Many people don’t realize that the gut biome is responsible for far more than just our digestion.
There are trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes and they influence things like immunity, metabolism, sleep, circulation, and even our mental health.
And Dr. Joseph Petrosino knows a thing or two about our gut. “Almost every aspect of our daily existence has a microbial component involved with it in one way, shape, or form,” he says.
Dr. Petrosino is chair of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, director of the Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, and Baylor’s chief scientific innovation officer.
“Think about the gut microbiome as a garden,” he tells me. And in that garden you want diversity. Lots of nutrients doing different jobs. You fertilize it with leafy greens, proteins, and a range of foods that have been minimally processed. “I tell people to shop the perimeter of the grocery,” says Dr. Petrosino, “That feeds the beneficial bacteria and helps keep the harmful ones from taking over.” But you can wipe out your garden through poor diet, or too much alcohol. So weeds show up.
In our conversation, we talked about how to tend that inner garden (when should you take probiotics or fibre?), what modern life does to it (including overuse of antibiotics), and where the science is headed next (diagnostic toilets?).
You can watch it on YouTube, or as a paid subscriber, you have the option to read the transcript below.
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