, and supported a fraction of these to raise over £25m in funding within 3 years.

Dom admits to being obsessed with building new companies to solve the climate crisis, from carbon-neutral fuels and negative emissions technologies to market-side interventions to funnel more finance profitably into climate solutions. Via DSV, they are championing the diversity of background and vocation of focus in STEM education, starting with a global, diversity-led venture-focused science PhD programme.

Learn more about this episode's guest and the topics discussed - https://insidematters.health/

 

Dr Mapstone is co-founder and CEO at BoobyBiome, a biotechnology company developing live biotherapeutic products to improve and protect infant health. BoobyBiome are seeking to achieve this by rationally designing microbial therapeutics from the beast milk microbiome. Dr Mapstone holds a PhD in Synthetic Biology from UCL.

Learn more about the podcast - https://insidematters.health/

 

Sean Lazzerini is a professional boxer and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist. He started boxing at the age of 12 and quickly started to win fights. He took a short break for a couple of years during his mid-teens while at school but restarted at age 17 and progressed from there. He became a professional boxer towards the end of 2022 in the light heavyweight category following on from his success at the Commonwealth Games. Sean trains six days a week. He has built a great team around him that includes Ricky Burns, three-time world champion. On four out of the six days, he trains twice a day, and on two of the six days, he trains three times a day. His training is predominantly boxing-specific but also includes running and weight training. Sean also undertakes hot and cold therapy using a sauna and a plunge pool most days of the week. He sees this is a fundamental aspect of his recovery programme. Sean has had setbacks including injuries and losses. One example that was discussed was a hand injury that prevented Sean from going to the Olympics. Being able to overcome adversity successfully is a key trait of a champion. Over the course of the podcast, Sean and James dug deep into the world of being a professional athlete and boxing. Topics included: the mindset of a champion, what happens before and after a fight, making weight, drugs and alcohol, sports in Scotland and creating a good diet. To learn more about Sean and/or to follow his journey see https://www.instagram.com/lazzaboy_beastmode/

Learn more about the podcast here - https://insidematters.health/episodes/dr-andrew-morgan

 

Dr Andrew Morgan is the former Chief Scientist of DuPont Nutrition & Health. He has forty years of experience in biosciences innovation in major global science-based companies spanning nutrition, health and agri-food. He is actively involved in supporting microbiome innovators and researchers as well as the wider industry through his role as Chair of the Innovate UK KTN Microbiome Innovation Network Advisory Board. He also serves as a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Exeter.

The following is a conversation with Professor Jack Gilbert, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, along with his many other very interesting titles and job roles. This includes the co-founder of the Earth Microbiome Project, the American Gut Project, and also featured in the very popular recent Netflix documentary, Hack Your Health.

He is a master of the microbiome. We covered all aspects of the microbiome, the ocean, the soil, how it could impact climate change, and gut health, responses to drugs.

Takeaways

• The microbiome has a significant impact on various aspects of our health, including gut health, responses to drugs, and even climate change.
• A diverse and healthy diet, with a focus on consuming a variety of plants, is crucial for promoting a beneficial microbiome.
• Understanding the dynamic nature of the microbiome and its mechanisms is essential for developing effective therapies.
• Changing behaviours and promoting adherence to therapies and dietary recommendations can be challenging, but finding solutions that align with our culture can help overcome these barriers. Probiotics and the microbiome have the potential to improve human health and address environmental challenges.
• Quantifying the microbiome is crucial for understanding its role in health and disease.
• Urgent action is needed to address climate change, and microbiology can play a role in improving soil health and mitigating its effects.
• The gut-brain axis is an important area of research, and microbiome-based therapies show promise for mental health.

00:00 Introduction to Professor Jack Gilbert and his work 02:20 The impact of the microbiome on climate change 04:16 The role of diet in promoting a beneficial microbiome 07:03 Precision ecology: Understanding the dynamic nature of the microbiome 09:23 Challenges and solutions in promoting behaviour change for microbiome health 17:52 The importance of time in studying the microbiome 30:08 Parallels and commonalities between different microbiomes 39:19 The future of microbiome research and therapies 44:59 Probiotic Building Materials 48:33 Revolutionizing Microbiome Sample Collection 56:55 Microbiome-Based Therapies for IVF Success 01:09:29 Addressing Climate Change through Microbiology 01:19:21 Urgent Action and Application of Microbial Therapies 01:23:01 The Gut-Brain Axis and Mental Health

Emma is a fitness coach, sports scientist and researcher with a large following on social media and multiple successful online businesses. 

Through structured programmes and coaching, Emma has helped thousands of people lose weight and improve their body composition. She understands the science underpinning successful diets and uses her knowledge to help other personal trainers and coaches help their respective clients.

To find out more about Emma’s products and businesses, check out: https://esgfitness.co.uk

This episode is full of recommendations and knowledge relating to how to improve your physique and live a longer, healthier and happier life. When asked to distil her top recommendations, Emma came up with the following advice:   

1. Eat in accordance with your energy demands  
2. Eat primarily whole foods, limit processed foods 
3. Reduce snacking to a minimum 

To give context to the above, Emma noted that it was challenging to figure out exactly what your energy demands are. No calorie calculator / energy demand calculator is going to be entirely accurate. Emma suggests tracking your food and body weight for a period of time and using this as a basis to make adjustments. Daily fluctuations in weight are not important due to water fluctuation and varying food intake. Weekly / monthly fluctuations in weight are important.  

The concept of eating minimally processed foods has been discussed several times on Inside Matters and is sound advice for someone wanting to improve their body composition and the composition of their microbiome. 

On the subject of snacking, Emma’s view is that this is one of the primary reasons for people being unable to lose weight or a reason for putting on weight. Snacking can be mindless and instinctive e.g a biscuit with coffee in the office or finishing a plate of food for the sake of finishing a plate of food and not being wasteful. 

Beyond her big three tips, a lot of Emma’s advice centred around what she calls ‘showing up’, essentially, how you approach a task or your day. How you show up dictates how you perform and how others respond to your actions. Exercise helps Emma show up at her best, and the benefits of exercise for her extend beyond physical health and into performance at work and in life. 

Her morning routine is as follows:

• Wake up at 05:45, put the kettle on
• Undertake 10 pull-ups and push-ups
  • Try not to open emails until 7 - be mindful
• 07:30 gym
• 09:00 start work 

On supplements, Emma recommends fish oil, vitamin D, creatine and B12. Creatine is particularly beneficial for people that do not eat animal products - most notably red meat. 

Mark R. Bamforth is an entrepreneur, investor and mentor in life sciences. Mark has founded, built, and sold three contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) over the last 12 years.

His first company, Gallus Biopharmaceuticals, focused on monoclonal antibodies. His second company, Brammer Bio produced viral vectors for gene therapies. His third company. ArrantaBio, produced advanced therapies, including microbiome therapeutics.

Previously, Bamforth spent 22 years at Genzyme, latterly running global manufacturing operations. His career began as a petroleum engineer with Britoil, then as a chemical engineer with Whitbread.

Bamforth serves on the boards of Continuus Pharma, EnteroBiotix, Inceptor Bio, Pneumagen, and Entrepreneurial Scotland. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Strathclyde University and an MBA from Henley Management College.

Visit our website for full show notes and guest information - https://insidematters.health/episodes/kristen-stavridis

Kristen Stavridis is a nutritionist and speaker based in London who focuses on gut health and how we can improve this through healthy eating and lifestyle. She is also the creator of The Gut Health Programme, a programme which has helped over 800 people improve their gut microbiome and overall well-being. Her main aim is to help educate people both on social media and in person about how important diet is and its importance in improving our gut and digestion.

To learn more about Kristen, you can follow her on social media: @thatnextlevelgirl

For rapid improvements to gut health and the microbiome, Kristen recommends her ‘gut reset diet’, in which gluten, alcohol, coffee, dairy and processed sugars are cut out completely for 30 days. Following this, her recommendation is to adopt a 70:30 and 80:20 approach in which 30% or 20% of the diet/lifestyle is relaxed and 70% or 80% is ‘on plan’. As part of the gut reset protocol, Kristen also recommends that her clients take a symbiotic - a combination of a prebiotic and a probiotic.    Beyond the gut reset diet, the simplest and most effective change to make to support your microbiome and gut health is to convert to a predominantly plant-based diet and eat a variety of plants every day. Kristen recommends properly washing fruits and vegetables due to pesticides being present on the surface of the food. To do this effectively, Kirsten has developed a process in which vegetables and fruit are put into a clean sink filled with water that has been supplemented with a tablespoon of baking soda and apple cider vinegar for 12-15 minutes.   Kristen recommends avoiding sugar-free/artificially sweetened drinks as these have demonstrably negative impacts on the microbiome.   1:20 bloating 2:10 what is the gut 6:15 gut health symptoms 8:10 gut health influencers 11:17 Kristen's journey and the gut health programme 18:38 gut health programme results 22:15 bloating 25:50 gut health and social media 30:52 Home microbiome testing (good clip) 34:30 Best microbiome foods and diet 38:55 GMOs and red meat 41:06 The microbiome and the skin 49:24 cravings and the microbiome 52:33 dietary plans on the gut reset diet 1:01:32 Prebiotics and probiotics 1:06:14 protein supplementation 1:07:22 Artificial sweeteners and sugar-free drinks 1:13:18 Juice diets 1:17:57 Kristen's diet 1:24:00 FODMAP diets 1:26:30 Stress 1:29:11 Vegetarian / vegan diets 1:30:40 Gut health basics 1:35:17 Mushroom  

Learn more about the podcast here - https://insidematters.health/episodes

Debbie Shawcross is a clinician scientist and Professor of Hepatology and Chronic Liver Failure at Kings College London. She is a global key opinion leader in hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and has a specific research interest in why patients with advanced chronic liver disease are susceptible to developing an infection. Professor Shawcross also leads the gut microbial manipulation and chronic liver failure laboratory (Shawcross Laboratory) in the James Black Centre, Kings College London.   She is the Chief Investigator of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) EME-funded PROMISE Trial investigating faecal microbiota transplantation as a treatment for patients with alcohol and metabolic-related cirrhosis and Principal Investigator of the EU Horizon 20:20-funded MICROB-PREDICT Trial.  

Liver disease is a growing problem globally, with 40% of adults alive today having excess fat accumulating in their livers. This condition, called fatty liver disease, is a starting point for a range of liver diseases including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer. 

There is a known link between the gut, liver and brain. These connections and interrelationships are called the ‘gut-liver-brain axis’. The liver and the blood are connected anatomically through the hepatic portal vein. The gut and the brain are connected anatomically through a nerve called the vagus nerve. More generally, the organs are connected through metabolites and signalling molecules produced by the gut microbiome that can travel in the blood.

Multiple studies that have been conducted in humans and animals have shown that the microbiome plays a fundamental role in the development of liver disease and is therefore a promising potential target for prevention/treatment. In the episode, Professor Shawcross provides an excellent overview of what changes to the microbiome occur and why these are important. Briefly, in patients with liver disease, there is lower bacterial microbiome diversity (fewer species) and within the species that are residing, there are relatively higher proportions of bacteria that cause inflammation, as well as bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics (multi-drug resistant organisms ‘MDROs’). Additionally, in liver disease, a barrier that prevents bacteria from seeping out of the intestine into the blood/body becomes damaged and ‘leaky’. This process constellation results in something called ‘leaky gut’.

As patients get sicker with the liver disease they progress to cirrhosis, and patients with cirrhosis can suffer from life-threatening complications, such as hepatic encephalopathy (HE). HE is a devastating condition that has parallels to dementia and severely impacts the quality of life in patients suffering from the disease.  The current standard of care (best available treatment) for HE is the combination of a laxative and an antibiotic, both modulating the gut microbiome. The treatments are inadequate through and there is still a high unmet need. Professor Shawcross believes that intestinal microbiota transfer (IMT) could be an effective solution that decolonises MDROs, improves the gut-intestinal barrier and improves the composition of the microbiome.

Professor Shawcross completed an IMT study in patients suffering from cirrhosis (the PROFIT study) https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/profit-a-prospective-randomised-placebo-controlled-feasibility-trial-of-faecal-microbiota-transplantation-in-cirrhosis(4c186477-ea55-48eb-b7b9-a4b8b11d5099)/export.html. The results were promising, with IMT being safe, well tolerated and having favourable impacts on the microbiome. The success of this trial enabled Professor Shawcross to raise money from the NIHR to undertake a larger study (the PROMISE trial). Professor Shawcross is also involved in several other studies – the details of which can be found here: https://www.fmt-trials.org. Professor Shawcross’s vision is to develop new treatments for patients with liver disease that modulate the microbiome.

Dr James McIlroy and Professor Shawcross also discussed a number of other topics such as the microbiome in depression, the potential importance of coffee for liver health and much more.

00:39 Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and the PROFIT trial

11:38 The microbiome in liver disease

13:58 The history of FMT in liver disease

18:35 Microbiome diversity

20:03 The impact of the pandemic on the microbiome

22:14 Types of liver disease

25:32 Treating cirrhosis

26:44 Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B

29:40 Fatty liver and the microbiome

32:27 Animal models and liver disease

33:15 Ammonia and liver disease

35:07 Hepatic Encephalopathy 

39:15 The gut barrier

41:52 Hepatic Encephalopathy

46:40 The PROMISE trial

54:24 The liver and mental health

58:37 The threat of antimicrobial resistance

1:02:22 The FERARO trial

1:03:30 Coffee and the liver

1:05:33 Probiotics in liver disease

1:09:15 Veganism

1:10:40 What makes a good FMT donor

1:12:30 Antibiotics before FMT

1:14:16 Diet and FMT

This was a wide-ranging and fun conversation that covered a lot of ground. We could have kept going for a lot longer. 

Professor Marchesi is an expert on the application of next-generation sequencing technology and novel analytical methods to study microbial ecologies.

Our understanding of the microbiome and the genomic potential of the microorganisms within the microbiome has vastly increased due improvements to DNA sequencing technology and associated reductions in the cost of sequencing a genome. 

DNA sequencing has allowed us to create inventories of microbiomes based on the source of the sample collected: stool, sputum etc. These inventories allow us to understand datasets generated from research studies. However, Professor Marchesi describes there being microbial ‘dark matter’ within the microbiome, in which dark matter is defined as a DNA sequence that has never been definitively linked to a strain of bacteria that has been cultured in a pure culture setting and phenotypically characterised. This is an inherent limitation to our understanding. 

There are a variety of technologies and approaches available to study the microbiome beyond using next-generation sequencing technology. They can be broadly described and categorised as ‘omics’. Each of the Omics describes a different technique e.g proteomics (study of proteins) metabolomics (study of metabolites) etc. Researchers combine these techniques to study microbes and ecosystems, but there is still a lot that we do not know. To exemplify this, Professor Marceshi referenced E.coli, the most well-studied microbe on the planet. Despite all of the research that has been conducted to date to characterise E.coli, only 40% of its genome has been mapped to particular functions. 

Professor Marchesi and colleagues at Imperial College have pioneered the application of intestinal microbiota transfer (IMT) to different diseases, including recurrent C.difficle infection and patients undergoing treatment for blood cancer.

Looking into the future, Professor Marchesi believes that probiotics will be rationally described and selected based on specific microbiome profiles in the intended recipient (s). He also believes that donor screening for IMT will evolve and that robust analysis of the microbiome in patients before and after IMT procedures may reveal clues about the mechanism of action of IMT, which, in turn, may result in the discovery of new drug candidates. 

—

Some facts from the conversation with Prof Marchesi : 

• 50% of stool biomass is bacteria. It is for this reason that we alternate between being greater or less than 50% human/microbial.
• They're roughly 150 species in the gut of any person and 1000’s different species. 
• The microbiome has been shown to have an impact on drug metabolism and safety/tolerability/efficacy.
• There are bacteria that can cause uncontrolled growth in plants - there may be parallels between what happens in plants and what happens in human cells.
• There are distinct differences between the microbiomes in the small and large intestines, as well as significant differences in immunology. The differences in microbiome profile primarily relate to differences in food sources. 
• Microbes can be described as factories that produce chemicals and proteins. We know more about chemicals then proteins such as short-chain fatty acids (an energy source for colonocytes acetate, proportionate, butyrate and valerate. Professor Marchesi describes them as anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-carcinogenic - i.e they reduce the risk of cancer and help with your mental health.
• Every one bacteria has ten viruses trying to predate it in the gut. Viruses are the most abundant organism on the planet. There are more viruses on the planet than there are stars in the Universe. 

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

1:15 Silent retreats and isolation chambers

3:41 Artificial intelligence 

6:10 Julian’s journey into the microbiome 

9:10 Phylogeny and morphology 

12:18 Evolution of DNA sequencing 

13:40 Personalised medicine  

14:51 The human genome project 

15:33 Finding your way as a scientist 

16:05 Culture-independent approaches and culture approaches 

22:08 Dark matter

26:24 Naming bacteria after people

27:30 Omics and gene profiling 

30:22 Drug metabolism and microbes 

34:51 Is the microbiome the passenger or the driver?

36.06 Colon cancer and cancer in plants 

40:24 Intracellular bacteria 

41:10 Probiotics including the segment relating to a generic probiotic and IBD drug 

45:25 Single strain vs a complex ecosystem 

46:26 Small intestine vs large intestine microbiomes 

51:29 Probiotics 

54:10 Post-antibiotic use microbial therapy

55:52 Donor screening for intestinal microbiota transfer good clip of EnteroBiotix 58:40 where I talk about scale, would be good to clip 

1:00:52 Using metabolomics to screen donors 

1:01:25 What is metabolomics?

1:03:50 Microbial metabolites 

1:05:30 Reverse engineering FMT/IMT

1:06:35 Bariatric surgery

1:08:30 Obesity and food cravings    

1:11:06 Maternal transmission and the early life microbiome , also good clip on short-chain fatty acids 

1:13:00 Microbial proteins, 10% of world's biomass is below the sea floor and it’s bacteria, good clip. Level of the adaptation is really good

1:15:30 Antimicrobial resistance

1:18:00 Fungi in the microbiome 

1:19:10 Blastocystis hominis 

1:20:50 Phage and fungi in the microbiome

1:29:22 Understanding how IMT / FMT works  

Learn more about the podcast - https://insidematters.health/

We talk with Dr Gianluca Ianiro about the concept of the microbiome clinician, intestinal microbiota transfer, and the future of microbial therapeutics

Dr Gianluca Ianiro, is a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Disease Center of the Fondazione A. Gemelli IRCCS and an adjunct professor in gastroenterology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy.

Dr Ianiro’s research focuses on clinical and translational studies on intestinal microbiota. He has established himself as a leading clinical and translational investigator focusing mainly in the field of intestinal microbiota with more than 180 peer reviewed publications including some of the best referral journals in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, including NEJM, Nature Medicine, Lancet Infectious Disease, and has received several research grants in support of his innovative research.

Dr Ianiro has been the secretary or the leader of several international consensus conferences on fecal microbiota transplantation. He was in the Young Talent Group and in the Research Committee, of the UEG (United European Gastroenterology), and has been awarded as UEG Rising Star in 2020. His current research is focused mainly on disentangling the rules of donor microbiome engraftment and on investigating FMT in other indications beyond C. difficile.

Intestinal microbiota transfer, also known as IMT, FMT, or a stool transplant, is a medical procedure that involves the transfer of microorganisms from a healthy donor into the intestinal tract of a recipient. IMT is an established treatment for recurrent C.difficile infection, with the first randomised controlled clinical trial published in 2013.

Since the first landmark clinical trial was published, there have been additional RCTs published in ulcerative colitis (a form of inflammatory bowel disease), irritable bowel syndrome, and metabolic syndrome. Other pilot studies have been conducted on patients suffering from cancer and who are undergoing immune system-stimulating treatment (immunotherapy). More research is required before IMT becomes an established therapy in these patient populations. 

We do not fully understand how IMT works. The available evidence suggests that in successful IMT’s, donor microorganisms persist in the intestinal tract of the recipient after IMT. This process is called engraftment. The determinants of engraftment are an area of active scientific research. 

Dr Ianiro and colleagues are pioneering the concept of a microbiome clinic in which doctors use microbiome data to inform clinical decision-making for patients. He believes that clinics like these are the future of modern medicine. 

Dr Ianiro recommends diets that contain minimally processed and micronutrient-dense foods for the microbiome and gut health. Fruits, vegetables, and high fibre. He does not recommend probiotics for members of the general population. 

Learn more about the podcast here - https://insidematters.health/

David (Dave) Stevens is the CEO of Arranta Bio, a leading contract development manufacturing organisation that specialises in advanced therapies, including microbiome therapeutics. ArrantaBio supports many of the world's leading microbiome companies that develop and manufacture novel drugs for the benefit of patients around the world. 

Dave was formerly the Senior Vice President and Head of AMRI’s Drug Product business unit where he had P&L responsibility for sales and operations. During his tenure, he led the division through a period of significant growth and capacity expansion. Before leading the division, Dave held senior leadership roles at AMRI including Vice President, Sales & Marketing and General Manager of a sterile dosage form development and GMP manufacturing facility.

Dave is a native Scot that is passionate about building Scotland into a global leader in life sciences, as well as being a big believer in the power of the microbiome to benefit health. 

- 0:00 Intro - 1:14: jet lag, training, intermittent fasting - 3:40 what motivates you to work - 5:00 moving from startup to scale up - 5:30 challenges in microbiome manufacturing / microbial fermentation - 5:58 what is a contract development manufacturing organisation (CDMO)? - 7:00 challenges for the microbiome field - 7:30 the microbiome as a therapeutic target - 09:40 intermittent fasting - 10:33 health span and lifespan - 12:37 what does ArrantaBio do - 14:00 mRNA technology - overcoming challenges and realising promises - 17:35 a Scottish success story - 21:18 mindset in Scotland vs USA - 27:15 how to become life sciences capital of the world - 32:27 first approved microbiome therapies - 35:12 characterisation of the microbial ecosystems - 37:20 dogs and depression - 38:10 types of microbiome therapies - 42:36 competing with other CDMOs - 46:02 manufacturing probiotics - 47:10 Good manufacturing practice - 48:50 Probiotics - 50:41 lost the screen - 51:50 innovation in the microbiome field - 53:00 lyophilisation - 54:24 Fermentation systems - 55:25 EnteroBiotix - 57:00 the gut-brain axis - 58:35 how good gut health makes you feel - 1:00:02 Gene therapy and the costs of cures - 1:03:00 the start of ArrantaBio and vision for the future - 1:08:00 buying the best to be the best - 1:10:30 leading organisations - 1:11:20 being a leader - 1:15:10 spending time with the best to be the best - 1:17:30 being a vision and mission-driven company - 1:17:45 the future of ArrantaBio

 

 

Visit the Inside Matters website for more information about the podcast and the guests - https://insidematters.health

Andy Scott is one of the UK's top amateur bodybuilders. In this episode, we dive into the world of bodybuilding and discuss in detail the psychological processes bodybuilders go through, along with the science of diet and the role the gut biome plays in their health and training performance.

Bodybuilding is the pursuit of aesthetic perfection, with perfection meaning different things to different people. Many of the core principles that are associated with success in bodybuilding can be applied to microbiome improvement and gut health. These include consistency, discipline, eating minimally processed micronutrient-dense food, training muscle groups and experimenting with diets to figure out what works best.

Prioritising gut health is becoming more and more popular in bodybuilding, with top athletes now undertaking elimination diets, taking probiotics and eating more ‘microbiome-friendly foods.

Some of the topics covered in this conversation:

• Top bodybuilders take decades to build their physiques. Consistency, forming habits and discipline were recurring themes associated with success throughout the podcast.
• Bodybuilding has evolved over time, just like other sports, with improvements to techniques, methods, supplements and systems.
• Andy competes within the super heavyweight division (225lbs+) at 3% body fat. To put that into context, the average male is 19/20% body fat and typically abs become visible at 9/10% body fat.  Bodybuilders like Andy achieve this through year-round intense training and dieting. There are only a small number of days/weeks in a year where a bodybuilder doesn’t feel full all the time (growth phase) or is hungry all the time (dieting phase).
• To achieve maximum muscle growth, bodybuilders train muscles to failure (when it is not possible to do another rep) with a controlled tempo (a slow eccentric, typically 2-3 seconds, and a fast concentric). This training philosophy can be adopted by anyone wanting to improve their physique and not necessarily only those who want to be a bodybuilder. Andy thinks that it is still possible to build an amazing physique without training to failure, but it would take twice as long.
• In Andy’s opinion, the fastest way to lose fast is a low-carbohydrate diet. Some people recommend a zero-carbohydrate diet. However, to retain muscle, maintaining carbohydrate intake is important. Slowly decreasing calories in a tapered fashion while maintaining intense training is the best way to lose fat and preserve muscle.
• Andy implements elimination diets for himself and his clients with a view to improving gut health and reducing gastric distress. In these diets, Andy removes a food source for 3-5 days, sometimes longer, in parallel with tracking how the person feels. Anecdotally he sees improvements in performance in the gym because of diet modification through elimination diets.
• In terms of foods that typically cause problems, he finds that oats and broccoli can be a problem for his clients. Simple changes like moving the oats to a guaranteed gluten-free source and moving to another vegetable type can have a positive impact. 
• Bodybuilders can take up to 20 weeks to get show ready. Towards the end of the show, they lack energy. So much so, that even getting up off a sofa to make a coffee is a challenging task.
• Andy eats 6,500 calories a day from micronutrient-dense, unprocessed food. He prioritises animal sources of protein. Interestingly, Andy is not aware of any top professional bodybuilders being vegan or vegetarian. He does have clients who make good progress on these diets though.
• Andy and James discussed something called ‘if it fits your macros’ which is a diet philosophy underpinned by hitting macronutrient targets through any food/drink sources i.e diets are not fixed/set in terms of food choices. It was agreed that food sources and the quality of food is equally if not more important than simply hitting a calorie/macronutrient target.
• Andy’s advice to those getting started is to start slow and to make small changes that you can stick to every day and consistently e.g walking for 30 minutes each day, building up to walking and then lifting weights. The same can be said for diets.

Dr Morgan Langille, an expert in bioinformatics, talks about developing novel technologies and techniques that enable a better understanding of human-microbial interactions.    Dr Langille discusses advances in the microbiome field as well as combining computer science and microbiology to lead to new therapeutics and diagnostics.   Episode Time Stamps

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:30, How Dr Langille got into the field of the microbiome
• 04:30, Gene duplication and reverse transcription
• 05:48, What is bioinformatics?
• 06:34, The evolution of bioinformatics 
• 09:30, Genomic islands
• 1:04 - Phages
• 14:30 Dr Langille’s first bioinformatics tool 
• 16:00 Bacterial genome libraries 
• 18:20 Extremeophilic bacteria
• 19:00 Will there be bugs in space
• 21:42 Bacteria on Mars 
• 22:15 Human microbiome diversity 
• 23:30 Number of human cells vs microbes in the body 
• 25:00 Genomic diversity within the microbiome 
• 28:00 Perfect bioinformatics 
• 33:40 Bioinformatics and microbiome research
• 34:37 Short read vs long read sequencing 
• 45:30 Shotgun metagenomics 
• 48:00 Bioinformatic tool development 
• 1:01:00 Differences in bioinformatic tools and impact on research 
• 1:06:00 Solutions to current technology challenges in bioinformatics
• 1:10:06 Tools that Morgan has developed 
• 1:08:05 PICRUSt - bioinformatic tool 
• 1:18:35 Jarvis - bioinformatic tool 
• 1:24:00 Talent wars for bioinformatics 
• 1:26:36 Machine learning and AI
• 1:32:51 Colorectal cancer and AI 
• 1:36:35 Is blood sterile?
• 1:38:00 What does the future of medicine look like 
• 1:40:51 DIY FMT

 

Learn more about this episode's guest and the topics discussed - https://insidematters.health/

In this conversation, Dr James McIlroy and Mads Friis discuss the fundamentals of health and wellness. They cover topics such as mindset, sleep, diet, alcohol, and the importance of social relationships.

Mads emphasizes the importance of eating real food, including fruits, vegetables, and berries. He also highlights the significance of getting enough protein and staying hydrated. While alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation, it is not recommended for optimal sleep quality.

The conversation emphasizes the need to focus on the fundamentals of health before diving into more advanced biohacking techniques. In this conversation, Mads discusses the importance of sleep and the limitations of sleep trackers. He emphasizes the need for balance in biohacking and the importance of focusing on the fundamentals of health. He also criticizes the food industry and the misinformation surrounding nutrition.

Mads shares his insights on movement, light exposure, and the benefits of cold water immersion, sauna, and breathwork. He concludes by discussing his book on habits and his future plans in the biohacking space.

Takeaways

• Focus on the fundamentals of health, including mindset, sleep, diet, exercise, social relationships, and hydration.

• Eat real food that your grand grandma would recognise as food.

• Ensure you are getting enough protein to support your body's needs.

• Moderate alcohol consumption and be mindful of its impact on sleep quality.

• Prioritize social connections and relationships for overall well-being.

• Start with the basics before diving into advanced biohacking techniques. Sleep trackers may not provide accurate information about sleep stages, and focusing too much on sleep data can lead to unnecessary stress.

• Biohacking should be approached with balance and not become an obsession. It's important to focus on the fundamentals of health, such as movement, light exposure, and proper nutrition.

• The food industry plays a significant role in the current health crisis, and there is a need for more education and awareness about healthy eating.

• Cold water immersion, sauna, and breathwork can have various health benefits, but it's important to find the right balance and not overdo it.

• Mads has written a book on habits and plans to explore other topics in the future, such as sleep, biohacking, and longevity

 

Timecodes:

Introduction to Mads Friis and his journey

02:29 The State of Health and Wellness

04:28 The Fundamentals of Health: Mindset, Sleep, Diet, Movement, Social Relationships

07:50 Mads Friis' Journey and Entrepreneurship

09:47 The Importance of Getting the Fundamentals Right

14:16 Cutting-Edge Biohacking and Individual Differences

20:05 The Role of Diet: Eating Real Food and Protein Intake

25:24 The Controversy of Alcohol and the Importance of Hydration

32:05 The Impact of Alcohol on Sleep Quality

36:29 Mindset and Enjoyment of Healthy Choices

39:45 The Limitations of Sleep Trackers

42:04 The Importance of Balance in Biohacking

44:15 The Fundamentals of Health

46:26 Exploring Cold Water Immersion, Sauna, and Breathwork

48:01 The Role of Supplements and the Food Industry

53:42 The Benefits of Movement and Light Exposure

55:53 Finding the Right Balance in Biohacking

58:19 The Influence of the Food Industry

01:08:38 Exploring Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers and Other Biohacks

01:15:42 Mads's Book on Habits and Future Plans

You must not rely on the information in this video as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of the information in this video.

Episode 002 - Dr Benjamin Mullish - faecal microbiota transplantation, donor selection, the microbiome in immuno-oncology.

Dr Mullish discusses the microbiome, the evolution of faecal microbiota transplantation (‘FMT’ also known as intestinal microbiota transfer ‘IMT’) including donor selection, novel microbial therapies, developing consensus guidelines for the benefit of patients and his involvement in exciting cutting-edge research into immuno-oncology.

Dr Mullish is a pioneer in the application of IMT to treat and prevent disease. He is the co-first author on the joint UK BSG/HIS consensus guideline guidance that defined best practices in all aspects of an IMT service. Dr Mullish has also published research that outlines the mechanism of action of IMT in recurrent C.difficile infection and is actively involved in several other research studies, trials and projects.

00:00 Intro

03:21 How Did Dr Mullish Get Started with FMT?

07:15 What Happened Next?

09:45 Were you convinced that FMT was going to be big?

10:30 When Was the First Time Dr Mullish Saw FMT With His Own Eyes?

13:43 Further Exploring the journey into FMT and its Expansion

16:34 In the Early Days What Guidance was there For Doing FMT Correct

20:01 What Evidence Suggested that Frozen Samples Were Just as Good as Fresh Samples?

22:25 Are We Still of the View that Frozen and Fresh are as Good as Each Other?

23:52 Is it Fair to Say that there was no Guidance From Formal Agencies on FMT in the Beginning?

25:59 How Did You Make Sure all Key Elements were Contained Within Guideline Documents Sent Out to Interested Parties?

27:30 Within the Document Which Areas Were Contentious?

29:00 Should Hospitals Always Maintain an FMT Practice?

31:26 Revisiting FMT Guidelines in 2012 in Regards to Today

32:42 Conversation on Do-It-Yourself FMT

34:52 Do We Have Somewhere for DIY People to go for FMT?

37:03 Discovering Better Ways for FMT

39:31 Conversation on Donor Screening

46:48 Interesting and Cool Aneqdotes / Observations

47:54 What Makes a Good Donor?

50:09 FMT and Weightloss

53:05 What is a Metabalone and Picking Donors Based on Metabalones

54:43 Non-Digestible Components and How they Affect Bugs Which Affect Us

56:35 Selecting a Donor Based on Short Chain Fatty Acids

57:55 Should We be Asking Donors to Eat Specific Foods?

59:37 Is There a Shift Towards a Particular Type of Donor? And are there Elements to the Metabalones that We Haven't Characterised?

1:03:55 How Do We Identify What We Don’t Know About Metabalones?

1:06:49 Elderly Donors (100+ Years)

1:08:51 Microbiome Promoting Health in Specific Cases of those Living Long Healthy Lives

1:09:53 Would these People Make Good Donors?

1:11:15 Alcohol Craving Post FMT

1:12:52 If Someone Has Used Alcohol Heavily but all Tests Show Good Signs, Could Their Microbiome be Protecting them? And Make Them a Good Donor? 

1:15:16 Bariatric Surgery Changing the Anatomy and Changing Microbes

1:17:15 Dr Mullish’s Experience in Trying to Enhance the Probability of Success with FMT

1:18:21 Potentially 1 in 3 People Have Non-Alcoholic Fatty Changes Which May Progress in Some People to Cirrhosis 

1:24:26 Is there Any Argument in Looking at a Donors Healthy Metabolic Profile?

1:25:57 Mixing Together the Starting Material Between Different Donors

1:30:14 Do we Know Why Lower Diversity Has an Impact on the Success of Stem Cell Transplants?

1:31:11 Dr Mullish’s Experience with Stem Cell Transplants Within FMT

1:37:37 Are Your Team Strong in the Conviction that Microbiome Therapies are Going to have an Impact on Cancer Patients?

1:40:46 There are Various Different Types of Responses, With There Being Full Response in Non-Responders Post FMT Which Offers Hope

1:42:19 With the Available Tool Kit Teams will be able to Decipher What Element of the Microbiome is Driving Response

1:43:45 How is the Tool Kit for FMT Going to Evolve in the Next 5 Years?

1:47:33 The Cure for many Ailments May be Living Inside Us

1:48:48 How Does Dr Mullish Respond to Questions on how to Improve Gut Health?

1:50:48 Are We at the Point Where People Can Get a Prescription For Prebiotics and Probiotics Through a Doctor Using Microbiome Profiling?

 

• Intestinal microbiota transfer (IMT, also referred to as faecal microbiota transplantation) is a medical procedure in which microorganisms are moved from a healthy donor (or donors) into the intestinal tract of a recipient.

• The first randomised controlled trial of IMT was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013 (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1205037). This study showed for the first time that FMT was an effective treatment. Dr Mullish described that this publication transformed the field and catalysed a wave of interest and research into IMT.

• IMT has evolved over the last decade, with advancements made to donor selection and screening, material processing and patient preparation, as well as guidelines providing guidance to clinicians. Dr Mullish was lead co-author on the joint UK/BSG consensus guideline publication describing best practice and the evidence base for IMT (https://www.bsg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-use-of-faecal-microbiota-transplant-as-treatment-for-recurrent-or-refractory-Clostridium-difficile-infection-and-other-potential-indications-1.pdf)

• There are risks associated with IMT, mainly relating to pathogen screening. There have been recorded deaths in the literature associated with the transfer of pathogens (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1910437). These deaths emphasise the importance of robust and stringent donor selection, donor screening and controls relating to testing and manufacture. All of which are outlined in consensus guidelines. Dr Mullish is currently updating the guidance. Over the course of the revision process, he and the team have identified 20,000 publications that relate to FMT/IMT published since 2018. Of that 20,000 - 11,000 do not relate to C.difficile and 8,000 relate to C.difficile publications

• Dr Mullish and James discussed what makes a good donor. In short - it’s complicated. Fundamentally a good donor is one what is free from disease and that produces high quality stool on a regular basis. Dr Mullish describes new studies and techniques that focus on analysing the chemical outputs of the microbiome - known the metabolome. The metabolome differs between healthy people and controls, as well as before and after IMT. Dr Mullish also describes bile acids as being substances produced by the body that are then modulated by the microbiome.

• On the metabolome, it is accepted that there is more data than we can / know how to interpret. It may be that in the future donors for IMT may be asked to consume a particular diet to enhance the quality of their donations.

• Dr Mullish describes the microbiome as being ‘co-evolved’ with our bodies and the microbiome living in symbiosis with us as hosts. We nourish them through food that we can’t digest and in return, they produce chemicals that benefit our health, such as short chain fatty acids, are energy sources for the inner aspect of the intestine.

• There is emerging research linking the microbiome and IMT to outcomes in immuno-oncology (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33303685/) and cancer (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc4552). Dr Mullish and the team at Imperial College London are actively involved in research into these areas.

• Both James and Dr Mullish are hopeful and excited about the future of microbiome therapeutics.

Visit our website to learn more about Inside Matters - https://insidematters.health/episodes/dr-richard-hansen   Watch the conversation on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZma2Kh-umQ&ab_channel=InsideMattersPodcast   Dr Hansen is a Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Glasgow. He is a principal investigator within the Bacteria, Immunology, Gastroenterology and ‘Omics (BINGO) group at the University which developed the CD-TREAT diet for Crohn’s disease.   His clinical interests are inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), paediatric endoscopy and Helicobacter pylori. His main research interest is the gastrointestinal mucosal microbiota and its importance in paediatric disease, particularly IBD. He is especially interested in the molecular characterisation of the microbiota and its subsequent modification for the purposes of therapeutic effect via microbial therapeutics.   In this episode, we discuss treating IBD in children, using entirely liquid diets to reduce inflammation, and developing novel strategies that target the microbiome to treat IBD.  

1:06 - Intro

1:56 - Interview Starts

2:27 – How to study the microbiome – analytical methods and study types

3:22 - How has microbiome science changed over the last 5 years?

5:13 -  What is Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN)?

7:39 -  What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)?

10:18 - Why are people getting IBD earlier in life?

14:54 - Is there different immunology between Crohn's disease and IBD?

17:07 - How has the perceived importance of the microbiome changed in IBD?

21:48 - How did all of this influence your PhD? 

26:14 - Are we missing something with the current microbiome studies?

29:17 – The Bristol Stool Score

29:53 - Do you think that the microbiome drives inflammation in the gut?

34:01 – The Appendix 

39:15 – Using the microbiome to predict IBD?

46:16 – Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)

49:03 – FMT in UC – studies published to date.

52:17 – Super donors in FMT

59:17 – The 16S gene

1:03:06 – The microbiome analytical toolkit

1:07:55 -  AI and large populations

1:09:19 – The implantation of machine learning

1:10:39 - Are clinicians trained in how to use AI

1:13:01 - Discussion on the application of FMT in paediatric populations.

1:14:22 - Infants, diet and gut health.

1:18:01 – Further discussion on FMT in paediatric populations.

1:20:44 - FMT donor screening processes. 

1:22:21 – Donor selection for paediatric FMT.

1:26:30 – Potential risks associated with FMT. 

1:29:19 - Can FMT or other microbial therapeutics replace immune system dampening therapies?

1:31:13 - When IBD is at its worst, what is it like?

1:36:01 - What do we do about the EEN diet and Crohn’s disease?

1:38:20 - Which element of EEN is driving the positive effects in Crohn’s?

1:42:27 - How do we create a less socially restrictive diet than EEN but keep the benefits?

1:44:44 - What is the ultimate aim of CDTreat? 

1:47:19 - What is the relative importance of bacteria versus other components of the microbiome?

  Key takeaways from this episode:   There has been an explosion of interest in the microbiome in recent times as it is becoming it easier and easier to analyse the microbiome through analytical methods that do not involve traditional culture techniques - which are labour intensive and relatively slow.    The field of microbial therapeutics is still in its infancy. There are many ongoing clinical trials into new ideas. Richard is hopeful that these trials will result in new treatment options for patients.    Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic (long term) condition characterised by inflammation in the gut. There are two main forms of IBD, Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the intestinal tract, from mouth to anus. UC only affects the last part of the gut - the colon.    There is a microbiome that lives within the lumen of the gut and on the surface of the intestine (mucosa). Richard’s analogy for this relationship is that they are like a beach and an ocean – they are different but inextricably linked.    The incidence (when the disease first starts) of IBD across the population seems to be occurring earlier and earlier in life. At the start of Richard’s career it was rare to see a patient below the age of five presenting to hospital with symptoms, now days it is becoming more common. The environment and its impact on the microbiome may be the key driver for this. There are clear changes that are observed in microbiome studies in patients with reduced IBD, namely: reductions in diversity (how many bacteria are there and how evenly are they spread), and increases / decreases in particular bacteria.    Exclusive internal nutrition (EEN) is a term used to describe a 6-8 week course of an entirely liquid diet. The data suggests 4 out of 5 paediatric patients suffering from Crohn’s disease enter remission (where the gut is healed and there is no active disease causing symptoms) after a course of EEN. It thought that the longer the course of EEN the more effective it is.    EEN is becoming much more popular in adult therapy, however its uptake is limited due to social constraints. Richard and a team working at the University of Glasgow are developing a less socially restrictive diet that mimics the effects of EEN. The programme of work is called CD-treat.    Intestinal microbiota transfer (IMT) involves the movement of microorganisms from one person into another with the intention of treating a disease. Six randomised controlled trials have been published in UC so far, with a definite signal towards IMT being effective. Richard is hopeful that these studies will pave the way for new treatment options in IBD. 

Visit our podcast's website to learn more - https://insidematters.health/

Watch the podcast on YouTube.

 

Expect the unexpected in space microbiology! There are microorganisms that have adapted to survive in the most extreme environments. These microbiomes are being analysed to figure out what might be happening in space, especially with those that have been found to survive up to 3 years. What would happen if a human came into contact with them on another planet?

Welcome to Inside Matters, the gut health podcast featuring conversations with the most forward-thinking minds in health, fitness, science, nutrition and business. In-depth discussions about how our gut microbiome impacts our health, well-being, mood and more. Inside Matters was conceived by microbiome expert Dr James McIlroy as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of the gut microbiome. Our aim is to inspire and educate listeners around the world about the importance of gut health, equipping them with the knowledge they need to transform their lives for the better.

The following is a conversation with Dr. Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist, twice-published author, TEDx speaker, public speaker, and all-around immune system expert. 

It was an absolute pleasure and honour to have her in the studio today to talk about all things immune system. gut health, the microbiome, and even things like how do we improve the health of society more generally. Jenna truly is an expert. She's amazing at communicating and breaking down complicated concepts so that they're easy to understand for the listener.

I learned an absolute ton over the course of this conversation and I'm sure you will too. If you have an interest in the immune system, why you catch a cold, what you can do to maybe prevent you from getting a cold, how to keep your immune system in top shape, how it changes as you age, and just more generally how to live a longer, healthier, happier life, you're going to get something out of today's conversation.

 

Timecodes:

 

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:55 Interest in the immune system

00:05:04 Science of staying well

00:09:08 Avoiding burn out

00:16:45 Immune system components

00:20:41 “I never get sick”

00:24:50 Not catching a cold

00:35:15 What’s important for immune system

00:43:36 Immune system age

00:49:05 Taking supplements

00:51:03 How important is sleep?

01:00:18 Strong immune system in children

01:03:09 Stress and the immune system

01:05:01 Social media misconceptions

01:14:21 Importance of making food

01:18:07 Link between microbiome and immune health

01:22:28 Helping children eat healthily

The following is a conversation with Dr Saman Maleki, associate professor at Western University with a special focus on oncology, immuno oncology, microbiology, and everything to do with the immune system and the microbiome.

Dr Maleki is a pioneer and a world leader in the field of sensitising tumours to immunotherapy through modulating the microbiome.

During this conversation, we talked about the state of the art associated with the microbiome and cancer. So if you're interested in how cancer impacts the microbiome and how the microbiome impacts cancer you should listen to this episode. We delved into what the latest evidence is for the use of FMT in making a particular type of cancer therapy called immunotherapy better for treating particular cancers.

We talked about the journey from doing the first trials to the area where they are now, which is raising funds to do much larger trials that should definitively prove that changing the microbiome can massively improve response rates to cancer therapies.

Even as someone who's got their finger on the pulse of this field, I left the conversation enthusiastic and excited about the potential in the future for developing efficient microbiome treatments to tackle cancer.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:38 First interest in the microbiome

00:05:46 FMT for C-Diff patients

00:09:11 Using the immune system to treat cancer

00:19:03 Microbiome research for oncology

00:23:46 Journey from first study

00:27:30 Stimulating immune system with FMT

00:39:09 Chemotherapy, pancreatic cancer and the microbiome

00:48:29 Novel cell therapy and chemotherapy

00:49:02 Future of immunotherapy

00:52:32 Immune therapy response in cancer treatment

00:55:41 Antibiotics and cancer treatment

The following is a conversation with Sonny Drinkwater, an entrepreneur and co-founder of WellEasy, which is a membership-based online platform that aims to make healthy living accessible and affordable for everybody.

Sonny and the team at WellEasy have been on a mission over the last couple of years, organically growing their business from the ground up.

Starting in a garage to being an online platform that now has over 10, 000 members. They've also started to manufacture and sell some of their own products. Sonny explained the journey throughout our conversation today, all the various ups and downs associated with building a business, and also gave us some real insights into his vision, which is to improve the health of the nation through his business.

I loved speaking to Sonny as a mission-led founder. I learned a lot about supermarkets in the UK, the food industry as a whole, and his approach to healthy living as a founder.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:55 Eating real vs processed foods

00:03:16 Starting WellEasy

00:07:49 Poor food choices in the UK

00:09:49 Food product testing

00:12:39 Defining ultra-processed foods

00:15:39 Changing how we look at food

00:17:30 Balancing food, life and relationships

00:21:28 Are some supermarkets better than others?

00:23:37 Managing life as an entrepreneur

00:27:00 Biohacking

00:31:22 Supply chain issues

00:33:15 Eating healthily at work

00:35:10 More about starting WellEasy

00:38:14 WellEasy’s membership scheme

00:44:28 Challenges of eating healthily

00:56:09 “Healthy” snacks for kids

00:59:03 Political involvement in healthy eating

01:01:28 Vision for WellEasy

01:03:09 Prebiotic fibre

In this conversation, Dr James McIlroy and Emma Storey-Gordon discuss common myths and misconceptions surrounding health, fitness, and nutrition.

They explore the law of diminishing returns in exercise, the latest science in nutrition including fasting and protein consumption, and the importance of meal timing and insulin sensitivity.

Emma shares practical advice on setting nutrition targets, the gradual increase of fibre intake for gut health, and the role of supplements. They also touch on the individualized approach needed for training during menopause and the importance of community in building a successful health and fitness business.

Takeaways

Just do something, just move. The law of diminishing returns applies to exercise. Meal timing can impact insulin sensitivity. Setting realistic nutrition targets is crucial. Gradually increase fibre intake to avoid discomfort. Personalized nutrition is often marketed but not always practical. Exercise has profound effects on mental health. Community and environment play a key role in business success. You need to treat individuals as unique cases in health. Start slow but keep it engaging to avoid boredom.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Health Myths and Misconceptions 03:01 The Law of Diminishing Returns in Exercise 05:56 Nutrition Science: Fasting and Protein Consumption 09:08 The Importance of Meal Timing and Insulin Sensitivity 11:58 Practical Nutrition: Setting Targets for Protein and Veggies 14:52 Gut Health: Building Up Fiber Intake Gradually 17:52 The Role of Supplements and Personalized Nutrition 20:59 The Impact of Exercise on Mental and Physical Health 23:44 Menopause: Individualized Approaches to Training 27:01 Building a Business in Health and Fitness 29:53 The Importance of Community and Environment in Business 32:47 Final Thoughts on Health, Nutrition, and Business

 

In this episode of Inside Matters, Dr. James McIlroy is joined by Professor Anthony Hobson, founder and CEO of the Functional Gut Clinic.

They discuss gut health diagnostics and treatments, focusing on the evolution of gut health understanding and therapies. Key topics include microbiome diagnostic testing, the importance of understanding gut functions, the impact of lifestyle on gut health, and the efficacy of various treatments for conditions like IBS and SIBO. The conversation also covers the development of non-invasive testing methods, the role of the second brain in gut health, and future directions for the Functional Gut Clinic and the field of digestive health.

 

Takeaways

• Gut health is the interface between the body and the outside world.
• Understanding gut functionality is crucial for effective treatment.
• Education on gut health is lacking in traditional medical training.
• IBS is often misdiagnosed as a lifelong condition when it can be treated.
• The brain and gut communicate closely, affecting sensitivity and pain.
• Breathing techniques and hypnotherapy can significantly aid gut health.
• Placebo effects are powerful in treating gut-related issues.
• Functional Gut Clinic has evolved to offer a range of services.
• Tummy MOT aims to educate consumers on effective gut health products.
• Diet and lifestyle are fundamental to maintaining good gut health. The leaky gut is not as common as is often believed.
• There are actionable treatments for leaky gut, including glutamine.
• Moderate alcohol consumption can be beneficial for gut health.
• The proximal colon plays a crucial role in digestion and gut health.
• Understanding gut function is key to effective treatment.
• FMT has shown promising results in certain patient populations.
• The microbiome's diversity is essential for gut health.
• IBS may not be a lifelong condition and can be treated effectively.
• Dietary changes should focus on moderation rather than restriction.
• A comprehensive approach to gut health is necessary for long-term wellness.

 

 

00:00 Introduction to Professor Anthony Hobson and the Functional Gut Clinic

00:54 The Importance of Gut Health and Functional Testing

01:23 Building the Functional Gut Clinic and TummyMOT Initiative

02:03 Listener Engagement and Podcast Support

02:40 Defining Gut Health and Its Importance

04:05 Challenges in Gut Health Diagnosis and Treatment

09:32 The Brain-Gut Connection and Sensitisation Studies

13:06 The Role of Breathing Techniques and Hypnotherapy

17:57 Debunking Myths and Raising Standards in Gut Health

27:23 Fundamentals of Maintaining Good Gut Health

35:34 Understanding the Migrating Motor Complex

36:36 Spacing Out Meals for Gut Health

37:27 The Role of Coffee in Digestion

37:58 Exploring Leaky Gut Syndrome

44:18 Alcohol and Gut Health

48:41 The Fascinating Proximal Colon

01:04:29 Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

01:13:24 Future of Digestive Health and Functional Gut Clinic

In a conversation with Dr. James Kinross, a senior lecturer and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London, various aspects of the human microbiome are explored. He is also the author of "Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome".

Dr. Kinross discusses what constitutes a healthy microbiome and the challenges in analyzing it. The conversation also covers new research linking microbiomes to the effectiveness of cancer drugs, the concept of an 'internal climate crisis' within our guts, and the importance of the early life microbiome. Furthermore, Dr. Kinross shares practical advice on diet, probiotics, and the impact of social interactions on gut health.

The dialogue concludes with insights into microbiome testing and its crucial role in both clinical settings and personal health management.

Key Takeaways:

1. Microbiome Complexity: The microbiome is like a newly discovered organ, vital for health but complex to define and influence. Understanding it is crucial for advancing medical science.

2. Diet and Diversity: A diverse diet rich in plant fibres supports a flourishing microbiome, which can protect against chronic diseases.

3. Targeted Therapies: Probiotics and microbial therapies hold promise but require more precise application and understanding to be truly effective.

4. Prevention Focus: The most significant potential of microbiome science lies in disease prevention, particularly through early-life interventions.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dr. James Kinross and His Work

00:27 Exploring the Microbiome: Definitions and Challenges

00:46 Microbiome and Cancer Research

00:54 Analogies and Concepts in Microbiome Science

01:56 The Dog Microbiome: Insights and Comparisons

07:17 Microbiome Bubble: Hype or Reality?

12:09 The Importance of Microbial Conservationism

20:52 Antibiotics and Microbiome Scarring

28:00 Co-Evolution of Microbes and Humans

37:33 Practical Advice for Improving Your Microbiome

41:07 Understanding Biodiversity and Microbiome Health

41:48 Defining a Healthy Microbiome

42:28 Challenges in Microbiome Diagnostics

46:03 The Role of Diet and Antibiotics

51:51 The Controversy of Probiotics

58:08 Microbiome Testing in Clinical Practice

01:06:31 Microbiome's Impact on Drug Efficacy

01:11:14 Future of Microbiome Therapeutics

01:15:04 Practical Advice and Final Thoughts

Exploring the Human Microbiome with Dr. Joël Doré: The Future of Gut Health Science

In this episode of Inside Matters, Dr James McIlroy engages in an enlightening conversation with Dr. Joël Doré, Research Director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (NRAE). With over 40 years of experience in microbiome research, Dr. Doré shares his extensive knowledge on probiotics, gut health protocols, at-home microbiome testing, and the gut-brain axis. The discussion delves into the intricacies of the human microbiome symbiosis, the evolutionary development of gut microbiota, and its impact on health conditions such as obesity and chronic diseases. Dr. Doré also sheds light on innovative treatments like faecal microbiota transfer and the significance of microbial diversity for a healthy gut. Tune in to discover how the future of medicine and nutrition hinges on understanding and leveraging the microbial human.

Takeaways

• The human body consists of roughly 50 trillion bacteria and 50 trillion human cells.
• Gut microbiota aids in digestion and protects against harmful bacteria.
• Microbiota educates the immune system, keeping it ready to react.
• The microbiome develops from birth, influenced by diet and birth method.
• C-section births can delay microbiota diversification and increase the risk of chronic conditions.
• Diversity in the microbiome is crucial for health and chronic disease prevention.
• At-home microbiome testing lacks standardization and medical utility.
• Low microbiome richness is linked to higher chronic disease risks.
• Microbiome diversity can predict responses to obesity treatments.
• Acrimantium may play a role in health, but microbial ecosystem diversity is crucial.
• Fecal microbiota transfer can significantly aid cancer treatment.
• Probiotics may not establish long-term but can still be effective during gut transit.
• The 100,000 Microbiome Project aims to explore gut health across all ages.
• Gut permeability issues can lead to neuroinflammation and mental health challenges.
• Future medicine will focus on the microbial aspects of human health.
• Chronic conditions are increasingly linked to microbiome health.
• Dietary choices profoundly impact gut microbiota diversity.
• Research is ongoing to better understand the gut-brain connection.
• Preventive nutrition should consider microbial health as a key factor.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Joël Doré and Microbiome Research 00:32 Exploring Probiotics and Gut Health Protocols 00:49 At-Home Microbiome Testing: Strengths and Limitations 01:38 Understanding the Human Microbiome Symbiosis 02:48 The Role of Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease 08:18 Microbiome Development from Birth 11:08 Impact of Birth Methods and Early Life on Microbiome 12:00 Antibiotics and Microbiome Diversity 17:48 Challenges in Defining a Healthy Microbiome 24:38 At-Home Microbiome Testing: Current State and Future Directions 32:51 Microbiome and Obesity: Insights from Research 34:21 Microbiome and Immunotherapy: Potential and Challenges 39:02 Prognostic Model and Microbiota Transfer 40:21 Mad Pharma: Pioneering Fecal Microbiota Transfer 41:50 Autologous and Allogenic Microbiota Transfer 43:53 Challenges and Innovations in Microbiota Transfer 51:25 Probiotics: Do They Work? 01:01:50 The Best Diet for the Microbiome 01:03:00 The 100,000 Microbiome Project 01:08:13 The Gut-Brain Connection 01:12:58 Vision for the Future of Microbiome Research 01:14:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In a fascinating conversation with Professor Max Nieuwdorp of the Amsterdam Medical Centre, Dr James McIlroy explores groundbreaking ideas and research surrounding the microbiome, hormones, and their profound impact on metabolic diseases. This insightful dialogue uncovers the remarkable potential of faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and emerging pharmaceutical strategies in tackling obesity, diabetes, and even cancer.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Professor Max and the Podcast 02:04 Max's Journey into Microbiome Research 05:06 The Power of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) 08:11 Microbiome's Role in Obesity and Metabolic Health 10:42 Challenges and Future Directions in Microbiome Research 14:47 Defining Obesity and Its Genetic Factors 18:39 FMT and Its Impact on Various Diseases 23:48 Optimal Diet for a Healthy Microbiome 31:07 The Power of Combining Probiotics 31:36 The GLP-1 Story: A Deep Dive 32:30 Mechanisms and Effects of GLP-1 Drugs 37:26 The Role of Microbiome in Weight Management 39:18 Selecting the Best Donor for FMT 42:27 Impact of Diet on Microbiome and Health 50:17 Future of Microbiome Research and Therapies 56:13 The Power of Hormones: Book Insights  

The Journey into Microbiome Research

Professor Nieuwdorp's interest in the microbiome began serendipitously during his postdoctoral studies at UCSD. There, he encountered revolutionary ideas, particularly through the work of Jeffrey Gordon, which highlighted the significance of the microbiome long before it became widely acknowledged. An unforgettable early success with FMT on a patient with Clostridium difficile infection set the foundation for his enduring commitment to this field. Over the years, Nieuwdorp has been involved in pivotal studies, evolving his understanding of how microbiome therapies could be used in metabolic diseases and beyond.

Understanding FMT and Its Role

FMT has shown remarkable efficacy, especially in treating infections like Clostridium difficile. The discussion highlights an astounding 90% cure rate demonstrated in early trials, a feat Nieuwdorp describes as "seminal". Nonetheless, expanding this success to metabolic conditions such as obesity and autoimmune diseases remains a promising, yet ongoing, challenge.

The Nexus Between Microbiome and Obesity

While the connection between the microbiome and obesity remains a complex issue, Nieuwdorp emphasises how the microbiome's role in weight control is likely more significant over the long term—akin to directing an oil tanker—than as a quick fix. The conversation delves into why the body finds it easier to gain weight than to lose it, considering genetic predispositions and evolutionary pressures. This adaptability of the microbiome, combined with dietary habits, may significantly influence how our bodies metabolise and store energy.

Revolutionary Treatments on the Horizon

Emerging pharmacological treatments such as GLP-1 agonists are causing waves in medicine. These drugs, alongside the potential of next-generation probiotics, promise to reshape how obesity and associated conditions are treated. Intriguingly, research continues to suggest the microbiome might itself produce GLP-1, hinting at a future where therapies target these microbial mechanisms directly.

The Path Forward: Microbiome as a Predictive Tool

Professor Nieuwdorp envisions a future where microbiome profiling becomes a standard diagnostic and preventative tool. It has the potential to predict disease susceptibility, allowing for earlier and more personalised interventions. In parallel, the continued development of FMT and its derivatives may revolutionise treatments for a range of conditions, from cancer to metabolic disorders.

The Educational Perspective: "The Power of Hormones"

In addition to his pioneering research, Nieuwdorp shares insights in his book, The Power of Hormones, presenting a layperson’s guide to understanding hormones across a lifespan. This book interweaves historical narratives with scientific discussion to elucidate how hormones and the microbiome intersect in influencing daily life.

This extensive dialogue with Professor Nieuwdorp is a testament to the potential of microbiome science and the exciting horizon that awaits both researchers and patients. As innovations continue, integrating microbiome knowledge with traditional medical interventions could profoundly change how we understand and treat human health.

In this episode of Inside Matters, Dr. James McIlroy sits down with Cory Greenberg, a professional cyclist and founder of Ride4IBD.

Cory shares his inspiring journey from his initial diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) while training as a professional cyclist, to overcoming the challenges posed by the disease. The conversation covers his approach to gut health in the context of athletic performance, insights into training and lifestyle adjustments, and his efforts to raise awareness through Ride for IBD. Listeners will gain valuable insights into how Cory manages his condition, optimises his performance, and aims to inspire others facing similar challenges.

Through his story, Cory emphasises the importance of creating a sustainable lifestyle and offers practical advice for those living with IBD or looking to improve their gut health.

00:00 Introduction to Cory Greenberg and Ride for IBD 01:09 Cory's Early Passion for Cycling 03:39 Development Programs and Training 11:15 Diagnosis and Struggles with IBD 15:46 Managing IBD and Returning to Cycling 20:04 Diet and Nutrition for Gut Health 37:00 Practical Tips for Gut Health 41:16 Debunking Social Media Health Myths 41:44 Personal Struggles with IBD 43:16 Understanding Inflammatory Bowel Disease 44:54 Cycling as a Platform for IBD Awareness 45:39 The Genesis of Ride for IBD 47:13 Building a Global IBD Awareness Movement 50:10 Innovative Approaches to IBD Management 55:20 The Future of IBD Advocacy and Support 59:42 Practical Health and Fitness Tips 01:13:32 Connecting with Ride for IBD

The Gut-Health Revolution | Dr Chris Damman on Nutrition, Microbiome & the Future of Wellness

Dr Chris Damman brings decades of experience from the biotech world and leading global foundations to share his vision for the future of health and nutrition. In this episode, we dive deep into the transformative power of gut health and the emerging science shaping how we eat and live.

Gut Health: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science Dr Damman explains why gut health is central to well-being, describing it as a “full-circle” return to ancient wisdom where food is medicine. Backed by science, he shows how whole foods can prevent disease and support healthier lifestyles, without being restrictive or unrealistic.

Next-Generation Nutrition: The 4 Fs We explore the idea of “next-generation nutrition” — simple, practical ways to improve your diet with fibre, polyphenols, healthy fats, and fermented foods (the “4 Fs”). These ingredients, found in traditional diets around the world, play a key role in promoting longevity and gut health.

GLP-1 Agonists: A Promising Yet Cautious Path Dr Damman discusses the potential of GLP-1 agonists — groundbreaking drugs that help manage appetite, weight, and blood sugar. While powerful, he emphasises the importance of pairing them with real dietary change to avoid over-reliance.

Weed, Seed, and Feed: A Gut Health Strategy Using the analogy of gardening, Dr Damman breaks down how to support your microbiome: weed out the harmful bacteria, seed the good ones, and feed them with the right foods. This holistic model offers a sustainable approach to digestive health.

Fermented Foods & Probiotics We also cover the role of fermented foods as natural sources of probiotics and why they may be more effective than many commercial supplements. These foods are vital for balancing the gut and reducing inflammation.

The Future: Nutrition Tech & Smarter Choices Dr Damman is now focused on innovation, developing a smartphone app that helps people make smarter food choices by understanding nutritional quality at a glance. His work blends science and technology to make healthy eating both accessible and personalised.

Conclusion Dr Damman’s insights are a refreshing mix of practical advice and scientific depth. From diet to digital tools, he shows how we can all take charge of our gut health and live longer, healthier lives. Look out for his upcoming book and app, designed to change the way we think about food.

 

Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction to Dr Chris Damman 01:36 – What is Next-Generation Nutrition? 05:01 – How the Microbiome Journey Began 10:20 – Malnutrition and the Four Fs 17:59 – The Truth About Ultra-Processed Foods 23:22 – GLP-1 Agonists: Are They a Game Changer? 28:45 – The Future of Nutrition and Health 35:49 – Smarter Choices with Nutrient Profiling Tech 40:38 – How to Balance 'Red' Foods in Your Diet 42:11 – Healthier Baking: Tips That Work 43:25 – Personalised Diets for Your Microbiome 46:12 – Understanding FODMAPs and Gut Symptoms 51:51 – Microbiome Therapeutics and Supplements 01:01:38 – What’s Next for FMT (Faecal Microbiota Transplantation)? 01:05:00 – Gut Health Technology on the Horizon 01:10:55 – Final Thoughts and Takeaways

In this episode of Inside Matters, Dr James McIlroy is joined by Professor Yan Yiannakou to discuss the developments in IBS treatment.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is often brushed off as little more than an inconvenience. But in a recent conversation between Dr James McIlroy and Professor Yan Yiannakou, a consultant gastroenterologist with decades of experience, it’s clear that IBS is far more serious than many realise. Their discussion sheds light on the true impact of IBS and the exciting developments in its treatment.

IBS: A Closer Look

Affecting around 10–15% of the population, IBS can be life-altering for some. Beyond the discomfort, it can seriously disrupt work, relationships, self-confidence, and mental health. Historically, because there was little visible evidence of physical disease, IBS was wrongly considered a psychological condition. Thankfully, this outdated view is changing. New research highlights real physiological changes in the gut, such as immune activation and heightened sensitivity, helping to validate patients’ experiences.

Recognising the Symptoms

Professor Yiannakou explains that IBS typically involves abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, bloating, and excess wind. Previously labelled a “syndrome” because its causes weren’t well understood, IBS is now recognised as a real disease linked to changes in the gut microbiome and immune system. Symptoms can vary from mild discomfort to severe, debilitating pain that significantly affects daily life.

Breaking Down Misconceptions

A key part of the conversation tackles the myth that IBS is “all in the mind.” While stress can worsen symptoms, it is not the root cause. Dismissing IBS as purely psychological can deepen patients’ distress and delay proper care. Professor Yiannakou stresses the importance of treating IBS as the genuine, physical condition it is.

What Causes IBS?

Although the exact causes are still being explored, IBS often develops after a major gut infection, which can disrupt the gut’s immune system. Treatments are now moving beyond simply managing symptoms like constipation or diarrhoea, with more focus on addressing underlying causes, particularly gut microbiome imbalances.

Hope for the Future

Research into the microbiome’s role in IBS is opening up new treatment options. Early trials of microbiome-based therapies show promising results, but more work is needed to bring these breakthroughs into everyday clinical practice.

Final Thoughts

Professor Yiannakou’s insights highlight the urgent need for better recognition and treatment of IBS. Dispelling outdated myths and focusing on the true physiological causes of the condition offers real hope for those living with IBS. As research continues, the future looks brighter for more effective, lasting treatments.

The conversation touches on everything from genetic influences on obesity and the challenges of sustained weight loss, to the exciting potential of GLP-1 drugs and next-generation probiotics. There’s also a fascinating look at how the microbiome might act as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in future medicine.

Finally, Max shares highlights from his book The Power of Hormones, which brings together history, science, and practical advice for anyone curious about how hormones and the microbiome shape our lives.

This episode offers an insightful look at where cutting-edge science meets real-world potential—and why the microbiome could be the key to a healthier future.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Professor Yan Yau and IBS 01:02 Understanding the Impact of IBS 02:19 Symptoms and Diagnosis of IBS 04:41 Physiological Causes of IBS 06:29 Severity and Psychological Impact of IBS 09:31 Potential Causes and Triggers of IBS 14:22 Current Treatments and Challenges 16:30 Future of IBS Treatments and Research 40:39 Clinical Trials and Patient Involvement 42:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode of Inside Matters, I'm joined by Dr Johan van Hylckama Vlieg, Chief Scientific Officer at Freya Biosciences. As a global leader in microbiome research, Freya is pioneering innovative approaches to women’s health through biotherapeutics that are rooted in groundbreaking microbiome science.

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Johan van Hylckama Vlieg and Freya Biosciences 01:39 The Potential of the Microbiome 03:08 Challenges in Translating Microbiome Science to Treatments 05:29 The Rise and Fall of Microbiome Hype 08:58 Immunotherapy and the Microbiome 20:37 Women's Health and the Microbiome 35:01 Tools for Measuring Vaginal Dysbiosis 35:31 Intervention Studies and Donor Programs 36:23 Engraftment and Immune Response 37:39 Strain-Level Analysis and Engraftome 39:08 Vaginal Microbial Transplantation 44:13 Single Strain vs. Consortia 47:15 Freya's Development and Future Vision 50:04 Lessons from Kaleido 01:00:47 The Gates Foundation and Global Health 01:03:45 Predictions for the Microbiome Field

A Hidden World with Huge Potential

Dr van Hylckama Vlieg has spent more than 20 years exploring the vast and complex world of the microbiome — the trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies. These tiny organisms play a huge role in our health. Over time, science has moved from simply identifying these microbes to understanding how they influence our immune system, metabolism and overall wellbeing.

Yet despite this progress, turning those discoveries into real treatments remains a challenge. Dr van Hylckama Vlieg explained that while the science is compelling, the industry needs solid clinical data to bring investors and pharmaceutical companies on board. He sees microbiome-based immunotherapy as a particularly exciting area where transformative breakthroughs could lie ahead.

Why Women’s Health Matters

Freya Biosciences has chosen to focus on the female reproductive tract — a part of the body where the microbiome is less complex than in the gut but just as important. Dr van Hylckama Vlieg spoke about the key role of lactobacilli in maintaining vaginal health. When these helpful bacteria are dominant, they protect against infections and support fertility. When the balance is lost, a state known as dysbiosis, the risks rise significantly.

He also highlighted a wider issue — the historical lack of funding and focus on women’s health. This is something Freya and others in the field are determined to change, and their research is already moving things in the right direction.

A Bold New Treatment: Vaginal Microbiota Transplantation

One of Freya’s most innovative developments is vaginal microbiota transplantation or VMT. Inspired by the success of faecal microbiota transplants for gut health, this approach involves transferring a healthy vaginal microbiome into someone with dysbiosis. Early results are promising. Many women show a successful shift to a healthier microbial state.

Looking ahead, the goal is to leverage the successes of these natural transfers and develop targeted microbial treatments that can be scaled up. This could lead to safe and widely available therapies that restore balance and improve reproductive health.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

Reflecting on his previous experience at Kaleido, another microbiome venture, Dr van Hylckama Vlieg spoke about the need for strong links between science, clinical design and commercial strategy. Though Kaleido faced setbacks, the underlying science remains solid and is being explored by others in the field.

His outlook remains positive. With more trials underway and deeper understanding of how microbiomes influence disease, there is hope that these therapies will move from the lab into everyday medicine. Particularly in areas like immunotherapy, the potential to address root causes rather than just symptoms could be a game-changer.

Final Thoughts

Dr van Hylckama Vlieg’s insights offer a compelling look into a rapidly evolving area of science. As researchers and companies like Freya push forward, the possibilities for transforming healthcare through the microbiome are growing fast. From improving fertility to preventing infections, these tiny organisms may hold the key to better outcomes for millions — especially in areas of health that have long been underserved.

In this episode, Dr. James McIlroy interviews Dr. Ran Blekhman, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, about the microbiome and its role as 'our second genome.'

Dr. Blekhman shares his research findings on the genetic and environmental factors that shape the microbiome, the heritability of microbial genes, and the relationship between the human genome and microbiome. They also discuss Dr. Blekhman's groundbreaking research that analysed over 168,000 samples to understand global microbiome patterns, the influence of early-life microbiome development, and the potential of microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics. Tune in for a comprehensive dive into one of the most promising areas of genetic and microbial research.

00:00 Introduction to Dr. R Blackman and the Microbiome 01:23 Podcast Growth and Listener Engagement 01:56 Starting the Conversation with Dr. Blackman 02:04 Exploring the Second Genome 02:24 Human Genome vs. Microbiome 03:23 Genetic Interactions with the Microbiome 04:02 Understanding Microbial Genes and Functions 05:40 Heritability and Environmental Factors 06:53 Microbiome Diversity and Heritability 08:57 Research on Microbiome Heritability 17:18 Baboon Model System for Microbiome Studies 18:56 Population Scale Microbiome Research 25:27 Global Patterns and Data Integration 33:36 The Untapped Potential of Microbiome Data 35:08 Hypotheses and Discoveries in Microbiome Research 36:46 Geographical Variations in Microbiome 49:18 Technical Challenges and Methodologies 52:20 AI and Machine Learning in Microbiome Studies 54:59 Future Directions and Clinical Applications 01:00:38 Exploring Early Life Microbiome 01:03:30 Conclusion and Further Reading

Revolutionising Liver Health: The Link Between Gut Health, Genetics, and Lifestyle

In this episode, we dive deep into the intricate connections between liver health, gut health, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle factors. Our guest, Gary, a seasoned physician and entrepreneur, shares his extensive experience from pioneering liver disease research in the 90s to running a successful metabolic clinic focused on functional medicine today. Learn about the evolution of understanding fatty liver diseases like NASH and MASH, the impact of processed foods, and the groundbreaking treatments emerging, including the promising effects of GLP-1 therapies. Gary also discusses the pivotal role of a clean diet, exercise, and quality sleep in managing liver health, and the challenges of implementing these changes in a clinical setting. Don't miss this insightful conversation packed with practical advice and forward-thinking approaches to improving liver and overall metabolic health.

00:00 The State of Food Quality in America vs Scotland 02:39 Understanding Fatty Liver Disease: Past and Present 05:29 Genetic and Environmental Factors in Fatty Liver Disease 08:13 The Evolution of MASH: From NASH to Metabolic Health 10:46 Emerging Treatments and Medications for Liver Disease 13:35 The Role of GLP-1s in Managing Liver Health 16:18 The Gut–Liver Connection: A Historical Perspective 19:07 Building a Successful Liver Clinic: Insights and Challenges 33:52 Understanding Metabolic Health and Genetic Testing 35:13 The Importance of Gut Health 37:39 Transforming Workplace Wellness Initiatives 45:48 The Future of Functional Medicine 51:30 Addressing Liver Health and Alcohol Consumption

Takeaways

• The quality of food in America is declining, impacting health.
• Fatty liver disease is increasingly common, especially among those with higher body mass indexes.
• Genetic predisposition plays a significant role in liver disease.
• MASH is a critical condition that combines fatty liver with inflammation.
• Advancements in GLP-1 medications show promise for treating liver disease.
• Gut health is essential for overall wellness and liver health.
• Guy Neff's journey reflects a blend of medicine and business acumen.
• Building a successful liver clinic requires navigating numerous challenges.
• Functional medicine is gaining traction as a holistic approach to health.
• Routine testing for liver health is crucial for early detection and intervention.

You must not rely on the information in this video as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of the information in this podcast.