The brain in your gut - Dr Zoe Williams

Welcome back to Health Unwrapped and this is episode 3 of Series 3. We'll be speaking once again to  Dr. Zoe Williams, who is expecting her first child. In this episode, Zoe explains how we should look after our gut health and shares her experiences of what she has learned about her body during her pregnancy.

What we discussed: 

• How the gut brain and gut microbiome are connected.
• The chemicals and hormones your gut produces and how it communicates with the brain to turn on and off our hunger hormones or regulate our mood. 
• How your gut microbiome influences your brain and how your brain influences your gut via the nervous system.
• What state we need to be in, for digestion to occur. 
• How the importance of the microbiome is getting more and more robust. 
• Dietary changes which can help your gut.
• The importance of fibre.
• How 70-80% of our immune functions reside in our gut.
• The complexity of the immune system.
• How well our immunity system is functioning has been a hot topic during the pandemic as we want to ensure it is functioning properly and working optimally - not boosted. 
• The danger of ‘boosting’  our immunity system and how it could lead to autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease. 
• How the pandemic has given us more time to be aware of what is going on with our body and recognise patterns.  Zoe chatted with Alieash from Strictly and has identified which foods triggers his psoriasis.
• How eating slowly and taking time to chew our food is really important for digestive health  Each bite should be chewed 25 times.
• How we can maintain the good habits we’ve developed during lockdown - such as having porridge for breakfast. 
• How to feed your gut microbiome on a budget.
• Being pregnant during the pandemic and coping with the stress and anxiety.
• How the body changes when pregnant and its impact on the gut as your bowel ‘forgets its purpose’ which is part of why pregnant women suffer constipation. 
• Foods you should avoid during pregnancy  - and how to deal with gut issues when you are pregnant. 
• Understanding supplements, what you need to consider and how everyone is different. Think about your gut like a garden in how you can support it. 
• What you can do to maintain your wellbeing and gut health once you have your baby - by getting support. 

SOCIAL:
Dr Zoe Williams on Instagram
Bioglan on Twitter
Bioglan on Facebook
Bioglan on Instagram 

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