Most people think about the gut as a digestive system, yet emerging research shows it functions more like a command center shaping immunity, metabolism, mood, and even coronary artery calcification. The surprising twist is that your gut may be influencing your brain more than your brain influences your gut.

In this episode of Extend, we sit down with Dr. Steven Gundry, cardiac surgeon and world leading expert on the microbiome, to uncover how gut bacteria communicate with your mitochondria and brain, why leaky gut silently drives inflammation throughout the entire body, and how keystone species like Akkermansia help rebuild the gut barrier. We break down the role of vitamin D in activating gut stem cells, the impact of glyphosate on serotonin producing bacteria, and why pasteurized or even dead bacteria can modulate the ecosystem just as powerfully as live strains.

We also explore how gut derived signals from short chain fatty acids, gasotransmitters, and microbial messenger RNA shape mood, cognition, vascular health, and long term aging trajectories.

Dr. Steven Gundry is a renowned heart surgeon, bestselling author, and pioneering researcher in microbiome science whose work has transformed our understanding of gut driven inflammation, autoimmune disease, and the gut brain axis.

What's Discussed:

• (04:10) Why the gut acts as the body's first brain

• (07:45) How good and bad microbes compete for control of your cravings and mood

• (12:30) Why Akkermansia and other keystone species determine gut wall integrity

• (16:55) How dead and pasteurized bacteria still shape the microbiome

• (21:20) The link between leaky gut, coronary calcification, and systemic inflammation

• (27:40) How vitamin D activates gut stem cells to repair the intestinal barrier

• (32:15) How microbial gasotransmitters, short chain fatty acids, and mRNA communicate with the brain

• (38:50) Why glyphosate disrupts serotonin producing bacteria and impacts mental health

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Learn more about Dr. Shah:

Website: https://www.drshah.com/

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