Ben Greenfield

We know that the gut microbiome is based on what you eat.

So I'm implementing various parts of the animal, the tallow, the bone marrow, and the meat itself when I'm preparing that recipe.

And typically, the higher the amount of dietary diversity, the more diverse the gut microbiome.

And I'm also including herbs and spices that help to combat some of the potentially carcinogenic effects of heating or charring meat.

And the more diverse the gut microbiome, the better you become in departments like immunity, brain health, absorption of nutrients, bowel habits, et cetera.

And this brings me to the third thing to think about, and that's dietary diversity.

We know that the gut microbiome is based on what you eat.

If you again return to a typical westernized context of red meat intake, where you might have French fries, red meat, Coke, and a salad might be like iceberg lettuce and a giant tomato drowned in ranch dressing, that's far different than what we see in a lot of the blue zones and other longevity hotspots where people are eating a wide variety of herbs,

And typically, the higher the amount of dietary diversity, the more diverse the gut microbiome.

And the more diverse the gut microbiome, the better you become in departments like immunity, brain health, absorption of nutrients, bowel habits, et cetera.

spices, fermented foods, fish, eggs, red meat, organ meats, a very wide and diverse array of foods.

If you again return to a typical westernized context of red meat intake, where you might have French fries, red meat, Coke, and a salad might be like iceberg lettuce and a giant tomato drowned in ranch dressing, that's far different than what we see in a lot of the blue zones and other longevity hotspots where people are eating a wide variety of herbs, spices, fermented foods,

And the reason that's important is because the more diverse your microbiome, the more you're able to handle a lot of these plant defense mechanisms that you brought up, Paula, like oxalates, gluten,

plants don't have teeth and claws and antlers and horns and hooves and nails.

fish, eggs, red meat, organ meats, a very wide and diverse array of foods.

So they've developed compounds that slightly irritate the digestive tract of a mammal that would then cause the mammal not to come back and nuke that plant population or cause the mammal to poop and propagate the seed out elsewhere of the plant.

And the reason that's important is because the more diverse your microbiome, the more you're able to handle a lot of these plant defense mechanisms that you brought up, Paula, like oxalates, gluten,

But if we don't have guts that can handle those plant defense mechanisms, then they can also cause issues.

plants don't have teeth and claws and antlers and horns and hooves and nails.

Now, in trace amounts, and this is why a very myopic diet isn't such a good idea, in trace amounts, these are known as xenohormetic agents, these plant defense mechanisms.