High Intensity Health with Mike Mutzel, MS

Alanna Collen is a British science writer with degrees in biology from Imperial College London, and a PhD in evolutionary biology from University College London and the Zoological Society of London. In this episode we discuss the details of her book, 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness. 

As you’ve heard before on the show, our gut bacteria act as an intermediary between us and our environment.  We cannot change our genes, but we can change how they express themselves.  That’s epigenetics.  We can influence gut bacteria more directly, which affects our epigenetics.  Our gut bacteria play a huge role in influencing disease and our overall health.   

 

We thought of the large intestine as a place where water is absorbed and where stools are formed. Traditionally, we have not been concerned with the biochemical processes that go on in the large intestine.  But we now find that what out gut microbes do in the large intestine and elsewhere is very important to nutrition, appetite regulation and the way we store energy.  

Direct download: 107_alanna_collen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:44am PDT