Urolithin A from Pomegranate for Brain Health. Podcast with Dr. Julie Andersen
We have long recognized, on an intuitive level, that the gut and the mind are linked. You can look no further than some of our idiomatic expressions to find evidence of this. Just as one example, have you ever had butterflies in your stomach before getting up in front of a group of people to speak? However, it is only relatively recently that we have been endowed with the technology and expertise to really understand the relationship between the gut and the brain. Much of the interaction between these organs appears to be mediated by the gut microbiota – the collection of bacteria and other microbes living inside the gastrointestinal tract. For instance, we now know that gut bacteria generate neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin, which play a role in mood and cognition. Additionally, gut microbes produce metabolites like butyrate, which may influence brain function. The composition of your gut microbiome gets established relatively early in life, and s...