The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, Marian speaks with the Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Viome Life Sciences, Momo Vuyisich. When he was in graduate school, Momo struggled with a mysterious autoimmune disease. He realized that doctors and drugs did not offer him any solutions and, empowered by his background in scientific research, got curious about the role that the gut microbiome was playing in his illness. He then went on to work for more than a decade as a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he and his team made discoveries about how to analyze and identify components of the microbiome, their interactions, and their functions.Understanding the power of this technology, and seeing the potential to shift the healthcare landscape and help millions of people, Momo founded Viome, a company that empowers consumers to understand and improve their health. On this episode, Marian and Momo talk about the role of the microbiome in health, and about the importance and complexity of diet-microbiome interactions. They discuss how companies like Viome can help bring clarity to the often confusing advice to "eat healthy", and about their shared experiences overcoming autoimmune disease by reconditioning their microbiomes and tailoring their diets, As they look ahead to the future of health, Marian and Momo talk about Viome's latest products, which are designed to promote the health of the oral microbiome, and Momo explains the role that the oral microbiome plays in total-body health and disease.For more information about Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.comFollow the Podcast on Instagram - @themarianflaxmannetworkTo learn more about Viome, please visit www.viome.comFollow Viome on Instagram- @viomeProduced by - @lucasashbysbraintrustSponsored by- www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. Today's guest is Gabriele Nicolet, a professional speech language pathologist and parenting coach, and the host of the Complicated Kids podcast. This conversation brings together nutrition and neurological function, behavior and survival instincts, and discussions about walking a winding path through life, and finding your passion and purpose. Gabriele was a French major in college, passionate about language learning and communication. Ultimately, that passion for communicating with others led her to return to school to train as a speech language pathologist, working with young children who are struggling to communicate with those around them. During her time in this field, Gabriele has witnessed remarkable changes and advances, including the growing understanding of the role that neurological function plays in speech development, and the role that the gut microbiome plays in neurological function. For more information on Gabriele and her impactful work, please visit: https://www.speechkids.com/ For Gabriele's broader coaching business, please visit: https://www.raisingorchidkids.com/ Follow Gabriele on Instagram- @speechkidsdc Follow Marian on Instagram- @marianff Connect with Marian on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/ Learn more about our sponsor: www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, a conversation with author and researcher, Dr. Ian Myles, MD, MPH. Dr. Myles runs a lab at NIH where he investigates the link between environmental contaminants, the skin microbiome, and eczema. He is a trained allergist and immunologist, who also has a fascination with the nervous system, and during this conversation he details many of the ways that those two systems connect and overlap. Additionally, he discusses the many issues that he sees with the field of population genetics research. This type of research has become a favorite of the media, who splash headlines that seem to connect genetics with all sorts of attributes, from intellect to food preferences. However, this type of research often lacks the basic scientific controls expected of all other research, and shades uncomfortably close to racist and eugenicist tropes about genetic pre-determinism. In this conversation, Marian and Dr. Myles discuss his book, Gattaca Has Fallen, dive into some especially troubling examples of this type of "research", and highlight the ethical issues with funding this field.For more information on Dr Ian Myles, visit https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/ian-myles-md-mphTo purchase his book, Gattaca Has Fallen, go to https://amzn.to/44NafheFollow Marian on Instagram @marianffConnect with Marian on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/Learn more about the work of our sponsor www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast! On this episode, Marian speaks with Dr. Sona Vasudevan, the Program Director of the Systems Medicine master's program at Georgetown University. They discuss Dr. Vasudevan's background, including her lifelong interest in science, and how her journey through education, research, and life, brought her to the DC area, and to Georgetown. She explains the concept of "Systems Medicine", and how it relates to other popular health topics like "functional" medicine and "precision" medicine. She also shares about her personal passion for nutrition, the microbiome, and traditional practices such as acupuncture and Ayurveda.Dr. Vasudevan is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, and she generously shares her thoughts, experiences, and insight throughout this episode, weaving together personal stories with fascinating scientific information. Although many people believe that "personalized medicine" and "public health" are at odds with each other, Marian and Sona discuss the many ways in which these frameworks overlap, and how they can be used to support and benefit each other.For more information on studying with Dr. Vasudevan and the master's degree in Systems Medicine, please visit https://systemsmedicine.georgetown.eduIf you have any questions or comments for Dr. Vasudevan, you can email her at sv67@georgetown.eduFollow Marian on Instagram @marianffConnect with Marian on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/Learn more about the work of our sponsor www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. What do farmers worry about, and what is the relationship between agricultural policy, nutrition access, and the health of society? Over the course of this episode, you will hear interviews with three people who work intimately within the food and agriculture space. Heather Sanford is a former full-time farmer, who now works as a consultant and advocate, helping farmers and sustainable food businesses succeed. James Black is the CEO of GivLyfe, a soil microbiome company that helps farmers restore and protect the health of their soil, and the future of their farms. Katherine Carestio is a cattle farmer located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She and her husband bought land that was overrun with invasive species, and transformed it into a productive farm with the help of ruminant animals and holistic land management. Their farm produces grass-fed beef and partners with other local businesses to improve the food security of their community, while also growing the local economy. These lived-experience experts share their insight alongside their own struggles and concerns, and also discuss the farm bill, or the bulk of legislation that allocates funding and other resources to farmers in the United States. Citing numerous sources, Marian discusses issues with the farm bill, including how it fails to support the needs of the growing "food as medicine" movement, and what might be done to rethink and reform it. Finally, Marian and her guests share their thoughts on what the average citizen can do to support the future of farms, food, and health in America. For a list of references used in today's episode, please see the extended show notes, found here.For more information on Heather, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-sandford/For more information on James and his work, please visit https://givlyfe.com/For more information on Katherine and her farm, please visit https://www.backbonefarm.org/ For more information on Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.comFollow Marian on Instagram- @marianffFollow the show on Youtube- @TheMarianFlaxmanNetworkConnect with Marian on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/For more information on our sponsor, please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. Keeping with our February theme of kombucha producers leading up to World Kombucha Day on 2/21, today's episode features a conversation with the owner and brewer at Boochy Call Kombucha, Eric Kelchlin. Eric was an avid beer brewer until he realized that he had developed a dangerous addiction, and needed to quit drinking completely. He got sober, and fell in love with kombucha as a replacement beverage, and hobby. After receiving a ton of positive feedback about the palatability of his brew, Eric decided to take the plunge and open his own kombucha company. He now serves kombucha to his community, selling at farmers markets, through door to door delivery, and his kombucha is on tap at local bars and restaurants. In this conversation, Marian and Eric tackle many topics that are critical to public health, including access to nutritious foods and the health benefits of fermented foods, mental health, addiction, potential improvements to local food systems, and how public health professionals and healthy food producers could shift their communication strategies so that people feel drawn into health conversations, rather than rejected by them. For more information on Marian please visit www.marianflaxman.comFollow Marian on Instagram- @marianff Connect with Marian on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/ For more information on Eric Kelchlin and his company, Boochy Call Kombucha, please visit https://boochycall.com/ Follow Boochy Call on Instagram @boochy_call_kombucha For more information on our sponsor please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, Marian presents a basic overview of the human microbiome. She describes what the microbiome is and establishes why it matters not only to individual human health, but to public health, environmental health, the future of healthcare, and social equity. For more information on all of the sources referenced in this episode, please find the links below. Books and FilmMissing Microbes by Dr. Martin BlaserGut Feelings by Dr. Alessio FasanoMicrobiomes- A Very Short Introduction by Dr. Angela E. DouglasThe Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease edited by Dirk HallerImmunology IV by Dr. Joseph BellantiThe Invisible Extinction DocumentaryPublications and ArticlesCani, P. D., & Knauf, C. (2021). A newly identified protein from Akkermansia muciniphila stimulates GLP-1 secretion. Cell metabolism, 33(6), 1073–1075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.05.004Chernikova, D. A., Zhao, M. Y., & Jacobs, J. P. (2022). Microbiome Therapeutics for Food Allergy. Nutrients, 14(23), 5155. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235155Foster, J. A., Rinaman, L., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). Stress & the gut-brain axis: Regulation by the microbiome. Neurobiology of stress, 7, 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2017.03.001Frame, L. A., Costa, E., & Jackson, S. A. (2020). Current explorations of nutrition and the gut microbiome: a comprehensive evaluation of the review literature. Nutrition reviews, 78(10), 798–812. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuz106Varesi, A., Campagnoli, L. I. M., Chirumbolo, S., Candiano, B., Carrara, A., Ricevuti, G., Esposito, C., & Pascale, A. (2023). The brain-gut-microbiota interplay in depression: A key to design innovative therapeutic approaches. Pharmacological research, 192, 106799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106799https://gutbites.org/2024/01/17/how-food-stimulates-natural-glp-1-through-your-gut-microbiome/For more information on Marian please visit www.marianflaxman.comFollow Marian on Instagram- @marianffConnect with Marian on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/For more information on our sponsor please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com