How to Enhance Your Gut Microbiome for Brain & Overall Health

In this episode, I discuss the profound effect the gut has on the nervous system. I cover the structure and function of the gut-brain axis and the role of the gut microbiome in the brain and overall health. I describe how the gut controls hunger or satiety by affecting neurons in our brain. I also contrast the many pathways by which the gut influences the brain: direct vs. indirect pathways, chemical vs. mechanical, and fast vs. slow signaling. Additionally, I discuss what defines a healthy microbiome and how your lifestyle impacts the gut microbiome, including the effects of stress, fasting, antibiotics, pets, environment, prebiotics and probiotics. I address how different foods shape the gut microbiome, in particular, the emerging data that fermented foods can increase the diversity of healthy gut microbiota. Throughout the episode, I explain peer-reviewed and textbook findings that reveal the critical role of the gut microbiome in supporting mental and physical health and I outline simple tools that anyone can use in order to enhance their gut microbiome health.

#HubermanLab #GutHealth #Microbiome

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Timestamps
00:00:00 Gut Microbiome
00:03:02 AG1 (Athletic Greens), LMNT, InsideTracker
00:06:55 Your Gut-Brain Axis
00:09:44 Gut-Brain Anatomy
00:15:32 Microbiota vs. Gut Microbiome
00:20:01 Roles of Gut Microbiome
00:23:03 Neuropod Cells: (Subconscious) Tasting with Your Stomach
00:34:13 Ghrelin: Slow Modulation of Your Brain in Hunger
00:38:02 Glucagon Like Peptide 1; GLP-1
00:42:22 Tools: ‘Free Will’ & Food Cravings
00:44:46 Mechanical Cues from Gut to Brain
00:49:05 Dopamines, Vomiting
00:52:06 Indirect Signals from Gut Microbiota
00:59:30 Gut Microbiome “Critical Periods”
01:03:08 How Gut Health Controls Overall Health
01:12:25 What is a Healthy Gut Microbiome?
01:15:00 Tools: Enhance Your Gut Microbiome
01:23:49 Foods to Enhance Microbiota Diversity; Fermented Foods
01:37:07 High-Fiber Diets & Inflammation
01:40:58 Artificial & Non-Caloric Sweeteners
01:44:27 Structure & Function of Gut-Brain Axis
01:49:47 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Patreon, Thorne, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter

Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.

[jopo]

This is a lot of information to digest.

[juanpabloaranovich]

Just sharing my notes. I posted this on Medium as well for your convenience (easier to read)

Gut-Brain Axis
-The gut communicates with the brain and the brain communicates with the gut all the time. They represent a biological circuit. It is bi-directional.
-Gut is not just the stomach. It includes the entire digestive tract.
-The nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord, which together make up the central nervous system. The neural retinas are also part of the Central Nervous System. The eyes are the only part of the brain that are outside the cranial vault.
-Peripheral nervous system: everything that’s outside the brain, spinal cord and eyes.

Digestive system
-Begins at mouth and ends in anus.
-It’s a tube, and the hollow of the tube is called the lumen.
-The microbiota resides all along the lumen. There are little niches where particular things can grow best.
-Along the digestive tube there is a lot variation of acidity, which gives rise to different microenvironments in which microbiota can thrive or fail to thrive.
-Our own behaviors will adjust the microenvironments in which the microbiota will be more likely to thrive or not.

Microbiota
-Microbiota: Is the wide variety of microorganisms that live in a certain environment. So the “human microbiota” includes all bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other single-celled organisms living in the human body
-They contribute to digestion. They make genes involved with digestion.
-What we eat change the enzymes that these bacteria make.
-They change the way that our brain functions by metabolizing some neurotransmitters. It is converted into chemicals such as GABA (suppress the action of other neurons. Its principal role is reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system.).
-The microbiota highly influences our immune system, brain function and digestion.

Microbiome
-Microbiome: The collective genomes of the microbes (composed of bacteria, bacteriophage, fungi, protozoa and viruses) that live inside and on the human body.
-What we eat strongly influences our microbiome.
-But the Microbiome is also made up by things that come inside our body through breathing, thru skin contact, and also thru thoughts and social interactions.
-What is a Healthy microbiome? One that includes a lot of diversity.
-Probiotics and prebiotics can enhance microbiota diversity… excessive probiotics can lead to brain fog states.

Neurons in the Gut
-These neurons pay attention to the components of the gut (nutrients and microbiota) and send signals to the brain so that it seeks out more of a particular food.
-When we eat something we like, these neurons are activated because certain nutrients in those foods are present (sugar, fatty acids and amino acids).
-Neuropod cells: These are gut sensory cells. They provide the foundation for the gut to transduce sensory signals from the intestinal milieu to the brain through fast neurotransmission onto neurons.
-They have strong activation to sugars. They communicate via the pathway of the vagus nerve (responsible for the regulation of internal organ functions). When they sense sugar they send signals that trigger activation that cause us to seek more of this particular food. How? It adjusts the release of some neuromodulators (like dopamine).
-What we consider the taste of a sweet food has to do with a gut sensation that is below a conscious detection (taste of food and texture are also components that determine this).
-Free will & food cravings: Events in our brain are determined by biological events that are below our conscious detection.

Ghrelin
-Ghrelin is famously known as the “hunger hormone”. It increases with fasting.
-When fasting, ghrelin goes up and we tend to be more alert (the body is alert seeking out food). Epinephrine goes up.

Glucagon like peptide 1
-GLP1 is made by neurons in the gut and in the brain. Is a hormone produced in the gut and released in response to food. It causes reduced appetite and the release of insulin.
-Used to treat type 2 diabetes and to reduce obesity.
-Foods that increase GLP1: yerba mate, nuts, avocados, eggs, high fiber complex grains. The ketogenic diet increases GLP1.
-GLP1 is another gut-to-brain mechanism that is dependent on diet.

Mechanical signaling
-When you eat a lot you might get distension of the gut. This distention is signaled and communicated to the brain to suppress the feeding. Also even vomit. Activates the area “vomit center”.
-Signals are both to seek more food and also to stop eating.

Direct and indirect signaling
-Direct signals: neurons in the gut communicating with neurons in the brain.
-Dopamine is involved with vomiting. When dopamine is too high it makes us stop eating and even vomiting.
-Indirect signals
-Neurotransmitters cause the activation of other neurons. The gut microbiota are capable of influencing metabolic events and also of synthesizing neurotransmitters themselves. They make neurochemicals that can impact the body indirectly. The foods you eat, the environment of the gut microbiome can create the substrates that allow the brain to feel one way or the other.
-Dopamine can be synthesized by some particular microbiota, which can raise our baselines levels of dopamine (baseline levels act as a level of the tide).
-Other microbiota support the production of serotonin. Baseline levels of serotonin set our average mood. 90–95% of serotonin is produced in the gut!
-Other microbiota raises GABA levels.
-Studies show that creating the correct environment for these microbiota to thrive it enhances mood and wellbeing.

Early establishment of gut microbiome.
-The environment that we are exposed to (contact with any mucosal lining) in the first three years of life have a profound impact on the overall menu of microbiota that we will be able to carry within our body. Building a diverse microbiome in the first three years is critical.
-Cesarean delivered babies have less diverse microbiome.
-The more diversity of microbiota that one can create earlier in life is essential. (Breastfed, Exposure to pets, different adults, different rooms and outside play).
-If children are exposed to a lot of antibiotic treatment can be very detrimental to develop a healthy gut microbiome. And not even in children. We should be wary of antibiotics.

Gut health benefits
-Particular types of microbiota (l-reuteri) can offset symptoms of autism (studies in mice) by activating the vagus nerve that stimulates dopamine and oxytocin.
-Gut health also reduces obesity and diabetes.
-One study showed that microbiota diversity lowers loneliness.

Tools and behaviors: DO’s and DON’ts
-Stress impacts negatively the gut microbiome.
-Fasting: during prolonged fasting there’s thinning of the mucosal lining and a lot of microbiota species can start to die off. So fasting can cause a disruption to certain healthy elements of the gut microbiome. Caveat: When people eat after a period of fast, there is a compensatory proliferation (increase in healthy gut microbiota).
-Probiotics: ingestion of probiotics can be useful to increase microbiota diversity (at a fairly low-to-moderate level, we don’t need excessive amounts). But… after using anti biotics or being ill or super stressed, ingesting higher doses of probiotics and prebiotics can be helpful.
The bacteria that are present in most probiotics don’t actually replenish the microbiota that we need most. But they make the environment better.

Foods to Ingest
-Types of food we need to ingest that enhance mood and wellbeing.
-Study: they measured the impact of the microbiome health in two groups. One with a high fiber diet, and other with a high fermented foods diet.
-Results: High fiber diet did not lead to increased microbiota diversity. But increased number of digestive enzymes.
However, a fair amount of fiber is a good idea, don’t neglect it.

High fermented food diet increased microbiota diversity and decrease inflammatory signals and activity.
-Amount: 4 to 6 servings of fermented foods per day. Serving size: 4–6oz.
-What kind of fermented foods? Low-sugar fermented foods. They have to contain live active cultures (microbiota that are alive).
-When to eat them? Its going to work best if you spread the servings throughout the day. Not all in one meal.
-Examples of low-sugar fermented foods:
• Plain yogurt
• Kimchi
• Sauerkraut
• Kefir
• Natto
• Brine: richness of live cultures
-You can make fermented foods yourself to reduce the high costs.

Takeaway: Fermented foods are excellent for microbiome health. We should all be trying to incorporate more of these.

Artificial sweeteners
-Disruption in gut microbiome (Studies only in animals).
-Neurons in the gut are capable of distinguishing real sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Twitter @Juampiaranovich you can find the article

[rebeccamanning]

Fantastically informative, thank you.
Quick Kefir Recipe -
1 litre milk (I use goats milk)
110 grams plain yoghurt (provides bacterial culture)
1 teaspoon sugar (provides a little food for bacteria).
Warm milk in large saucepan over low heat to 35-40C. Cool slightly then mix in yoghurt and sugar. Transfer to a sterilised jar and cover with clean tea towel. Keep mixture at room temperature (about 24C) for 5-6 hours then transfer to fridge for further 10-12 hours. Keep 110 grams of this mixture as your new starter, instead of the yoghurt.

[Mwilke]

Sometimes the timing of these podcasts is simply heroic.

[ali_sxhrader]

I find it cute that he mentions "The more diverse your gut microbiome is, the less lonely you are" cuz it's like your micro bacteria is keeping you company !

[Hannah-cdnh]

Thank you so much Dr. Huberman, I can't sufficiently express how grateful I am to be able to learn from you.

I know it may not interest half of your audience, but an episode about women's health-- PCOS, endometriosis, fertility, birth control, menstrual cycles, etc -- would be so amazing!

[Octoberstorm]

You are changing and saving my health and day to day life. Anyone else fall asleep listening and then watch 2-3 times more to take notes?

[Judge_Dredd_]

54:25 Bacillus & Serratia (Dopamine)
55:45 Candida, Streptococcus, Enterococcus (Serotonin)
58:15 Lactobacillus (Dopamine) & Bifidobacterium (GABA)
1:04:14 L. Reuteri (Dopamine & Oxytocin)

[memastarful]

My gut instinct says The Huberman podcast is helping humanity improve. Truly appreciate all your endless efforts Andrew.

[laurenjohnston]

Vet student here. It's interesting that you mention how early life plays such a role in determining the gut microbiota of an individual later in life. For cows and sheep, the intake of a mother's colostrum within the first twenty four hours of life, is imperative in determining a calf/lamb's immune status. Any delay, decrease in quality, or failure to receive the IgG antibodies from the colostrum, will render the offspring immunocompromised, termed failure of passive transfer. It would be incredibly interesting to see studies in the future that evaluate the gut microbiota between groups of animals that did/did not receive adequate amounts of colostrum!

[calebthomas]

Topic request: How to rest your brain. (Outside of sleeping) Do you need brain rest days? How do you differentiate true brain exhaustion from giving up? And as always thank you for being interested in teaching science. 😁

[felicisimomalinao]

This lecture is impressive even without sketches or other visuals. Dr. Huberman is an expert in hand gestures in verbal communication.

[saudigold]

Excellent!

Intermittent fasting is like miracle grow for your body- and brain; thus connecting one’s gut, and brain. Our gut is our second brain.

[carloscampos]

This podcast is an absolute godsend. Baffling that this information is readily available for anyone willing to seek it. the most amazing channel I’ve ever come across

[OMeara]

Aside from method of birth and who handles the infant the most in the early days, the biggest influence on the seeding of the human micribiome is whether they are fed with human milk or not. Human milk, unlike formula, contains oligosaccharides which feed the gut microbes. It also seals the 'open' gut, preventing large particles from being absorbed and setting off allergic reactions.

[mercedesg]

I will never think of “gut feeling” the same way. Great episode on so many levels. Thank you. Not to be dramatic, but we are truly an incredible, complex, and beautiful biological system. I can’t get over it. 💗✨

[vikaschawla]

Never waited for Monday morning like this 🙂Setting up my schedule to listen & take notes. Blissful Monday Morning to Andrew and everyone. stay healthy & Happy

[mlouw]

As someone who struggles with bulimia this is extra fascinating! One of the things that makes it so difficult to get overcome the condition/habit (when you’ve had it for a long time) is how horrible it feels to digest food. I think this is partially due to imbalances in the gut microbiome, low stomach acid, etc. this episode is giving me another lens to understand why I don’t always feel in control of my behavior.

[kiransamthomas]

Dr. Huberman, your content is gonna create superhumans! Thanks for everything that you're sharing with us.

[patmaloney]

Andrew, you are exactly what society needs, I have worked hard for years to help people understand their health and good resources are rare. Your natural ability at this is spectacular, and will have far reaching benefits.