The role of gut bugs in health is explored by Dr Wayne Cutfield from the University of Auckland during the 2019 Raising the Bar night.

The role of gut bugs in health is explored by Dr Wayne Cutfield at the 2019 Raising the Bar night.

Listen to Dr Wayne Cutfield on recent discoveries about the importance of gut bugs to our health

Who made the call to eat a second scone at the coffee shop? You or your gut bugs?

These tiny but influential bacteria that live in our bodies are called gut microbiome - and they may be manipulating more aspects of your life than you realise.

Studies show that our gut bugs influence not only our health but also our mental wellbeing, behaviour and appetite.

Dementia, anxiety, autism, liver disease and a host of other issues can be linked to our gut bugs. So how can we fix gut bugs gone bad?

The solution probably isn't what you'd expect.

Brace yourself, because one of the most exciting new frontiers of medical research will unveil itself in this remarkable talk by one of New Zealand's experts in the field.

Dr Wayne Cutfield

Dr Wayne Cutfield is a professor of paediatric endocrinology at the University of Auckland and director of A Better Start National Science Challenge. He was previously director of the Liggins Institute. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading journals that include the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet. He was featured in the perspectives section of the Lancet in 2015. His research interests include the gut microbiome, understanding our microbiome and microbiome treatment. He has also focused on early life events that impact long-term health and wellbeing. He balances a busy clinical career with his research activities.

Raising the Bar was recorded in association with the University of Auckland

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details