#148 Dr Jason Hawrelak is a research scientist, educator, naturopath and Western herbalist with more than 18 years’ clinical experience. Jason practices at Goulds Natural Medicine, a 136-year-old natural medicine apothecary and clinic located in central Hobart. He did his Honours and PhD degrees examining the causes of dysbiosis and the capacity of probiotics, prebiotics and herbal medicines to modify the gut microbiome and has written extensively in the medical literature on these topics – including 16 textbook chapters.

He is on the Medical Nutrition Council of the American Society for Nutrition and was recently awarded a Fellowship from the American College of Nutrition for his significant contributions to the teaching and practice of nutrition in Australia and North America. Jason is also a Fellow of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia. He is Chief Research Officer at ProbioticAdvisor.com, which offers a searchable database that enables easy, evidence-based prescribing of probiotic products and online resources for clinicians, and health-conscious members of the public, to learn more about the human microbiome and how they can positively influence these ecosystems.

In this episode we cover

• What a probiotic is and how they work in our body
• In last week's episode there was discussion that probiotics could be classified into three categories and that all you need to do is use one quality formula from each category, together. Jason and I challenge this idea
• What spore forming bacteria is
• How the gut and gut bacteria are tied to the immune system 
• Specific probiotic strains that support immune function, respiratory health and even stress and anxiety during these challenging times
• How supplemental probiotics differ from food based probiotics such as kimchi, sauerkraut, yoghurt, kefir, pickles etc
• How to ensure that we are getting a good quality probiotic which matches the claims made on that supplement
• And so much more