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Wisdom Wednesdays: Anti-aging strategies part 7: Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome · Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

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  Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays, and
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  Speaker 1: welcome back to our series on the Hallmarks of aging.
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  Speaker 1: Today we're on episode number seven, I Believe, and we
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  Speaker 1: are focusing on the gut microbiome, that trillions of microorganisms
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  Speaker 1: are residing in your digestive track that we now know
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  Speaker 1: play a crucial role in our overall health. And we
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  Speaker 1: now know that a compromised microbiome has been linked to
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  Speaker 1: a whole host of various issues, including digestive disorders, weakened immunity,
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  Speaker 1: and even accelerated aging. But the good news is that
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  Speaker 1: lifestyle choices can significantly influence the health of our gut microbiome,
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  Speaker 1: and let's explore how we can nurture these microbial communities. So,
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  Speaker 1: first of all, let's understand the gut microboum from a
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  Speaker 1: high level. You've heard me talk about it before, I've
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  Speaker 1: had numerous podcast guests on But just as a quick refresher,
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  Speaker 1: you've got microbiome consists of a bunch of bacteria, viruses,
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  Speaker 1: fungy and other microorganisms that inhabit our intestines. And it
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  Speaker 1: turns out that these microbes are essential for a number
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  Speaker 1: of different important things in the body. Firstly, digestion, that's
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  Speaker 1: the obvious one, and there is important really especially for
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  Speaker 1: breaking down complex carbohydrates and fibers to provide what we
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  Speaker 1: call short chain fatty acids that are really good for
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  Speaker 1: our gut lining and our heart health than our brain health.
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  Speaker 1: The next thing that you've got microbiome is really important
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  Speaker 1: for is immune function and protecting against pathogens. So if
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  Speaker 1: you think about it, your entire gastro intestinal tract is
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  Speaker 1: essentially a tube that is outside the body, and it's
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  Speaker 1: a really easy way for pathogens to get in that.
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  Speaker 1: That's why we have stomach acid to make it en
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  Speaker 1: hospitable for them. But then if the pathogens do make
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  Speaker 1: it through the stomach acid, and the easiest way for
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  Speaker 1: them to penetrate into the body is particularly through the
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  Speaker 1: gut wall. And when we get what's called dysbiosis or
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  Speaker 1: a leaky gut, we know that it can trigger immune
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  Speaker 1: reactions in a whole host of autoimmune disorders. And we
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  Speaker 1: know that about eighty percent of your immune system resides
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  Speaker 1: around that gut wall, so this is a really important barrier.
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  Speaker 1: The next thing is our metabolism, So we know that
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  Speaker 1: your microbiome play a really important role in synthesizing vitamins
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  Speaker 1: and minerals and regulating our energy. And in the last
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  Speaker 1: but less obvious thing is brain health. And we know
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  Speaker 1: that there's this tremendous two way communication with the brain
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  Speaker 1: via the gut brain axis of what people are now
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  Speaker 1: calling the gut brain microba axis, which we know, OHI
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  Speaker 1: is hugely important in both our physical and mental health.
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  Speaker 1: And a compromise gut brand microbra access contributes to the
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  Speaker 1: development of many chronic diseases. So a diverse and this
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  Speaker 1: is important we dive into this. A diverse and balanced
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  Speaker 1: microbiome is key to maintaining these functions and and overall health.
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  Speaker 1: And these disruptions can lead to this gut this biosis
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  Speaker 1: or leaky gut, and this is balance. Then that's associated
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  Speaker 1: with a whole host of various health issues. So let's
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  Speaker 1: talk about lifestyle interventions to support a healthy microbiome. So
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  Speaker 1: let's start with the most obvious one, which is obviously
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  Speaker 1: nutrition and you've probably heard it a million times before,
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  Speaker 1: but a fiber rich diet is really important for a
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  Speaker 1: healthy microbiome. But the other thing is diversity is key.
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  Speaker 1: I know a lot of people who eat healthily, but
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  Speaker 1: they eat the same stuff we can we out and
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  Speaker 1: their diet is pretty narrow, and that actually is actually
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  Speaker 1: not a good thing, and especially as we ea is
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  Speaker 1: because our micro boom starts to become compromised. If you've
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  Speaker 1: got a narrow diet, it's definitely not ideal. And we
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  Speaker 1: really should be trying to emulate traditional hunter gatherers. And
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  Speaker 1: studies of the Hadza, who I've talked about before in
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  Speaker 1: tanzanianies are hunter gatherer tribe whoveing that their microbiome is
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  Speaker 1: way more diverse than that of individuals in industrial society,
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  Speaker 1: and this diversity is attributed to this diet that is
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  Speaker 1: rich in a whole host of various plant fibers and
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  Speaker 1: minimally processed foods, and they consume a wide range of
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  Speaker 1: foods over the year, and they actually have been identified
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  Speaker 1: as consuming an average of seven hundred and thirty different
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  Speaker 1: species have got microbiomes or have got microbes, compared to
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  Speaker 1: just two hundred and seventy seven in the average Western individual.
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  Speaker 1: Data are some research from the Scientific American So we
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  Speaker 1: should be incorporating a variety of plant foods and am
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  Speaker 1: to have a wide range of fruits vegetables, lagoons, nuts,
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  Speaker 1: and whole greens. And when I say whole grains, they
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  Speaker 1: don't mean breakfast cereals, I mean real whole greens. This
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  Speaker 1: variety provides different types of fibers and nutrients that then
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  Speaker 1: feed these diverse microbial species and then promote a robust
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  Speaker 1: and healthy microbiome. And really important are what we call prebiotics,
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  Speaker 1: not probiotic, but prebiotic foods. So probiotics are basically will
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  Speaker 1: help if you have a dodgy gut, if you've been sick,
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  Speaker 1: or if you've had antibiotics, but pre biot and what
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  Speaker 1: we know is probiotics are kind of transitory, but prebiotics
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  Speaker 1: actually are these non digestible fibers that nourish the beneficial
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  Speaker 1: gut bacteria. So they actually provide the substrates or the
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  Speaker 1: food for these diverse bacteria. And there's a few foods
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  Speaker 1: that are real standouts here, so garlic, onions and that
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  Speaker 1: whole family. These are rich in inulin and what's called
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  Speaker 1: fruittal oligo saccharides and so really really helpful for feeding
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  Speaker 1: our gut microbiome. The only thing to be aware of
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  Speaker 1: is if you are sensitive to faud maps foods and
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  Speaker 1: garlic and onions really not good for you because of
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  Speaker 1: the fruital oligo sacharides in them. But for everybody else
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  Speaker 1: who's not faud map sensitive individual, they're wonderful foods for
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  Speaker 1: your microbiom as are things like asparagus and leaks. Again,
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  Speaker 1: they contain inulin to support this beneficial bacteria. Then bananas,
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  Speaker 1: actually banana at flour bananas, especially when they're slightly green,
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  Speaker 1: they got a really high amounts of resistant starch. And
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  Speaker 1: also things like pays beans and lentils are good. In
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  Speaker 1: these resistant starts, it's resistant to our digestion and then
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  Speaker 1: it's fermented by these healthy bacteria. And then whole grains
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  Speaker 1: such as oats and barley are excellent sources. Again not
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  Speaker 1: the bloody process breakfast cereals, but we want the real
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  Speaker 1: whole grains oats, barley, kinmoa, all of that sort of stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Then the next thing is to really minimize our intake
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  Speaker 1: of ultra process foods. Again, I've been buyging on about
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  Speaker 1: this for quite a while, but we ni know with
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  Speaker 1: our the shadow of a doubt that diets that are
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  Speaker 1: high in ultra processed foods as we get in many
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  Speaker 1: Western countries and negatively impact the gut microbiome, leading to
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  Speaker 1: reduced diversity and increased inflammation. And we've got to realize
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  Speaker 1: that these foods often contain addatives such as the multifiers,
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  Speaker 1: artificial sweeteners, flavor enhancers, and preservatives that hrupped our microbial balance.
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  Speaker 1: And a diet rich in ultra processed foods has been
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  Speaker 1: linked to adverse effects on brain health and increasing our
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  Speaker 1: susceptibility the mental illness and neurodegenerate diseases. And it's not
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  Speaker 1: just the stuff that you're eating and all the bad
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  Speaker 1: stuff that's in these ultraprocessed foods, but it's the crowding
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  Speaker 1: out of healthy foods. Like I talked about before. If
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  Speaker 1: you're eating a lot of shit, you're obviously not eating
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  Speaker 1: healthy foods, so you get this double negative wammy when
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  Speaker 1: you've got significant amounts of these foods in our diet.
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  Speaker 1: Then let's talk about some targeted supplements. And I'm not
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  Speaker 1: going to go through an extensive list, but stuff that
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  Speaker 1: we know can be really useful. Look, if you know
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  Speaker 1: you have a compromised gut, if you've got a bit
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  Speaker 1: of a leaky gut, and el glutamine is an amino
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  Speaker 1: acid that really has been shown to resport, resupport the
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  Speaker 1: repair and maintenance of your intestinal lining and potentially airing
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  Speaker 1: in gut health. And then that's when a whole host
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  Speaker 1: of probiotics can be useful. So supplementing with beneficial bacteria
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  Speaker 1: can help restore balance, especially after anti biotic use. And
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  Speaker 1: I know all about this having had my microbiome carpet
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  Speaker 1: bomb when I went through open heart surgery and I
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  Speaker 1: actually got an evidence based a bunch of probiotics that
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  Speaker 1: I had to order in from the UK that had
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  Speaker 1: actually been shown to restore gut balance in people who'd
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  Speaker 1: had heart surgery. And I took this two weeks before
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  Speaker 1: and then two weeks after, and my got actually went
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  Speaker 1: back in my biol movement to be delighted to hear
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  Speaker 1: and returned after just a couple of days after surgery.
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  Speaker 1: And they were actually quite surprised about that in the hospital.
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  Speaker 1: So we know that targeted, evidence based and probiotics are
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  Speaker 1: really really important and it's not just about just going
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  Speaker 1: in and grabbing your cult or something like that from
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  Speaker 1: the chemist. But if you want more information on this one,
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  Speaker 1: refer to my recent podcast with doctor Jason Hardrech for
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  Speaker 1: more information. It was only a couple of months ago
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  Speaker 1: and he did a deep dive into this stuff. Then,
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  Speaker 1: the other thing that we know is really useful for
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  Speaker 1: your gut is curstin, and that's a polyphenolic flea ofvonoid
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  Speaker 1: and founding foods like onions and apples, and studies suggest
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  Speaker 1: that curstin, which you can also get as a supplement,
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  Speaker 1: but you're better getting it from food. But we know
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  Speaker 1: that carser tin can modulate your got microbiota. It can
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  Speaker 1: alleviate this biosis or leaky gut and actually reduce inflammation.
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  Speaker 1: So either get yourself a supplement or eight lots of
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  Speaker 1: those foods that are high in curser tin. And the
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  Speaker 1: next thing is exercise. For once, this hasn't been first
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  Speaker 1: off the bat, but we do know that various types
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  Speaker 1: of physical activity have been shown over and over again
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  Speaker 1: to enhance microbial diversity and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria.
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  Speaker 1: And that's probably due to the actions of what we
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  Speaker 1: call myokines, these messenger molecules that are released from contracting
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  Speaker 1: muscle that have an influence on all your organs, including
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  Speaker 1: your gut. And we know that a mixture of aerobic exercises.
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  Speaker 1: Typical cardio stuff, but also high intensity interval training and
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  Speaker 1: strength training all are beneficial. So and doing that regular
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  Speaker 1: exercise also reduces stress and inflammation partly through the release
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  Speaker 1: of these mayakins, and that reduced stress further supports gut health.
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  Speaker 1: And then it's about sleep. We know that sleep debt,
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  Speaker 1: sleep deprivation, sleep debt can disrupt the gut microbiome, leading
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  Speaker 1: to imbalances. And I have talked about sleep and sleep
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  Speaker 1: high before, so I'm not going to go into it
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  Speaker 1: in detail, but having a consistent sleep schedule, going to
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  Speaker 1: bed and waking up around the same time is really important.
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  Speaker 1: Getting adequate sleep is the most important seven to eight
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  Speaker 1: hours a night, but making sure that you got that
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  Speaker 1: good sleep hygene as well as the consistent timings of
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  Speaker 1: going and waking up, minimizing lights in the evening and
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  Speaker 1: stimulation from computers, Netflix, your mobile phone, those sorts of things.
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  Speaker 1: Making sure you're having a wind down routine of thirty
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  Speaker 1: to sixty minutes and minimizing coffee and caffeine at particularly
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  Speaker 1: after midday is really really important because we know that
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  Speaker 1: if you do have good sleep, it actually supports the
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  Speaker 1: balance of I've got bacteria and overall got the health
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  Speaker 1: and if you have bad sleep, it compromises it. The
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  Speaker 1: other thing that compromises is stress, and that's through this
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  Speaker 1: gut brain micro bio to access. We know that chronic
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  Speaker 1: psychological stress negatively influences your gut health in your microbiome.
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  Speaker 1: So regular stress reducing practices such as exercise which is
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  Speaker 1: a natural stress buster, but also mindfulness meditation and just
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  Speaker 1: being mindful throughout the day and deep breathing exercises and
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  Speaker 1: slow control breathing helps to reduce our stress and activate
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  Speaker 1: the powa sympathetic nervous system. So really enclosing, it is
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  Speaker 1: so clear that maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is a
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  Speaker 1: really important cornerstone of overall health and well being and
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  Speaker 1: healthy aging. And we know that when people age there
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  Speaker 1: are changes in their gut microbiome. It becomes much more
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  Speaker 1: narrow and it becomes more and balance towards the negative.
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  Speaker 1: But adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes a diverse, fiber
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  Speaker 1: rich diet, regular physical activity and sleep, and effective stress
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  Speaker 1: management can support your gut health and be a really
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  Speaker 1: effective anti aging strategies. And remember it's these small, consistent
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  Speaker 1: changes that lead to big improvements over time. So that's
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  Speaker 1: it for this week, folks. Next week we'll explore yet
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  Speaker 1: another hallmark of aging and discuss some practical strategies. But
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  Speaker 1: from now here's to nurturing your gut for a healthier life.
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  Speaker 1: Catch you next time.