In Episode 202 I’m joined by Drs Erica and Justin Sonnenburg to learn more about microbes and the gut microbiome.

Research into the human microbiome is a fascinating and rapidly developing field, with new studies constantly being published. This week’s guests are notably accomplished researchers on this topic and bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.

Erica and Justin Sonnenburg, both PhD, are researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and authors of The Good Gut. Their work has been published in some of the top journals, including Cell, Science, and Nature. Justin has previously featured in Episode 191 of the show, and today Erica makes her debut on The Proof.

This episode, we recap (or introduce for new listeners) what microbes are and what the microbiome is. Then we dive into a more in-depth conversation about evolution and the microbiome, the impacts of industrialisation on the gut, and what inflammation really means for human health. You’ll learn about probiotics; microbiome diversity; the relationship between microbiota and disease; how low-fibre, animal-based diets effect the gut; and more.

Specifically, we cover:

0:00 Intro
2:42 Fasting & Gut Health
7:06 What the Microbiome is
14:47 Studying the Microbiome
19:00 Healthy vs Industrialized Microbiome
28:55 Inflammation
46:39 Food & Restoring Diversity
1:04:25 Elimination diets
1:15:39 Healing your own Microbiome
1:36:04 Gluten & Lectins
1:42:13 Lifestyle Changes
1:45:42 Outro

Whether you’re well versed in the gut microbiome or are hearing about it for the first time, there’s lots to learn in this episode. Drs Erica and Justin do an excellent and eloquent job of outlining the basics and expanding into more specific, complex components.

To learn more from the Drs Sonnenburg, you can access the Sonnenburg Lab website: (https://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/
read their book, The Good Gut: https://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/pr...)
and connect with Justin on Twitter:   / gutbugs2  

You can also listen to Dr Justin in Episode 191: https://theproof.com/fermented-foods-...
and see below for resources and more.

Thank you to The Proof partner Eimele Essential 8 for making this episode possible. Eimele Essential 8 is a multi-nutrient designed to cover all bases for plant-predominant eaters; it is a product I helped formulate and take every day. For 5% off, head to https://theproof.com/friends

When approaching a topic as complex as the gut microbiome, there’s always more to learn. I hope that you find this episode informative and illuminating.

Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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Additional resources

- Erica Sonnenburg’s Stanford Medicine talk:    • Diet as a Lever to Improve Your Micro...  
- Sonnenburg Lab collaboration study: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retri... with Christopher Gardner on fibre, fermented foods, and the immune system
- Justin Sonnenburg’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?... on Google Scholar
- Sonnenburg Lab webpage: https://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/
- Sonnenburg Lab Twitter:   / labsonnenburg  
- Book, The Good Gut: https://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/pr...
- “The ancestral and industrialized gut microbiota and implications for human health”: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4157...
- “Starving our Microbial Self: The Deleterious Consequences of a Diet Deficient in Microbiota-Accessible Carbohydrates”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...)
- “Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34256...

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