On this episode we have guest Grace Liu (of Animal Pharm and The Gut Institute fame). Grace is a Jedi of gut health, and one of the most knowledgeable people on the topic that we know. Listen as we geek out a bit, talk about all things gut related, and even delve a little into some of what she does with her functional medicine patients. Whether you’re a beginner or expert on gut health, I promise there will be a lot of interesting material here for you.
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Guest: Grace Liu (PharmD, AFMCP)
http://thegutinstitute.com/
http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/ (old site)
Follow @Gut_Goddess Twitter
Follow The Gut Institute Facebook
A couple of the products discussed on the show:
Tools to Maximize the Microbiome (Free Prephage with Prescript Assist + Ultra BIFIDO|MAXIMUS Probiotic)
Equilibrium, Ancestral 115-Strain Probiotic
Bio:
Grace is a trained functional medicine practitioner and clinical pharmacist with a doctorate in practice for 19+ years and specializes in complex disease management. What she does is consult and help clients to gain optimal performance through rebuilding the biome after damage from modern living. She uses nutrigenomic tools and other advanced functional lab testing. Currently she’s training some functional medicine leaders to approach gut protocols with her expertise. Some of her clients include paleo movement leaders and a UFC MMA fighter in the top 10. She’s been invited to speak at Ancestral Health and PaleoFx for two years in a row, interviewed for a documentary (‘Microbirth’ producers) and Womens Health UK magazine on the skin-gut microbiome.
30 Day Guide to the Paleo Diet
Want some extra help? Have you been trying Paleo for a while but have questions or aren’t sure what the right exercise program is for you? Or maybe you just want a 30-day meal plan and shopping list to make things easier? We’ve created a getting started guide to help you through your first 30 days.
Martin says
Robb, the gut biome will not be the next thing.
Not because it’s unimportant but because it’s too complex. It will take more than 5 or 10 years to figure out the mechanisms that the gut bacteria trigger or participate in. It may also never happen. And even we do learn it all, it won’t be immediately clear how to use that knowledge in clinical practice or daily life. It is also possible that the truth is still elsewhere, much deeper perhaps and that the gut biome is acting reactively to some other processes. Even Grace Liu doesn’t rule that out (cf. her podcast with Chriss Kelly) (Also, as a totally wild pitch, think about the sub-atomic issues Jack Kruze keeps talking about, way below the bacteria level, sounds crazy, but who knows what’s really down the rabbit hole).
The next big thing is what is available to all us right now: sleep, stress control through meditation, mindfulness and good education.
Spend a million dollars on gut biome research or testing and you haven’t even started setting up the lab properly. Spend the same amount to educate kids how to approach their bodies and eating in a mindful way and the results will be tremendous. And the gut health will follow.
You don’t need to understand all the mechanisms to make perfect use of them.
M says
You make some great points, very interesting take on it.
tony andrews says
Stop being so cynical jeez
Martin says
I still enjoyed the podcast 🙂
Michelle says
Hi Robb and Grace, awesome podcast as usual. Super interested to follow the new developments in gut health so thanks for keeping us informed.
I’m confused about the recommendations for potato starch. When Grace says people on potato starch get fatter and it causes bad bacteria growth, is that referring to cooked white potatoes, or some specific starch supplement (raw potato starch – what is that?). I took a look at her blog and it looks like she is recommending potatoes as a source of starch/fiber? I know potatoes are not technically paleo… is the recommendation that they would be an ok addition to a paleo diet?
Martin says
An analogy that has just come to my mind: at the low level learning boils down to establishing new connections between neurons. But we all learn by experiencing events, never touching the underlying neural structures directly. If your baby is learning the language would you ever consider exposing him/her to random noise (so that they cannot learn on their own) and then manipulating the neurons surgically(?) so that the neural network resembles that of a population that can speak the language? Or would you consider a neural transplant for kids who struggle with language development?
Evan E says
Is it reasonable to think that my feeling tired after eating any sort of food could be related to my gut health?
Squatchy says
Possibly, would be something to look into.
Kelly Jean says
Has anyone here worked with Grace?
Christy says
Hello, After listening to this podcast, I ordered several supplements from Grace’s store. Only one arrived. That was a month ago. I emailed via her website 3 weeks ago, but got no response. There is no phone number for her. I feel my hands are tied and this is very frustrating. Can anyone please help? Thank you so much, Christy