21. Gut Health 101: Your Microbiome and Improving Gut Health at Home

In this episode, Sam shares a timely motivational story before diving into the foundations of gut health (What body parts and systems does your "gut" actually encompass? What is your microbiome? How do you know if yours is healthy and balanced? How can you take care of it at home?) in an attempt to pull back the curtain on a topic that's widely discussed across the internet. Since it's the first installment of a multi-episode series on gut health, it's a solo deep dive—but Sam will bring guests on to discuss the various aspects and rabbit holes of gut health down the line, so drop your questions in the comments! Listen to this episode if you hear a lot about your gut and microbiome on TikTok, and want to understand it from a basic biological standpoint before falling for some random supplement an influencer is hawking lol. Key moments: 00:34 Morning motivation (Rory McIlroy and the Masters) 06:51 A message to returning listeners of CAPS LOCK 08:00 Why we are talking about gut health in the first place 10:35 What actually is your gut (gastrointestinal tract), and how does it work? 12:17 The biliary tract (a part of the digestion process that’s talked about way less) 12:37 Which body parts comprise your biliary tract? 13:23 How the biliary tract works 14:54 Other systems in your body that help with digestion 15:12 The gut microbiome 15:54 What makes up the gut microbiome? (Plus a good fun fact about it) 16:27 How your gut microbiome develops 16:59 How new microorganisms are added to your microbiome over time 17:31 What your gut microbiome actually does 18:00 How your gut microbiome affects your digestive system 19:32 How your gut microbiome affects your immune system 20:35 How your gut microbiome affects your heart health 21:07 How your gut microbiome affects your nervous system 21:15 The gut brain axis 22:13 The emotional side of your gut brain axis 22:37 Crazy fact about how your gut controls your emotions 22:49 The correlation between IBS and mood disorders 23:36 How your gut microbiome affects your endocrine system 24:47 How do you know if your gut and microbiome are healthy? 24:53 Characteristics of a healthy gut 25:53 Symptoms of an unhealthy gut 26:33 Mini rant about healthtokkers and gut health 27:24 Sam’s recommendation if you are experiencing unhealthy gut symptoms 27:41 Different tests that evaluate your gut health 28:06 An important warning about gut testing 28:49 Here is where you might want to take notes so grab your notebooks/pens!! 29:00 15 ways to take care of your gut at home 29:05 Natural sources of probiotics 29:21 Two things to limit to improve your gut health 29:35 How chewing and eating speed affects your digestion 30:43 Natural sources of fiber and prebiotics (also: what is the difference between prebiotics and probiotics?) 31:08 Examples of anti-inflammatory foods 31:22 What alcohol does to your gut 31:44 How antibiotics affect your gut 32:01 How to offset the negative impact of antibiotics on your gut 32:48 Foods rich in polyphenols (and what they do for your gut) 33:01 Two controversial tips for improving your gut health 33:16 The impact of breastfeeding on gut health 33:27 Elimination diets—why they’re controversial and their intended effects 34:40 Please drop your gut health questions in the comments!!! Get up to 15% off at NIRA. Thanks for listening! New episodes are released every Sunday at 8 AM ET, so if you liked this episode, subscribe or follow to get notified about the next one. And please leave me a rating or review, so I can continue to improve the show. Talk soon! Follow along: Instagram: www.instagram.com/lifeincapslock TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lifeincapslock YouTube: www.youtube.com/@lifeincapslock Threads: www.threads.net/@lifeincapslock Resources for this episode can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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