Your body has two brains. And your second brain is your gut. Many think the “gut” is only the stomach - but it’s a network of organs, working together to regulate many different areas of health. When almost half of us suffer with gastrointestinal issues, learning how these organs interact is vital to improving symptoms.

On this episode, we’re joined by Dr Karan Rajan. When Karan’s not teaching his 10 million social media followers about common medical myths, he’s an NHS surgeon, operating on people’s bowels. Karan will reveal how our GI issues impact way more than just our poo.

Today, we explore how the gut and brain are connected, the lifestyle factors causing gut health issues and why it’s so hard for doctors to understand IBS.

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Timecodes:

00:00 Your second brain is in your gut

01:39 Quickfire questions

03:50 Why your gut is more than your stomach

05:41 Why is digestion so important?

08:23 How your nervous system impacts gut health

12:17 Common ways we irritate our gut microbiome

17:11 Antibiotics and gut health

23:30 Why gut health starts at birth

27:25 The mystery of IBS

30:19 IBS vs IBD

35:07 Why is bowel cancer on the rise?

37:19 How to keep your gut happy

41:32 Do probiotic supplements work?

45:48 Why fermented foods are so powerful

48:01 Can good gut health improve mental health?

49:30 How often should you go to the toilet?

54:50 Should we hold in farts?

Get Karan's book 'This Book Could Save Your Life' here

Mentioned in this episode:

• Worldwide Prevalence and Burden of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Results of Rome Foundation Global Study (2021), published in Gasteroenterology 
• IBS Facts and Statistics, published by International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Epidemiological analysis reveals a surge in inflammatory bowel disease among children and adolescents: A global, regional, and national perspective from 1990 to 2019 – insights from the China study (2023, published by Journal of Global Health

Other ZOE Science & Nutrition episodes you might like:

• Why are young people getting colon cancer?
• Why one in ten children have a food allergy

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.