May 25, 2021
"Who eats first?" Richard asks Dr. Emeran Mayer as the
researcher discusses his new book about the gut-immune connection.
The answer is as complex as gut health and immune system
interactions, but also just as fascinating.
Listen and learn
Dr. Emeran Mayer's discusses his latest book, The Gut-Immune
Connection: How Understanding the Connection Between Food and
Immunity Can Help Us Regain Our Health. He digs deep on some
of this timely book's topics, including the ties between our
emotions and gut processes.
The trillions of microbes producing their own chemicals, or
metabolites make for quite a "bi-directional dialogue," he
explains. Neurotransmitters throw another element into the mix and
the food we bring in completes this intense conversation between
our
gut and brain.
Who does eat first? Well, it's not a one-answer question,
explains Dr. Mayer, because different microbes eat different foods.
"With a typical standard American diet," he says, "most of it would
be absorbed in that very beginning of the small intestine, because
everything is processed with very little fiber . . . but if you eat
a diet like our ancestors used to eat . . . much higher in fiber .
. . it has to travel down." And, it turns out, which microbes
get fed the most affects how our body responds, and ultimately, our
health.
Listen in for more about this integral and fundamental
connection.
Episode also available on Apple
Podcasts: apple.co/30PvU9C