If you’ve seen a lot of press lately about the gut microbiome, you already know that this area of science is quickly becoming a research hotbed. There is so much that we have to uncover still, but the data that exists today points to a clear connection between the gut microbiome and metabolic disease.

In this episode, we discuss what a microbiome is and how it positively affects health. Tune in to hear about how the microbiome defends us from external pathogenic exploits, the critical role it plays in maintaining a healthy and intact intestinal lining, its extraordinary capacity to command the immune system, manufacture vitamins, be the body’s go-to for digesting dietary fiber and serve as an important link in energy metabolism.

We talk about a chemical called short-chain fatty acids, a master compound produced only by the microbiome and its fascinating role in orchestrating many of the mechanisms that create health. To explore the many roles these compounds play, we discuss 3 metabolic diseases where there is published evidence of low levels of short chain fatty acids among diseased individuals. So essentially, the absence of or reduction in these master compounds is highly correlated with the presence of disease. Listen in to learn more about their role in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease.

Lastly this episode also discusses some very practical ways to maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

Here’s a link to the study that found a higher level of short chain fatty acids (SFAs) in people of Ghana who consumed much higher amounts of dietary fiber when compared to Western populations.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6244201/