In this episode, Wendy speaks with gastroenterologist, author, and microbiome researcher Emeran Mayer. Emeran is a world renowned expert in the connections between the gut and the mind, and brings a biological lens to the concept of interconnection. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• his interest in mind-body connection;
• microbiome overview & current questions;
• how we've inherited systems of communication from microbes;
• gut-brain connections, and the concept of the "second brain";
• how meditation might affect our microbes;
• gut-immune connections;
• the importance of barriers, and what goes wrong in "leaky gut";
• barrier compromise as common core of nearly all chronic disorders;
• stress and diet as key factors affecting our gut permeability;
• what we can do to protect our gut;
• equity issues around healthy food access;
• the gut as a sense organ;
• reductions in the diversity of microbes on the planet;
• the role of antibiotics and environmental destruction;
• development of the microbiome in pregnancy and infancy;
• implications for our concept of self;
• balance between reductionism and embracing complexity in science;
• and the need for more of the feminine archetype in our world.

Full show notes and resources