Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, Marian presents a basic overview of the human microbiome. She describes what the microbiome is and establishes why it matters not only to individual human health, but to public health, environmental health, the future of healthcare, and social equity. 

For more information on all of the sources referenced in this episode, please find the links below. 

Books and Film

Missing Microbes by Dr. Martin Blaser

Gut Feelings by Dr. Alessio Fasano

Microbiomes- A Very Short Introduction by Dr. Angela E. Douglas

The Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease edited by Dirk Haller

Immunology IV by Dr. Joseph Bellanti

The Invisible Extinction Documentary

Publications and Articles

Cani, P. D., & Knauf, C. (2021). A newly identified protein from Akkermansia muciniphila stimulates GLP-1 secretion. Cell metabolism, 33(6), 1073–1075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.05.004

Chernikova, D. A., Zhao, M. Y., & Jacobs, J. P. (2022). Microbiome Therapeutics for Food Allergy. Nutrients, 14(23), 5155. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235155

Foster, J. A., Rinaman, L., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). Stress & the gut-brain axis: Regulation by the microbiome. Neurobiology of stress, 7, 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2017.03.001

Frame, L. A., Costa, E., & Jackson, S. A. (2020). Current explorations of nutrition and the gut microbiome: a comprehensive evaluation of the review literature. Nutrition reviews, 78(10), 798–812. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuz106

Varesi, A., Campagnoli, L. I. M., Chirumbolo, S., Candiano, B., Carrara, A., Ricevuti, G., Esposito, C., & Pascale, A. (2023). The brain-gut-microbiota interplay in depression: A key to design innovative therapeutic approaches. Pharmacological research, 192, 106799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106799

https://gutbites.org/2024/01/17/how-food-stimulates-natural-glp-1-through-your-gut-microbiome/

For more information on Marian please visit www.marianflaxman.com

Follow Marian on Instagram- @marianff

Connect with Marian on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-flaxman/

For more information on our sponsor please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast! On today's episode, a conversation with Nancy Illman.

Nancy is an artist, a mother, and a holistic health practitioner. Most recently, she is the author of a new memoir- Instigator of Joy: Becoming My Own Fairy Godmother. From the books description, "In this magical and moving memoir, the author shares her journey of overcoming abuse, isolation and despair to discover her enormous personal power. Brought up to believe she needed to shrink herself in order to be rescued, Nancy Illman shows us the rich rewards of being our authentic selves. Decades after writing her Harvard honors thesis on the failure of feminist authors to provide an appealing alternative to traditional fairytales, Nancy has become her own fairy godmother and has told her own story."

The book details Nancy's unique journey through life, including scenes from her often difficult childhood, going off to Harvard at the age of 16, learning to heal her relationship with food and her body, exploring her identity through lived experience and genealogy, getting in touch with her intuition, and developing her passions for art, music, and holistic wellbeing. The book also touches on many topics that are critical to public health, such as access to mental health care, the power of a supportive community, and access to women's reproductive care. Nancy and Marian read lines from the book, and discuss a wide variety of topics that relate to health, public health, personal development, and intuition.

For more information on Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.com

Follow Marian on Instagram- @marianff

Follow the podcast on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarianFlaxmanNetwork

For more information about Nancy Illman, her book, and her work, please visit https://nancyillman.com

To work with Nancy, please visit https://astralplaydates.com

Order Nancy's book- https://amzn.to/48Z1j9j

Follow Nancy on Instagram- @Nancy_Illman

For more information about our sponsor, please visit-

www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast! On today's episode, Marian speaks with Daria from The Real Russian Club. Daria has been a podcaster and YouTuber since 2016, and she teaches the Russian language along with Russian history and culture. In this episode, she and Marian discuss the importance of studying the language and history of other cultures for promoting cross-cultural tolerance, peace, and public health. They also speak about Daria's love of history, what led her to teach Russian to foreigners on the internet, why she loves the Russian language, and how she feels about the internet hatred she has faced during her time as a content creator. Both Daria and Marian are busy moms who are passionate about making the world a better place through their work, and they share about their passion, interests, and hope for the future in this conversation which merges the topics of language learning, the study of history, and how to build a healthier, more peaceful world.

For more information on Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.com

Find Marian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianff/

Find MFN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarianflaxmannetwork/

To learn from Daria on YouTube, please visit https://www.youtube.com/@RealRussianClub

Find Daria on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realrussianclub

Find Daria on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realrussianclub/

To listen to Daria's podcasts, please visit

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slow-russian/id1069742339

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tprs-russian-effortless-russian/id1364109052

To study Russian with Daria, please visit https://russian.fromzerotofluency.com/courses/from-zero-to-fluency

To learn more about Daria's new English language, Russian history and culture courses, please visit https://russian.fromzerotofluency.com/courses/the-essence-of-russian-christmas

Welcome back to The Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, Marian speaks with People for the American Way President and former Mayor of Ithaca, NY, Svante Myrick. Svante was the youngest mayor ever elected in NY state when he was elected in 2011 at the age of 24. He served in that role for more than a decade, becoming the longest ever serving mayor of Ithaca, before stepping down to begin his journey into the broader stage of national politics. He is a passionate advocate for affordable housing, voting rights, education, and other issues that are critical to a functioning society, and to public health. He shares about his childhood, his experience with education, his love of community, and why he is so committed to working in public service. He also speaks about his relationship with People for the American Way's founder Norman Lear, and what we can all learn from Lear's life, and legacy. Finally, Svante shares his thoughts on the future of the nation, and the importance of every single citizen showing up, and contributing positively to society.

For more information about Svante and his current work with People for the American Way, please visit. https://www.pfaw.org

During his time as mayor, Svante worked on many public policy issues that are critical to public health. You can read more about them here.

For more information about Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.com

For more information about our sponsor, please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

On today's episode, Marian speaks with Dr. Melissa Hawkins. Dr. Hawkins is an epidemiologist, researcher, professor, and the Associate Chair of the Health Studies Department at American University. As a teenager, she was rejected from her top choice college, and thought that maybe academia wasn't for her. However, she allowed for the possibility that another school could be the right fit, and after obtaining a degree in anthropology, she stumbled into the field of public health. Decades later, she is an experienced public health researcher who is passionate about high quality epidemiological data. She has also been a witness to the many challenges that the field has experienced through Covid-19 and beyond. Dr. Hawkins discusses her research on health literacy and community health workers, how she taught her own kids about healthy eating, and her hopes for the future of healthcare and public health.

For more information on Dr. Melissa Hawkins, please visit https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/mhawkins.cfm

For more information on Marian, please visit www.marianflaxman.com

Follow the show on Instagram: @themarianflaxmannetwork @marianff

For more information about our sponsor, please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

On today's episode, Marian sits down with combat veteran, CrossFit coach, and community leader, Eamon Coyne. They discuss Eamon's experiences serving in the military, how he discovered CrossFit, and how he uses nutrition, fitness, and holistic stress management practices to improve his mental health and overall quality of life. The episode centers veterans health, but connects to other critical topics in public health. For example, how do crises and trauma prevent us from responding to situations with empathy and humanity? How do public health systems break down in times of stress? What role does community play in physical and mental health? How can people show up, serve their communities, and remain emotionally vulnerable? Eamon's experiences, and the wisdom he has derived from them, have important things to teach us about how society should better take care of veterans, and the population at large.

For more information about Eamon, please find him on Instagram- @eamon.coyne

For more information about the work that Eamon does to support veterans and first responders, please visit his organization, Redefining Warrior Culture, at

https://redefiningwarriorculture.com or follow them on Instagram- @rdwc_actual

To contact Eamon about individual coaching, email him at [email protected]

To reach out to Marian or learn more about her work, visit www.marianflaxman.com

Follow the podcast on Instagram- @themarianflaxmannetwork

Follow Marian on Instagram- @marianff

To learn more about our sponsor, please visit www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

On today's episode, Marian speaks with professor and researcher, Dr. Katie Holton.

Dr. Holton was a fitness professional and a mom when she decided to follow her curiosity and pursue a PhD in nutrition. After studying the impact of nutrition on the functionality of the brain, she developed a dietary approach to reversing neurological illness. Currently, Dr. Holton runs the Nutritional Neuroscience Lab at American University in Washington, DC. Her research focuses on the negative impacts of dietary excitotoxins on neurological function, and analyzes the benefits of a low-glutamate diet on the widespread symptoms of a variety of neurological illnesses. Her work also highlights the role of a nutrient dense diet, and specific micronutrients and antioxidants, in protecting the brain against excessive stress and inflammation. In this conversation she shares how she has contributed to the rapidly growing field of nutritional neuroscience. She also speaks in depth about the power of diet for healing neurological disease, the problems with our current food system that contribute to our growing burden of illness, and the future of nutrition and health. For more information on Dr. Holton and her research, please visit: https://www.american.edu/cas/health/nutrneurolab/For more information about Marian, please visit: www.marianflaxman.comFollow the podcast on Instagram: @themarianflaxmannetworkLearn more about our sponsor: https://www.informedsolutionsconsulting.com

Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. On today's episode, Marian talks with musician and educator, Dave Cavalier. At the age of 20, Dave was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and began a lifelong journey of navigating a chronic illness within the US healthcare system. On this episode, he shares his personal experiences, and discusses how they might help inform our approach to health care, health policy, and nutrition education.For more information about Dave, please find him on Instagram @bmorecavalierFor more information about Marian, please find her on Instagram @marianff and visit her website www.MarianFlaxman.com

On this episode of MFN, a conversation with 98 year old Ed Flaxman. Ed was born in Chicago, came of age during the Great Depression, served during World War 2, owned his own business, and was married to the love of his life for nearly 75 years. In this episode, he shares memories along with the wisdom he has gathered about how to live a good life. Ed is the true definition of living history, and this episode captures nearly one hundred years of stories from a life lived well. Special thanks to the McHenry Public Library for letting us record this episode in a quiet room. http://www.mchenrylibrary.org/ For more episodes of this podcast, please visit www.marianflaxman.com