Unlocking Gut Health: The Microbiome's Impact on Wellness with Aviva Romm, MD
In this episode of Health Gig, Tricia and Doro dive deep into the world of gut health and its profound impact on overall wellness. Joined by Aviva Romm, MD, a renowned expert in integrative medicine and herbalism, the trio explores the intricate connections between our microbiome, hormones, mental health, and more. From the role of leaky gut and dysbiosis to the effects of stress and food sensitivities, they unravel the mysteries of our gut's influence on brain health, metabolism, and even hormonal balance.
Dr. Romm shares practical advice on incorporating fiber-rich foods, making dietary adjustments, and embracing mindfulness for a healthier gut. With candid discussions on gluten, IBS, and the potential of food sensitivity testing, this episode offers a comprehensive guide to harnessing the power of the microbiome for optimal well-being. This episode was recorded as part of the 2022 Achieving Optimal Health Conference.
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Quotes:
“If we can’t absorb what we are eating and make good nutrition out of it for our bodies. We aren't building ourselves, we aren’t nourishing ourselves.” - Aviva Romm, MD
“Antibiotic use in our mid-life can actually be significant enough of an impact that it can potentially impact our cognitive function in our later years. So this connection between the gut and our brain is becoming all the more clearly powerful.” - Aviva Romm, MD
“To prevent colon cancer we need 30g of fiber from our food every day. The average American gets 15g of fiber. We need that healthy fiber to feed the microbiome, they thrive on it. Then that healthy microbiome produces mucus and other chemicals that keep that gut lining healthy, so that it doesn’t get leaky and inflamed.” - Aviva Romm, MD
Show Notes:
Aviva Romm: No matter how old I seem to get, I can never look like some of these elegant women that I see because I always feel like I'm still a kid inside.
Aviva Romm: I'm 55 and I started studying this integrative medicine. It wasn't even called that back then when I was 15 and started practicing as a midwife when I was 20. So 35 years of practice now. It's crazy.
Aviva Romm: the other big area that women come to see me for are autoimmune conditions. But interestingly, there's an important hormonal connection for many women there as well.
Aviva Romm: If we can't absorb what we're eating and make good nutrition out of it for our bodies, we aren't building ourselves. We aren't nourishing ourselves.
Aviva Romm: Our metabolism, our brain health, our sleep, our hormones. We're kind of learning. There's basically no end to how much our microbiome influences us. And for women, this may be particularly important because our estrogen metabolism is in our liver, which is technically in our gut and has a huge amount to do with our microbiome.
Aviva Romm: when we start to eat, that can lay the foundation for a healthy or unhealthy microbiome, high levels of intense stress. So people who find themselves born into without their control, of course, lower socioeconomic strata with a lot more social stress, economic stress, mental health stressors, violence in communities can actually affect the microbiome for many, many people, but also trauma of any kind.
Aviva Romm: The average American will receive 18 rounds of antibiotics by the time she is 18 to 20 years old, or he. And that antibiotic use can have also a profound impact on the microbiome development.
Aviva Romm: A study just came out showing that antibiotic use in our midlife can actually be significant of enough of an impact that it can potentially affect our cognitive function in our later years. So this connection between the gut and the brain is becoming all the more clearly powerful as we learn more about it.
Aviva Romm: There's a phenomenon, believe it or not, called brain inflammation that can alter how the health of our brain and our cognitive function is.
Aviva Romm: we need healthful amounts of nutrients in order to have brain health. And so when our gut isn't reabsorbing nutrients, well, that can also affect our brain.
Aviva Romm: according to historical or food anthropological evidence, our ancestors going back to Paleolithic times until around modern agrarian culture, got about 100g of fiber in their diet just from their diet every day. Naturally, our current status is that the American College of Gastroenterologists recommends that to prevent colon cancer, we need 30g of fiber from our food. Every day the average American gets 15g of fiber, and we need that healthy fiber to feed the microbiome. They thrive on it.
Aviva Romm: I tell you, when I have patients who are constipated and they start pooping again, I sometimes feel like those patients just want to jump through the telemedicine and hug me.
Aviva Romm: the other thing is getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night because your microbiome works on a circadian rhythm. They need us to get good rest. They can literally get jet lagged when we're not getting good rest. So four simple things, more fruits and vegetables, a variety of fruits and vegetables, 30 minutes of walking, ideally every day, 4 to 5 times a week and 7 to 9 hours of sleep. And you're really going to make a huge difference. And you can change your gut health in really just a matter of weeks.
Aviva Romm: those proteins from gluten or the proteins in wheat specifically the glutens can actually irritate the gut even if you don't have celiac disease. So I think our modern diets and our modern living and these problems that are in our gut make us more sensitive to gluten.
Aviva Romm: nobody has to have gluten. So going off of it and staying off of it for a few months, you really may notice some huge turnarounds. And it's really interesting how many medical conditions are associated with gluten intolerance. And celiac is a very serious autoimmune condition.
Aviva Romm: often one of the cardinal signs of it is if you do have these gassy bloating symptoms, going to the bathroom relieves it, or if you have discomfort, going to the bathroom relieves it. But sometimes there's a feeling of needing to go to the bathroom and then it's harder to. So that can all be IBS, irritable bowel syndrome.
Aviva Romm: 80% of women compared to men have will experience IBS and about half of all women do experience it and it's worse premenstrual. So women find it worse when they go into perimenopause and menopause. The hormones start to change and along with it, so does the microbiome. So it's a really common symptom, but it's very resolvable.
Aviva Romm: In my practice, I always start with the elimination diet, and I only do food sensitivity testing if someone's still having symptoms or six, 12 weeks in.