Health Beyond the Blog: The Gut Microbiome

Drs. Cassandra Quave & Rheinallt Jones Discuss the Emerging Science of the Microbiome in our Digestive Tracks

by Madison Woods

Dr. Cassandra Quave is a medical ethnobotanist from Emory University and hosts the podcast Foodie Pharmacology. On October 18th, 2021, an episode was released titled Probiotics, gut health, and the microbiome. The episode features Dr. Rheinallt Jones, a pediatric gastroenterologist, who informs listeners of the science behind what many simply refer to as their digestive tract but is scientifically known as the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome affects health by expeditiously evolving to give us new frontline defense against pathogens that may enter our digestive system. When this microbiome is imbalanced, with unhealthy and healthy microbes, it can cause weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and other health disorders. Here, Drs. Quave and Jones highlight that our diets affect our health beyond weight gain or loss. 

Anyone interested in their health would enjoy Foodie Pharmacology. On most episodes, Dr. Quave has a guest speaker that speaks on their specialty. The episodes include topics ranging from agriculture, nutrition, internal medicine, mental health, and more. Moreover, Dr. Quave makes the listener feel like they are in on the conversation between herself and the guest. I have had lots of health problems relating to my digestive system, and my mother does not have a colon or part of her small intestine. This makes food consumption even more important to my family than it was before. While none of our health conditions are directly related to a bad diet, what we eat plays a large part in how we feel. Although this was the first episode I listened to of the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, being able to feel entertained, included, and keep my attention held while I learned about my body made me want to continue listening to Dr. Quaves’ podcast. 

The gut microbiome plays such a vital role in human health and learning about it in an entertaining and personal way made me want to continue to learn from Dr. Quave. I would recommend this episode in particular as a beginning choice. The episode can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, cassandraquave.com, and most all other streaming services. Listen Here