20. The Microbiome Makeover: Secrets to a Healthy Gut

Walk, Don't Run to the Doctor with Miles Hassell, MD

This episode of Walk, Don't Run to the Doctor emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining a healthy microbiome for better health outcomes, disease prevention, and overall well-being. The microbiome, a complex population of microorganisms living in the gut, plays a significant role in protecting against cancer, regulating digestion, and supporting various metabolic and immune functions. A home-cooked diet, particularly a whole food omnivorous diet rich in fiber and fermented foods, helps to cultivate a resilient microbiome. Exercise, scant to moderate alcohol consumption (especially wine), and avoiding sugar, refined flours, and artificial sweeteners further enhance gut health. This episode also warns against overuse of antibiotics and reliance on probiotic supplements, advocating instead for a food-based approach through diet and lifestyle changes.

Key Takeaways:

1. Microbiome's Role in Health: The microbiome impacts everything from cancer prevention to appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, immune function, and even brain health.
2. Diet and Gut Health: A Mediterranean-style, omnivorous whole food, diet improves microbiome diversity and overall health, reducing risks for conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
3. Fermented Foods: Incorporating fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and kombucha supports a healthy microbiome and reduces cancer risk.
4. Exercise and Lifestyle: Regular exercise promotes gut health and boosts immunity, while avoiding sugar, artificial sweeteners, and unnecessary antibiotics helps maintain microbiome balance.
5. Natural Approach: The podcast recommends focusing on diet and lifestyle over probiotic or prebiotic supplements to build a resilient microbiome.

For more insights and advice on reducing dependence on medications through lifestyle changes, make sure to subscribe to Walk, Don’t Run to the Doctor.

More references can be found at www.GreatMed.org

Would you like Dr. Hassell to answer your question on the air? Contact us!

Phone/text: 503-773-0770

e-mail: [e-mail]

Write us a letter. We love to hear from you. This podcast is sponsored by our generous listeners.

Send questions, comments, and support to:

4804 NW Bethany Blvd., Suite I-2, #273 Portland OR 97229

References:

Zhang, X., et al. (2023). Modulating a prebiotic food source influences inflammation and immune-regulating gut microbes and metabolites: insights form the BE GONE trial. The Lancet, 98:104873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104873

Diez-Ozaeta, I. & Astiazaran, O. (2021). Fermented foods: An update on evidence-based health benefits and future perspectives. Food Research International, 156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111133

Perler, B., et al. (2023). The role of the gut microbiota in the relationship between diet and human health. Annual Reviews in Physiology, 85:449-68. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-physiol-031522-092054

DeVos, W., et al. (2022). Gut microbiome and health: mechanistic insights. Gut-BMJ, 71:1020-1032. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-326789

Kim, J., and Le, H. (2022). Potential role of the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer progression. Frontiers in Immunology, 12: 807648. doi: 10.3389/immu.2021.807648

Pyo, Y., et al. (2024). Probiotic functions in fermented foods: Anti-viral, Immunomodulatory, and anti-cancer benefits. Foods, 13:2386. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13152386

Zhang, K., et al. (2019) Fermented dairy foods intake and risk of cancer. International Journal of Cancer, 144: 2099-2108.

Michels, K. B., et al. (2020). Yogurt consumption and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 112(6), 1566–1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa244

Shams-White, M., et al. (2022). The 2018 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) Score and All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk: A Longitudinal Analysis in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 6, Issue 6, nzac096,ISSN 2475-2991,https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac096.

Rad, A., et al. (2021). Postbiotics as promising tools for cancer adjuvant therapy. Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 11(1), 1-5. https://apb.tbzmed.ac.ir

Sharma, A., et al. Final results of a phase I/II study to investigate efficacy of a high potency multistrain probiotic on chemo induced diarrhea. ESMO, 29(8). Doi:10.1093/annonc/mdy424

Luceron-lucas-Torres, M., et al. Association between wine consumption and cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutriition, 10:1197745. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1197745

LeRoy, C., et al. (2020). Red Wine Consumption Associated with increased gut microbiota a-diversity in 3 independent cohorts. Gastroenterology, 158:270-272. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2019.024

Duan, J., et al. (2021). The mechanisms of wine phenolic compounds for preclinical anticancer therapies. Food and Nutrition Research, 65:6507. http://dx.doi.org/10.29219/fnr:v65.6507

Zhao, L., et al. (2023). Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Liver Cancer and Chronic Liver Disease Mortality. JAMA, 330(6), 537–546. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.12618

Debras, C., et al. (2022). Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: Results from the NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort study. PLoS medicine, 19(3), e1003950. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003950

Zhang, J., et al. (2019). Oral antibiotic use and risk of colorectal cancer in the United Kingdom, 1989-2012: a matched case-control study. Gut.BMJ; 68:1971-1978. doi: 10.1136/gutnl-2019-318593