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The Science of Your Gut Sense & the Gut-Brain Axis | Dr. Diego Bohórquez

Episode 178 May 27, 2024 2h 42m 15 insights
In this episode, my guest is Dr. Diego Bohórquez, PhD, professor of medicine and neurobiology at Duke University and a pioneering researcher into how we use our ‘gut sense.’ He describes how your gut communicates to your brain and the rest of your body through hormones and neural connections to shape your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. He explains how your gut senses a range of features such as temperature, pH, the macro- and micronutrients in our foods, and much more and signals that information to the brain to affect our food preferences, aversions, and cravings. Dr. Bohórquez describes his early life in the Amazon jungle and how exposure to traditional agriculture inspired his unique expertise combining nutrition, gastrointestinal physiology, and neuroscience. We discuss how the gut and brain integrate sensory cues, leading to our intuitive “gut sense” about food, people, and situations. This episode provides a scientific perspective into your gut sense to help you make better food choices and, indeed, to support better decision-making in all of life. For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com.
Actionable Insights

1. Heed Your Gut Intuition

Pay more attention to your gut’s subtle signals and feelings (gut intuition) to make better decisions about food, social interactions, and higher-order life choices, as the gut-brain axis significantly influences emotions, cravings, and behavior.

2. Optimize Sleep with Custom Mattress

Use a mattress customized to your unique sleep needs to ensure a great night’s sleep, which is the foundation of mental health, physical health, and performance.

3. Daily Electrolyte Hydration

Dissolve one packet of Element (electrolytes with no sugar) in 16-32 ounces of water first thing in the morning and during physical exercise to ensure adequate hydration and electrolyte balance for proper brain and body functioning.

4. Foundational Daily Nutrition with AG1

Consume AG1 once or twice daily to ensure foundational nutritional support, providing essential vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, and micronutrients that cover nutritional needs and support gut, immune, and brain health.

5. Prioritize Sufficient Protein Intake

Ensure sufficient protein intake in your diet, as low protein content can lead to increased consumption of other foods to compensate, while complete absence of protein (without high fiber) can lead to avoidance of that food.

6. Increase Fiber for Plant-Based Amino Acids

If following a plant-based diet, consume a diet rich in highly digestible dietary fibers, as this can enable gut microorganisms to synthesize essential amino acids, compensating for the lack of animal-based protein.

7. Avoid Low-Protein Meals

If aiming to reduce meat intake, avoid meals with only small amounts of protein, as the gut may drive increased consumption of that meal to compensate for the perceived protein deficiency, potentially leading to overeating.

8. Get Morning Sunlight Exposure

Expose your eyes to sunlight early in the day to leverage the long and short wavelength contrast that signals morning to your brain, which is crucial for regulating circadian rhythms and overall well-being.

9. Avoid Evening Bright Light

Avoid bright light in the evening and nighttime to prevent disruption of your circadian rhythms, which are influenced by light quality and impact arousal levels and overall health.

10. Don’t Override Body Signals

Pay attention to and do not override subtle body signals like discomfort or pain, as ignoring these early warnings can lead to more significant injury or health issues.

11. Employ Physiological Sigh for Calm

Utilize the physiological sigh technique (two inhales followed by a full exhale until lungs are empty) as a core physiological mechanism to activate the vagus nerve and induce a state of calm.

12. Use Humming for Calm

Practice humming, as it has been linked to vasodilation and calming effects, and is used in various religious practices to induce states of tranquility.

13. Foster Connection with Shared Meals

Engage in shared meals or drinks with others, as this ritualistic act can synchronize intuition and foster connection, potentially aiding in business dealings or strengthening social bonds.

14. Use Daily Red Light Therapy

Use medical-grade red light therapy devices daily, especially when traveling, to improve cellular health, aid muscle recovery, boost skin health, reduce pain and inflammation, and enhance sleep.

15. Adopt Guayusa Morning Ritual

Consider adopting a morning ritual of drinking guayusa tea for energy, pain relief, and appetite suppression, potentially followed by a lipid and fiber-rich food like chonta, to sustain energy and modulate appetite until later in the day.