Let's Gut Real - Easy to Digest Nutrition Science

I interview Dr Suzanne Devkota on her research on the gut microbiota and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and colitis) and the role our diet plays in fostering a healthy microbiome, and possibly reducing the incidence of IBD. We also discuss how microbial changes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD.

Dr. Devkota is a gut microbiome researcher who has been studying the effect of diet on the gut microbiome and inflammatory diseases for the past 12 years. She is the Director of Microbiome Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and assistant professor at UCLA. She serves on several national microbiome initiatives including the American Gastroenterological Association’s Center for Gut Microbiome Research and Education, as well as the Human Gut Cell Atlas, and has recently spoken on expert panels at the Nobel Prize Dialogues in Berlin and Tokyo. She is a Branco Weiss fellow, and former Lindau Nobel fellow. Dr. Devkota earned her Ph.D from The University of Chicago, and did her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Devkota and I discuss:

• how diet has changed our gut microbiome since moving to a Westernized diet
• are microbes involved in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• populations at risk of inflammatory bowel disease
• how diet may play a role in the prevention or management of IBD
• environmental influences on the gut microbiota + the development of IBD
• how fat influences changes in the microbiome and subsequent development of IBD
• how diets and bile acids influence your gut microbiome and may be implicated in IBD
• microbial extinction – speculations and disease development through the generations
• where is the research going to prevent negative changes in the gut microbiome
• Pre, pro and post biotics
• future research (we could touch on whatever you like, diet, FMT, etc.)
• Suzanne’s experience of intermittent fasting & how it may impact the microbiome

Want to learn more from Dr. Suzanne Devkota? Follow her on Instagram!

Enzymes are important for any living organism and play a huge part in the day-to-day operations of the human body. Enzymes provide a number of very vital processes – not only for digestion but for the nervous system, muscles, and many other important bodily functions.

This week I interview Anjie Liu and David Hachuel creators of FODZYME® to discuss how digestive enzymes can specifically help with IBS symptoms.

Co-founded by Anjie Liu and David Hachuel, MPH, Kiwi Biosciences is a human-centered biotech company developing elegant scientific solutions for extraordinary gut relief. FODZYME® was developed with a group of world-class experts in enzymology, biotechnology, medicine, and nutrition, FODZYME® was released to the world in Spring 2021. On a mission to make more foods painless, the team is working on a novel polyol-targeting enzyme to address the polyol group of the FODMAP family in development. The new solution will be transforming polyols like sorbitol and mannitol into sorbose and mannose that are more readily absorbed in the gut.

We talk about:

• What enzymes are, and how they work in the body
• Why certain enzymes are beneficial in IBS
• Why FODMAPs cause symptoms
• What enzymes are found in FODZYME® (including information about alpha galactosidase, lactase, and inulinase) and what their research has found
• How FODZYME® and its unique delivery system works to improve patient symptoms
• How the production of fructose occurs with inulinase, and when this may or may not be problematic
• Glucose isomerase - is it beneficial to fructose malabsorption? Why or why not
• Next steps in novel enzyme development

Connect with FODZYME® on their website at fodzyme.com on Instagram @fodzyme or on Twitter or on their Facebook here as well!

It’s not always easy to identify what may be causing infant colic or infant allergy reactions. Infant food sensitivities are common and can result in projectile vomiting, reflux, mucousy/bloody stool, and more - which can be very distressing to parents and lead to unnecessary dietary restrictions.

This week I interview Dr. Trill Paullin on Infant Food Sensitivities, how they arise and what we can do to help manage them

Dr Trill is a Molecular Biologist and mother to two daughters who had severe infant food sensitivities and reactions to proteins transferred from my diet to her breast milk. After she processed the painful fact that she could hurt my children through breastfeeding, she started researching how to produce breast milk they could properly digest. She discovered that many parents experience the same troubling situation. Through this experience, she wanted to create a place for parents to find answers to their questions about infant food sensitivities and empower them to continue their breastfeeding journey. That was how Free to Feed was born. Free to Feed is starting this mission by first creating an at-home test strip that will allow mothers to analyze their breast milk for allergens.

We talk about:

• How Trill became interested in the field of infant allergies
• The origin of Trill’s company Free to Feed
• What the differences are between non-Ige mediated allergies (FPIAP and FPIES) and IgE mediated allergies
• How the symptoms between these three diagnoses differ
• How to identify what may be causing infant allergies
• What the treatment options are for mothers trying to cope with infant allergies
• How Trill was able to gather data in this area of research that was largely unrepresented in the literature.
• The research around transferability and reaction timing
• The lack of support for families dealing with non-IgE mediated infant allergies and the importance of validating these experiences
• What Free to Feed offers today to help parents navigate this journey.
• At-home breastmilk test strips as well as infant allergen friendly multivitamins

Connect with Trill on her website at freetofeed.com on Instagram @free.to.free on Twitter or on her Facebook here as well!

Did you know, how you experience bloating can say a lot about what is going on in your gut? Bloating and distension can give us clues as to what is going on in your gut and how to best help!

This week I interview Tamara Duker Freuman, RD on IBS symptom language and why it's KEY to understanding what a patients bloating means. Plus, we cover different gut disorders and how bloating and distension present with each - getting clear on how to discuss bloating with patients so you can 'sleuth out' what is going on!

Tamara Duker Freuman is a registered dietitian and is nationally known for her expertise in digestive health and medical nutrition therapy for gastrointestinal diseases. She works out of East River Gastroenterology & Nutrition (www.eastrivergastro.com), a private Manhattan-based practice known for its expertise in disorders of the gut-brain axis and specialized diagnostics.

In addition to her clinical work, Tamara is a high-profile nutrition writer whose advice on healthy living and dietary management of digestive disease has been read by hundreds of thousands of people each month.

Tamara is the author of one of my favorite books - The Bloated Belly Whisperer. If you haven’t read it, you absolutely need to. Today, she is here to talk to us about everything bloating related.

We talk about:

• Tamara’s background and how she became interested in digestive disorders
• The difference between bloating and distension and why they occur
• How bloating and distension relate to IBS symptom management
• The symptoms of constipation-induced bloating
• The symptom of upper gut bloating / early onset bloating
• Functional dyspepsia what it is, and how it is different from IBS
• The symptoms of impaired gastric accommodation
• Whether bloating is always related to food
• If ‘I feel bloated’ is the new ‘I feel fat’ and what people should know about the intersection of body image and bloating
• Body dysmorphia, how to identify it in patients and the different treatment approaches to consider

Connect with Tamara on her website at www.eastrivergastro.com on Instagram @tamarafreuman or on Twitter or on her Facebook here as well!

Diary is a highly debated food. Does it contain hormones? Does it cause inflammation? This week I interview RD Lauren Twigge on how dairy is shaped by media perception and what the research shows.

Lauren Twigge is a Dallas based registered and licensed Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition and a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. She works in corporate wellness and counsels private clients by day and runs her growing Instagram account by night. Lauren was born and raised in a family of farmers located in central California and is an outspoken supporter of the agricultural industry. Growing up on a dairy and being raised around farming her whole life has given Lauren a unique perspective on food and her passion is to work at the crux of agriculture and human nutrition to fight misinformation and give consumers back their food confidence.

We talk about:

• How Lauren became interested in the field of dietetics
• Where the fear of dairy comes from
• Misinformation around agriculture
• The difference between a dairy intolerance vs allergy
• Why do we consume dairy / is it good for us?
• Does dairy cause inflammation?
• Does dairy cause autoimmune conditions like IBD?
• Do the hormones in dairy affect my hormones?
• Does the type of milk I choose matter? (organic, non-GMO, grass fed, etc.)
• The safety and nutrition of different types of milk on the market
• Organic vs. conventional dairy
• Are there antibiotics in milk?

Connect with Lauren on Instagram @nutrition.at.its.roots or on her website laurentwiggenutrition.com