The idea that gut health is central to our total health goes back thousands of years, but it's been largely absent from modern medicine and science until very recently. In my practice as a medical doctor and herbalist, I see the gut as the epicenter of health. It's often one of the first areas of the body that I work on for helping my patients with many, many different types of conditions.

What we know about the health of the newborn and the newborn's microbiome for example, how childhood and lifelong health can be altered by cesarean section or introduction of antibiotics to the mom in labor or at the time of the c-section, is eye-opening and just a tip of the iceberg on why the microbiome is something we should all know how to support and protect.

Today I want to introduce you to one of the world's leading microbiome experts, Dr. Joseph Petrosino. Dr Petrosino is a Professor and Interim Chairman of the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he's also the Director of the Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research.

You can find the show notes at avivaromm.com/microbiome-research/