The Mind-Gut Conversation

Dr. Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist, author, and farmer, discusses the field of nutritional psychiatry and its impact on mental health. Topics include the benefits of specific nutrients, the role of diet in psychiatric diseases, and foods that are key to brain health. The podcast also explores holistic approaches to mental health, the rising interest in psychedelics and cannabinoids, and the importance of active participation and connections for overall well-being.

In this latest edition of the Mind Gut Conversation Podcast, I have the great pleasure to talk to Dr. Miguel Freitas, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Danone, as well as expert in microbiology, nutrition, and cell biology. Dr. Freitas has had a career long interest in scientific and practical aspects on the complex interaction between probiotics, the gut, and the microbiota. Through his work at Danone, he has helped the global food and beverage company to translate the growing body of evidence on different probiotic strains into a range of popular consumer products. Amongst many other topics we discuss in this interview such questions as: 1. With so many products on the market related to fermented foods or supplements of probiotics, how can the average consumer decide which products have a true health benefit? 2. Some products make claims that they improve “gut health”, “general wellness” or “digestive wellness”, others make even claims about “improving cognitive function”, or “slowing of cognitive decline”. How credible are these claims? 3. For products such as yogurts, drinks, and snacks, taste may be most important to the consumer, rather than the scientific evidence for a health benefit. In your opinion, what are the 3 main criteria that influence consumers’ selection of a particular product? Rather watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube here. Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer

In this episode of the Mind Gut Conversation Podcast, I had the great pleasure to talk to Dr. Uma Naidoo, a board-certified psychiatrist at the Mass General Hospital at Harvard, professional chef, and nutrition specialist, who amongst many other accomplishments is the author of the recent book: This Is Your Brain On Food, an amazing look into the new world of nutritional psychiatry.    Dr. Naidoo is currently the Director of Nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital,  where she consults on nutritional interventions for the psychiatrically and medically ill. She is also Director of Nutritional Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital Academy, in private practice and teaches at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.    Dr. Naidoo blogs for Harvard Health and Psychology Today and has just completed a unique video cooking series for the MGH Academy, which teaches nutritional psychiatry using culinary techniques in the kitchen.   If you haven't heard or seen her speak in several recent podcasts, the current MGC podcast is a must see/hear piece of information of the new and rapidly growing field of nutritional psychiatry.      Amongst many other topics, we discuss the following questions:   1. Can food really influence our mental health?    2. Is the Standard American Diet really contributing to our current mental health crisis, including the increase in suicide rates?  3. Is it the SAD in general, or are there specific items that are responsible for the reported bad effects on our health?  4. How much do lifestyle factors associated with health eating patterns, like the traditional Mediterranean diet, such as social interactions and mindfulness contribute to the health benefits of such diets?   Rather watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/oM78bUS3Lq4 Check out Dr. Naidoo's website here: https://umanaidoomd.com/   Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer

In this episode of the MGC podcast, I talk to husband and wife bestselling writing team Dr. David Montgomery and Dr. Anne Bikle, co-authors of the new book, WHAT YOUR FOOD ATE: How to heal our land and reclaim our health.   I talk to them about their amazing book, and discuss some crucial questions about where our food comes from, in which soil it has been grown and what this has to do not only with the plants’ but with our own health.   • What is the main problem with our food supply?  • What impact do the changes that have happened in the past 75 years have on our health?  • What role does soil health and the microbes living in the soil play in our gut health?  • How can the consumer respond to the problem?  • How should the consumer make choices about the healthiest foods when shopping for food?   David is a professor at the University of Washington and an internationally recognized authority on geomorphology. He is a MacArthur fellow and a finalist for the Wilson Literary Writing Award. He has been a prolific author and has published several books including a trilogy about soil health, microbiomes and farming, including The Hidden Half of Nature and Growing a Revolution.    Anne is a biologist and environmental planner who has published articles in Nautilus, Natural History and Smithsonian. She has co-authored several books with David.    I have been inspired by their books and some of their presentation and widely acknowledged their work in my own books. I hope you enjoy! Rather watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/eIle0rO5nTQ Check out Dave & Anne's website: https://www.dig2grow.com/  Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer

In this episode, I talk with Colleen Cutcliffe, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Pendulum Therapeutics, a microbiome solutions company based in San Francisco, CA. Pendulum has developed two live microbial therapies, Pendulum Glucose Control for the management of type II diabetes, and Pendulum Akkermansia for the support of gut health. Dr. Cutcliffe has over 20 years of experience leading and managing biology teams in academia, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University, and her B.A. in Biochemistry from Wellesley College. In our conversation we discuss a number of questions related to live microbial therapies and next generation probiotics, including the following: · How did Pendulum get into the business of live microbial therapies? · How effective is this Pendulum Glucose Control for the treatment of type II diabetes, and what is the evidence? · For which patients is Glucose control indicated? · What is the evidence for the effectiveness of Pendulum Akkermansia for gut health? · How do you assess gut health? · How do you see the future of next generation probiotics in the treatment of chronic medical disorders? If you'd like to learn more about Pendulum's products, you can use my affiliate link here & if you buy a membership, you can take 20% off with code: EMERAN. As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below, and if you're enjoying our content, please take a second to like the video! Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer

In this episode, I talk to Hagen Schroeter, PhD, the Chief Science Officer at Mars Edge dedicated to translating scientific insights and the outcomes of health and nutrition research into evidence-based applications.   Hagen’s main interests focus on human health and nutrition, personalized nutrition, and data-enabled innovation in nutrition and wellbeing. He leads the scientific investigations into the role of dietary polyphenols, specifically flavanols and procyanidins, in nutrition and healthy aging.    Hagen is leading Mars’ scientific contributions related to the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study [COSMOS]. COSMOS, enabled by a public-private partnership, is the first, large-scale (21,000 participants) investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical dietary intervention trial assessing the long-term impact of flavanols and multivitamins on health.   In this episode we talk about a number of areas related to the role of flavanols in cardiovascular and brain health, including the following topics:   1) Polyphenols are an amazing group of molecules which protect plants against various stressors, and some of the same molecules have also shown health benefits for humans.  Why haven’t they received more attention?    2) How much of the beneficial effects associated with the ingestion of natural polyphenols in plants and fruits are related to their antioxidant potential (as is commonly believed), and how much is likely related to other effects?    3) Besides cocoa beans, what other foods have a high content of flavanols?    4) Are the health benefits of polyphenols dependent on the composition and function of our gut microbiome, and do they vary between individuals based on their individual microbiome?   Rather watch this episode? Check it out on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/xZOZJCKVlrQ Follow Dr. Emeran Mayer, MD:  https://linktr.ee/emayer

In this episode of the Mind Gut Conversation, Dr. Mayer talks with Shawn Stevenson, the author of the USA Today National bestseller Eat Smarter and the international bestselling book, Sleep Smarter. Shawn is also the creator of The Model Health Show, featured as the number #1 health podcast in the U.S. with millions of listener downloads each year.  They cover several topics, around a healthy diet, healthy lifestyles and the influence of social  disparities on health. During this interview, we address several questions including:     1. The most important steps in his transformation from growing up with his grandparents in St. Louis to becoming a nutrition expert, #1 podcast host and bestselling author of two very important books.     2. How his early life experiences stimulated his interest in science about food.     3. Why does he call himself a “nutritionist who no longer believes in food in the conventional sense”?     4. What is wrong with the common assumption that food is primarily fuel?     5. How do you become a master of fat loss?     6. Why does eating with others have profound benefits on overall health? And much more.  Watch this episode on YouTube here!  Follow Dr. Mayer here!

Welcome back to the Mind Gut Conversation. In this episode, Dr. Mayer talks with one of the leading scientists and thought leaders in the field of gut-microbiome research, Dr. Colin Hill. He addresses the topic of the gut virome, the millions of virus living in our gut, a topic rarely addressed in the lay media.  We discuss some wide ranging questions during this interview, including:    1. What is the gut virome and what do we know about it? 2. How do viruses interact with bacteria: is it a symbiotic or a predator-prey interaction? 3. How is the stability of our microbiome accomplished in an ecosystem where virus constantly kill microbes? 4. Can viruses and bacteria can form symbiotic relationships, enhancing the functions of the bacteria? 5. Does the virome, in particular the bacteriophages, play an important role in the many disease states in which the composition of the microbiome is altered?    6. Is there any evidence to date, that gut viruses play a role in the pathophysiology of certain neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, which in many patients start in the gut. 7. Does diet play a role in the composition of the virome?   8. And much more. Dr. Hill, has a Ph.D in molecular microbiology, is a Professor in the School of Microbiology at University College Cork, Ireland and is a Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland.  Dr. Hill has an unparalleled knowledge not only of the microbiome science but also of its clinical implications. Watch the video format of this podcast on YouTube, here! Follow Dr. Mayer, here!

In this podcast, I sit down with Raja Dhir, co-founder and co-CEO of Seed Health and discuss the following questions:   1. If consuming fermented foods and high fiber work so well, why do we need probiotics?  2. How does the consumer determine the difference between evidence-based vs. influencers promoting nonsense?  3. Which diseases do probiotics work best for?  4. And much more...   Raja Dhir is Co-founder and Co-CEO of Seed Health, a microbial sciences company pioneering applications of bacteria to impact human and environmental health. In contrast to most other probiotic companies, Seed promotes evidence based products for human, animal and soil health.  In addition to being Co-CEO of Seed Health, Raja serves on the Editorial Board for the journal Microbiome. He is a member of the Microbiome Think Tank at Mass General Hospital at Harvard, and sits on the Advisory Committee of ISAPP, the International Scientific Association of probiotics and prebiotics.   Watch this podcast on YouTube here! Check out Seed here! Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer

Is There a Healthy Microbiome? In this podcast with one of the pioneers and thought leaders in the field of gut microbiome research, Dr. Shanahan is addressing crucial questions about a healthy microbiome, and gives some unexpected answers: What is a healthy and a normal gut microbiome? Are today’s clinical microbiome tests useful? What happens with the gut microbiome when people undergo changes in their lifestyles and move to different regions in the world? What does the Irish Traveler population teach us about our own microbiome? Dr. Fergus Shanahan, is a gastroenterologist and has been a pioneer and thought leader in the area of the gut microbiome, and Founder and longtime director of the Alimentary Pharmacobiotic Center in Cork, Ireland, which he has built into the largest microbiome research center in the world. Dr. Shanahan has an unparalleled knowledge not only of the microbiome science but also of its clinical implications. Watch the Video format of this episode here: https://youtu.be/tPJtRRCAs3I Follow Dr. Mayer: https://linktr.ee/emayer