Feed Your Microbiome For Healthier Bones with Anu Simh & Margie Bissinger

Hey, Margie, here. One of the most important things that we can do to improve our bones and overall health is make sure that we have a healthy gut and microbiome. And today we're going to focus on how we can do this with food. And our special guest is Anu Sim. And Anu is a board certified functional health coach and founder of Nine Arms of Wellness. She focuses on gut health as the foundation of lasting wellness. Her upcoming book, Flourished from Within explores the gut's role in metabolism, hormones, and even bone health, showing that when we feed the microbiome, we support the whole body. Anu has guided hundreds of women through this transformation and is now training other coaches in her methodology. So today we're going to discuss what the connection is between gut microbiome and bone health. Lots of great information, so. So stay tuned. Welcome to the Happy Bones, Happy Life podcast. I'm Margie Bissinger, a physical therapist and integrative health coach, and I'm your host and guide on our journey to discover the keys to stronger bones, natural approaches to osteoporosis and bone health, and the secrets to live your best life ever. From nutrition to stress reduction, from exercise to happiness, you will gain revolutionary insights from our leading experts. It is time for you to discover the health and happiness you deserve. Welcome, Anu. So happy to have you here on the podcast.

Thank you, Margie. It's a pleasure.

Yeah, you know, this is such an important topic and what's so great is that science and research, you know, more and more articles, we're just constantly. All we hear about is how critical the microbiome is, how there's such a relationship between the microbiome and our bones. And the good news is there's so much that can be done. So I'm really excited to have you here to share all this with the audience. So thanks for being here.

Thank you so much, Margie. And you're absolutely right. We have an incredible amount of research connecting every aspect of one's health to the microbiome. I mean, even at the beginning of like 2000, we didn't know as much about the microbiome, but now it's like we're inundated with information and we really need to pay attention to it.

Right. And the nice thing is there's just some easy tweaks that we can do that will really change really, every aspect of our health, including our bones. So I think, to me, that's why I really love, you know, just spreading this information because it's doable and you Know, the results are really quite amazing. So, yes, I'm excited for you to share. All right, first of all, let's just talk about, you know, the connection between the gut microbiome and bone health.

Well, it's funny, you know, when we think about bone health, we always think about calcium and absorption and things like that. But everything starts with how are we absorbing it at a gut level? So it becomes more of a gut issue than a calcium issue or a mineral issue. So when a gut is dysbiotic or there's imbalance in the gut, the absorption tanks. And so it doesn't matter how many calcium rich foods that you eat or supplements, we're not actually absorbing at the level that we'd like to do. So I think the big part of this puzzle is gut health. So when we take care of our gut, when we nourish it, when we nourish our microbiome with the foods that they utilize to produce compounds that in turn help us because we share the symbiotic relationship with, with these microbes. We've had them forever, they've always been a part of us, in us, on us, every aspect of us. And when we start nourishing them, the foods that they really thrive on, they reward us. And bone health is part of that whole picture of optimal health. Right?

So true. And I find it so sad because oftentimes people, they're taking their calcium supplements, magnesium supplements, vitamin D, they're taking doing what they think everything's right and they don't understand what the problem is. And just like you said, they're not absorbing it because of issues with the microbiome and the gut. So what are the most important, what are the issues you see most commonly that contributing to bone loss and why.

So from a gut microbiome perspective, I think it is important to understand that when our food, when what we take in, we don't take enough fiber, for example, fiber is a nutrient that almost all of us are deficient in. You know, like, and a standard western diet is, it's really like a paltry 15 grams of fiber. And when you think about someone like an hot sad tribe, you know, like a traditional hunter gatherer, they were taking in like a thousand grams of fiber, you know, so at the very least, I think most studies are showing that it's good for us to take in at least 30 to 35 grams of fiber per day. And the reason is when we eat things with fiber, we're not actually digesting it. It goes into your colon and that's where all of these, it's the, the colon is just teeming with bacteria and they use this fiber as a resource or as a source of fuel for, for their, for, for their functions. They do a slew of functions behind the scenes for us, like producing some amazing metabolites called short chain fatty acids, butyrate in particular. And why is butyrate important? Because butyrate will reduce that inflammation and really support bone density and kind of reduce bone loss over time. So for someone who's osteoporotic or as someone with osteopenia, I think that becomes very, very vital and important, you know, so you may think that, oh my gosh, where's fiber and where's bone? I mean we should be doing all of the other things, but it's really about having that connection with the microbes and feeding them so they help us with every aspect of our well being.

Yeah, butyrate is just so important and so amazing. Are there certain foods that you like to recommend? You know, we're into that to really flip the beauty.

This is where like a plant forward diet comes in very handy, you know, and I think we are at a stage now that everyone's in different camps about food. Some, you know, people say, oh, you've got to eat a lot of protein, you've got to do this, you've got to, I just feel like eat what you want, take in the protein that makes your gut happy, makes your body happy, but just make sure that you have enough fiber in your diet so your gut microbiome is also well served. So you're not just taking care of your, your health, but you're also taking care of the well being of these microbes that are your forever guests. They're not going anywhere. So when you take care of them, then you have a balance. You don't have a lot of pathogenic bacteria, you know, in your gut. So that's where the imbalance begins. So for a balanced, resilient microbiome, it is imperative that we, we eat enough fiber to, to so they get all of those, the good fuel and then they benefit and we benefit as well.

Do you have any, what are your tricks for getting in fiber, Justin?

Oh my gosh, Margie, that is such a, such a great question because it is so hard. I mean I do this day and you know, every day talking to my clients about fiber, but there are days when you forget. So I have like a simple, my mantra is consistency leads to convenience leads to consistency. That's what I believe in. So I Start my day. Let's say I have like a mushroom coffee. I add some fiber into it, you know.

What exactly do you add?

Like a packet of fiber? The brand that I used. Can I name a brand? Sure. I don't have any affiliation with the brand. I just think it doesn't taste bad. So I like it. It's called Super Gut. So they come in these little packets and I just open a packet, put it into my mushroom coffee and I've started my day with that. And then with breakfast, like I have enough chia and nuts and seeds and you know, other kinds of fiber. And I mean it's just everything from your plant kingdom. So you, you get a variety of different kinds of fiber because all fibers don't are not prebiotic in nature. So you have to kind of have many, many different kinds of fibers. So you get the, the prebiotic benefit as well.

You want to go into that a little bit about the role that the prebiotic fibers and fermented foods because they really do a lot with our, you know, really help with the mineral absorption. Do you want to?

Yeah, sure. So for, for me, the prebiotic fiber is just a way for us to get more probiotic or growth of, have more diversity in the gut. So by having things that are high in resistant starch, beta glucans. So when I say beta gluc, think like oat bran. Resistant starch would be like green bananas, Jerusalem artichoke. And someone who's on a mono diet or someone who is just eating a very western diet might look at these names like, what the heck is that? But it's super simple to actually add these. So you could just go to Amazon and say, okay, I'm going to search for green banana flour that's really high in resistance resistant starch. Let's say you're kind of person who eats rice, you know, boil and cool the rice and then eat it so that increases resistant starch. If you have like, if you eat bananas, you know, just make sure that you have a raw banana instead of a yellow banana so that these are simple tricks so you don't have to go looking for things outside your zone of comfort. And you can start like right away. Like today you could start adding all of those chia seeds. Flax, very, very high in flavonoids and polyphenols. We have bacteria that actually really digest these polyphenols and gives us so many important metabolites. It's very important to have polyphenolic rich foods like pomegranate, green Tea and dark chocolate, things like that as well.

Yeah, it's so interesting because for the longest time, everybody was probiotics. Probiotics critical, that is. But yeah, we need to feed the probiotics, so we need these prebiotics. And I think that was really missing, am I right? I was really missing the narrative for a long time. You know, just like, oh, get your probiotics, get your probiotics. But yet this other.

But the probiotics are live microbes. And even there, there's a lot of confusion because, I mean, we just go after the shiny new object. You know, some of them are incredible marketers and they make it look really good, but you have to really look at the product to see does this have any live microbes. If not, it's really not a probiotic. It's not giving you any kind of benefit. That is the entire definition of a probiotic. So one thing that a lot of my clients will ask me is, oh, I've heard that Akkermansia is a. As this amazing probiotic. Should I be taking Akkermansia for weight loss or blood sugar balance? And my feeling is Akkermansia, I mean, if you're willing to pay like hundred bucks a month, you know, buying a probiotic, and that's fine, but you have to remember that it's transitory, you know, it's there and it could be helpful to you as long as you're taking it, but when you stop taking it, it's gone. But instead, if you start eating the things that really produce the Akkermansia, like pomegranate, like green tea, all of these prebiotic rich foods, then you're in a much better place because you're able to start producing Akkermansia yourself. So I just use Akkermansia because honestly, I could have named a kid Akkermansia. It's just.

But the issue, interesting thing is, you know, on several of the, you know, the stool tests, you really can see exactly what your composition is, and it's one that a lot of people are missing. So.

Yeah, yeah. Very few westerners have. And the thing is, it could be like a Goldilocks thing. You could have too much of it and that can cause that mucosal lining issues as well. So it's just a matter of having the right amount. Yeah, yeah.

So in terms of, you know, we're trying to get more fiber in, more plants in, and, you know, in terms of people getting calcium and the nutrients, you know, what, what do you, you know, a lot of People cannot have dairy. And it's very inflammatory. Is, are there certain ways that you like to get it in from the plate or what's your.

Yeah, I mean, I think again the big question is if someone is, has already has osteoporosis, then the big question is will they do well on a plant, plant based diet? My suggestion to people is be plant forward, you know, get and, and that way, you know, find your protein source that really supports you. And so it's really not a question of animal products or plant products. It's the question of nutrients. Right. So the nutrients that are really helpful for bones could be calcium, you know, vitamin K, vitamin D. And all of these can come from the plant kingdom, like calc, could come from a lot of the greens and magnesium nuts and seeds, K2 from Natto and fermented foods like miso. All of this is totally possible, but one needs to be very intentional in how one eats in order for that to happen, be it an omnivore diet or a plant based diet. So the intention becomes very important. Am I adding enough of these things so my bones are healthy or my, my gut is healthy? That becomes the bigger, bigger question, I think. And of course there's also this whole thing about oxalates. And I'm sure people, your clients have asked you about that. Well, I mean greens have oxalates in them and that can, you know, that comes in the way of absorption of calcium because it binds to the calcium. And again, that's where the magic of the microbiome exists, because the microbiome has bacteria, Oxalobacter formigens, which are just incredible at decreasing that binding of the calcium. But a lot of people don't have this bacteria because they don't take in enough fiber. So again, we go back and circle back to the fiber. If we did have a fiber rich diet, then we are producing all of this. We have a resilient microbiome, we have species diversity, we have evenness, we have less of that systemic inflammation that could be the root cause of all kinds of problems.

And have you seen that with your clients that once you add fiber and you make these changes to the MIC that are really changes that are conducive to the microbiome. Do you see health?

Yeah. And I don't have clients who come to me specifically for bone health because my clients come to me for weight loss. But, but it's interesting, I recently have had like many, many clients who are in this late 70s and 80s come to me and some of them want to lose weight, but I'm always nervous when they're postmenopausal, because when you're post a postmenopausal woman, the bone loss along with weight loss is something that you have to expect. Right. So making sure that they're not on restrictive diets, getting. Getting them to have an. A good array of nutrients and making sure that they have enough fiber, but also protein, and not being afraid of eating carbohydrates. I think that holds the key because a lot of them come to say, oh, I don't do any carbohydrates. Like, that's a macro. What does that mean? You know, what does that mean that you don't do a macro? It doesn't make sense to me. So having that balance is very important, I think.

Absolutely. So in terms of. I mean, you wrote a whole book on this, you know, an entire book. And I think it's so important because most of us really just don't even know what to do. In terms. Do you want to just tell us a little bit about why you decided to write the book Flourish? Yeah, you just explain. Give us a little back of that.

Well, like, I think most of us practitioners, our own personal stories are the reasons why we do the work that we do. Right. My story is not very different. I was a long time ago dating myself. I had gut issues. And this was a time when we didn't have labels. No one said, oh, you have IBS or sibo or things like that. We didn't even know that. I went to doctor to doctor to doctor, and no idea what that. No one knew. Right. They just said, oh, that's a little bit of bloating and gas. What's the big deal? And I still remember the day when I went to this one doctor in San Diego and it was a new guy and went with a lot of hope. And he said. He literally laughed at me and said, what you're going through is something that all of us residents go through. I mean, in other words, suck it up. Just frustrated me. I felt so hopeless. Margie. I remember going back to the car just sobbing. And I remember my grandfather's words. He was a Renaissance man, and he was just a physicist, but also did a lot of Eastern medicine. And he was the first person who ever told me that food is medicine. So I heard him clearly tell me you have background to go figure this out. And so this was a time when we didn't have chatgpt or Internet or anything like that. So I had to go and Research the heck out of this. And that's how I found the microbiome. And it was just in its infancy at that time, but I fell in love with this. The whole idea that there's an entire, I mean, a bunch of trillions of bacteria that live within us. They're our forever guests. And when we have a symbiotic relationship that is going right, then everything changes. So that's exactly what I did. I started taking care of them and things started changing and my gut became very resilient. And so, like Maya Angelou says, when you heal, you go heal someone else. And that's how it all started.

Oh, I love that.

Yeah.

I just think so often we, you know, we look at things like, yes, I'm eating healthy, but we don't look specifically, am I eating healthy for my gut? And the problem, people always ask me like, well, where do you start? Because many people, you know, with bone loss, there's so many different root causes and, you know, it's sort of like you're peeling an onion. You do by step approach. I always say you have to start with the gut because when that, when that improves, a lot of other things will improve too. So it's absolutely, it's somewhat backwards if you deal with some of the other things before you deal with the gut, because it's, it's just so vital and controls so many, really so many areas of the whole body.

Absolutely. And I'm sure you have a lot of women who come to, you are postmenopausal. So estrogen is a huge component of that, and that is also part of the estrobolome and the bacteria in your gut that metabolize estrogen. So it, it is very important to take care of the guts. You're absolutely right.

Yeah. So what, what are people doing wrong? Like, what do you see when people come in? What are some of the mistakes that people are doing when it comes to their gut who are trying to help themselves? You know, you said, you mentioned not getting enough fiber, and I see that too. People really don't get enough fiber. So I think focusing on fiber is great and how much you recommend people get.

Well, I mean, it all depends on why you're taking in the fiber. If you're taking fiber for your cardiovascular health, you're saying upwards of 40 grams per day. If it's for gut motility and, you know, just for regularity, even 30 grams. You know, for me, it's not just about the, about the fiber, it's about the diversity of sources. So you can't. I mean, if you have like 20 grams of psyllium mass, that's not doing it, or, you know, it's, it's about just changing things. Like, for example, you eat broccoli one day and next week perhaps you're trying Chinese broccoli from a Chinese market. Keep changing the sources so your gut microbiomes, the species richness increases. So the only way you could have a resilient microbiome is to have species diversity. Like you have lots of different species going to bat for you, doing different kinds of functions and species evenness. You don't want one kind of bacteria to take over. That's always trouble. So when you have that, then you have a resilient microbiome. And a resilient microbiome is one that bounces back. You know, you take antibiotics. I mean, how many. I mean, we've all gone through UTIs and things like that and we, we have, you know, we have to take antibiotics at that time. There are times when you do need that. But a resilient microbiome will bounce back from a dose of antibiotics. But someone who is, who does not have a healthy microbiome is going to struggle with it. So again, it's not right. Someone is not. I think people are just would obsess a lot about the right kinds of food. I think it's actually a lot simpler than that. And that's the reason I feel like there needs to be a system, you know, because we all start out saying, oh, I'm really excited about taking in this or that, but how many of us stick to it? You know, the goal kind of disappears as we get more inundated with work and life and all of that. So if you have a simple system says, okay, this is how I'm getting my fiber every day. This is what's happening at breakfast, this is what's happening at lunch and dinner. Then it becomes a little bit easier. So how I do it is I have like a format, you know, of foods every day I make sure that I have enough fiber, I have enough fermented foods like kimchi, things like that, resistant starch, beta glucans, good fats, you know, like, for example, ghee is very high in butyrate or butter. You know, that doesn't mean that you have like a cup of it. You just have enough. And the gut microbiome from the research that I've kind of gone, gone through says I want diversity, but I don't need copious amounts of each one. So that Makes it easier. You could still be on a weight loss program and eat all of these beneficial foods and, and lose weight. The biggest problem I have seen, Margie, is the restrictive diets. And then. And again from a bone loss issue, that's some. That's something that research is showing us that weight recycling of weight gain and regain, that is what causes more bone loss. So I think from, from a bone perspective too, it's very important that we maintain our weight.

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Beta glucan is. Certain foods are really rich in beta glucans. Like, let's say oat bran, barley mushrooms, you know, shiitake mushrooms are incredible. I mean, I have different kinds of mushrooms throughout the week. You know, I just change it up, you know, and oat bran is great. Just make sure that you have an organic oat bran because you want to be sure that there are no glyphosates in it. And barley is really. If you can handle gluten, then barley is a great brain grain. And you don't need a lot of it. You just need like a quarter cup to give you the beta glucan that you need. Yeah.

A lot of people have issues with gluten in this community, so.

Yeah. And we stick to other sources. Yeah.

In your book, do you go through the whole process? Cause you said, you know, it's a system.

Yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah. I do have formatted approaches to eating. Like I call it a new play on my name, a new lunch, a new smoothie. It's not an ego thing, I promise you. It's just something that my clients started saying. They said, oh, is that that anu salad that you always make? I said, yeah, that's it. So I named it.

I'm excited because I know there's lots of recipes in the book, correct?

Yeah, there are over 50 recipes. And my own approach to this is food is very cultural, social and we are a melting pot in this country. We have different cuisines and I want you to be respectful of every culture, of all my clients who come from different cultures. Like African Americans have their African heritage foods, Indians have their dal and you know, all of that. Mexicans have their sopa, their frijoles, and Italians have their ribollita and things like that. So I put all of this together. So listen, whatever cuisine appeals to you, there's a way to get the fiber. So it's so I don't really put it into one little basket and say this is the only food that you should be eating because food doesn't. Food is so personal sense, very bio individual too. So it's totally up to people and what really appeals to them. So I have a variety of foods and recipes and people can choose from the ones that they like.

Yeah, I love that. Now, early on you mentioned natto. Do you have that in the book? Most people in this country have a really hard time time with. It's so, so incredible for your bones. But a lot of people have a hard time and meat included, finding good recipes and ways to actually be able to eat natto since it's so very slimy. Yeah. Yes.

I will tell you, I still haven't found a way to really get excited about natto. My daughter in law is Korean. So this one time I said, oh honey, I really have to eat natto. It's really good for my bones. And I said, but it's so yucky. And so she said, why don't you eat it like how the Japanese or the Koreans do? And I said, how is that? So she said, we mix it with our rice. So what I did was. So that's what I do. I add it into my rice and add, you know, or cauliflower rice, things like that, and put mask it with salsa or things like that. And it is really hard. It's not an easy thing to. I mean, that is one place where I do take in a supplement. You know, I will have natto but Miso has some too. But natto has more of the MK7. I think I did read one study that said if you're a rice lover, if you like rice, you boil and cool your rice, you know, so the chemical structure of the rice changes and you have more resistant starch. Then add the natto to that and then your blood sugar is stable, isn't that cool? I mean, just the combination of things. So the natto in with the rice kind of prevents your blood sugar from going up. Huh.

Interesting. I have.

And I've actually tested that with the cgm.

Oh, you have tested that? Yeah. Fantastic. Wow. Yeah, I know. I love wearing the cgm, but someone. There are a couple brands that people have told me, I just haven't tried them yet that they say are actually.

Tasty, but I've tried a couple from New York.

Yeah, that's the one I've heard about.

Yeah. Yeah, it's really good. Yeah. And then the Japanese store has one and I can't for the life of me remember the name, but I like that one as well.

And in terms of the fermented foods, what do you recommend with that? Do you recommend just buy. I mean, I just buy the kimchi. Or do you actually have recipes for fermented foods as well?

Well, no, actually, I'm going to be doing a lot of videos of how to make kimchi as well. Part of people who buy the book, you know, but in. I wanted the book to be kind of inviting to everyone and whatever your level of cooking is. So there's not. You're not going to find recipes with 20 different ingredients in it. That wasn't my intention. It's more like, how do we heal the gut? How do we just have more variety, have more prebiotic fibers enhances and these functional foods. But as far as kimchi is super easy to make and so is sauerkraut, I just change up the recipe. Sometimes I add ginger to it. Just change things up. And based on your own gut issues, like if you're. If someone is constipated, then ginger plays a huge role in the gut motility issues. So I would. That's a recipe I would suggest to someone.

Oh, the sauerkraut plus the ginger, is that what you. Interesting. Yeah, because I have it every day. There's not a day that goes by that I don't have some fermented food because it's easy and you don't need a lot.

You just need a few teaspoons of it. That's all you do.

Yeah, but I'm sort of lazy. I just, you know, buy it at Whole Foods. However, I.

Why not? Convenience leads to consistency.

But I think, oh, that sounds really good. The ginger and.

Yeah, and I think all of us, we feel like everything needs to be done from scratch. Who has the time? You know, we all lead busy lives if we can just. So that is something that Is very important to me that clients actually eat all the healthy foods and not be bogged down by, oh, I didn't make this from scratch. So today more than ever, you have chopped veggies, you know, ready made things. The prep is done for you. Just a matter of putting things together, you know.

Yeah, no, that's great though also to have like a little guidebook to help you with them. Yeah, that's so exciting. So what, what other things do you want to share with people that you found really, you know, move the needle when it comes to the gut and just overall well being, what are you.

I think the biggest needle mover is diet, no doubt about it. And I say that with, with such conviction because of the studies that I've got kind of gone through. I mean, for example, there was a study that noted that within 24 hours your gut microbiome start shifting when your diet changes. They actually studied a group in rural South Africa and compared them to people in Pittsburgh. Women in Pittsburgh had them swap their diets. One a western diet and the other rural. Lots of tubers and roots and things like that. And within a week, their gut picture had completely changed. The South Africans were mimicking the microbes of the Pittsburgh population. So that tells you that it doesn't take a long time. You start making changes in your diet. It's quite immediate that you see benefits. So that's really heartwarming for me that we're not telling people to do make all these changes and expect changes and like, I don't know, like next several months or something like that. So that's, that's great, I think, you know, and from a bone perspective, I know, I feel like a lot of women are, I don't know about your population, but I know that for me I have women who are kind of concerned about gaining too much muscle and they're nervous about resistance training. You know, they, they say, oh, I run, but I don't want to do any strength training. So that's something that. But I feel like everyone, every woman should be lifting weights and you know, or some kind of strength training, you know, or.

Yeah, no, my community, I mean, that's what I'm all about. And I think that, you know, going from being afraid to empowered and when you're strong and. Yes, and the research has been so positive and I've been doing the Oneiro program with really heavy lifting myself and I just can't get over the results I'm seeing with people bone density moving and plus, when you're strong you just feel so good and it's all possible. That's what's so exciting. Just like you said so.

I know, and it's so empowering, like you said, you know, like, like I remember being on a flight and there's this guy next to me said, oh, can I help you? And I'm looking at him like, you don't need to help me. I could do this myself. It is such an uplifting thing to be able to lift you back and a heavy bag and do it yourself. And they kind of look at you like, wow, where this tiny Indian woman you could surely lift.

Yeah, it's true. And it's all possible. Not that you have to start out at that.

Wherever.

That's the best part. Whatever you're doing, as long as it's more than you're accustomed to. Start improving your bones.

Like Margie, last year I couldn't do pull ups at all. Save my life, you know, and now I can, you know, and it took almost a year to do it. So you have to be patient, you have to be regular, you have to be consistent like anything in life, you know, and. But the payoff is great, I think. Oh absolutely.

I think with all of this, that's why I love what I do because you know, it's not a quick fix but all these things, like while you're working on your gut, so many things are going to clear up. Your skin breathing is endless and it's so exciting. And same thing with, you know, when you get stronger, just everything feels better and it's just such a win win. So I love this and I want to say, is there anything more that you want to share for people that they can do? I love the tips that you've given. Any other things that people maybe don't think about that can?

Well, I think, I think stress, I mean we don't think about stress and bone health, but we really thinking if you think about everything starting from the gut or the gut brain axis, stress becomes so important. How do you handle it? What kind of tools do you have? I always tell my clients there's a difference between full care and real self care. Because most people will say, what are you doing for yourself? Oh, I got my hair done or but that's full care. But when you really do self care, what were you doing when you were doing that hair appointment? Were you present to who you were, you know, to your journey? That really I think is such a game changer because if you're stressed that affects your sleep and if sleep Is affected, affects everything. And it affects the diversity in your microbiome as well. Your circadian rhythm is messed up. There is just, you can't really think of health as just this one system. They're all so interconnected. So that's the reason, like my, my philosophy is the nine arms of wellness. So I connect nutrition, hydration, sleep, self care, connections with people, environment, both inside and outside, breath, work, mindfulness, and all of that together is what creates that optimal wellness in us as humans. We truly flourish when we're able to connect all of that.

And that's when our bones do well. Yeah, there's research on that strength, your bones and how that can really increase the, you know, the cells that break down bones. So there's, so it all, it all goes together. Do you have a favorite part? Practice? Because eating stress is, you know, that's going to majorly affect the microbiome as well as, you know, as well as your absorption. Do you have any favorite practices that you tell people before they eat?

I always tell people to kind of, Well, I teach them how to eat mindfully putting their fork down, the usual, you know, things that we do. Some people, I teach them a mantra, you know, like either in English or in Sanskrit. And I have them chant the mantra to kind of really help with food absorption. And they love it, you know, because it kind of just prevents them. Because what happens when we see food, that is when digestion really happens, because your salivary glands are just, you know, your amylase is produced and you're already thinking about the food. So you just sit back and you enjoy the beauty of the food in front of you and you say this simple chant or mantra or like a prayer. Like, like, like grace.

You give a little mantra for everybody to try.

No, I mean like, like grace is what I think of as a mantra, you know, like thank you for the abundance in front of me. And I'm so grateful to have this incredible food and the strength and the energy to make it, you know, something very simple like that, you know, but you're slowing down and that is the important part of the exercise. And the other thing that I love and love is yoga nidra, which is I think fabulous because you don't need a lot of time. You can, you could, you could do that very quickly. And like you, I have zoom calls throughout the day. I just need about 10 minutes of breath work to kind of really keep me centered and be present for a client or, you know, all of those work fabulously.

Yeah, it's so important I think back to my days when you're seeing a zillion patients as a physical therapist and I'm just shoving the food in as fast as physically possible and my mind is on 10 other areas. The worse, I mean, those horrible. Now I take breaths, I am grateful I do all those things and it's completely changed.

And that's important, right? You have to walk the talk. I mean, I never open my day to anyone before 10 o'. Clock. That's my time. That's taking care of family, whatever, you know. But it's only after 10. I say, okay, now I'm ready. You're going to get all of me, you know, rather than bits and pieces.

So true. You really have to practice what you preach. Tell the funny story that I got. I, I was, I've always been happy, but I wasn't, I was quite stressed, even in a happy way. And I took a mindfulness based stress reduction program, the Jon Kabat Zinn program, and I got a speeding ticket on the way to meditation. Can you even imagine in second class? This is such a true story. And that hit me in the head that you are not practicing what you preach at all. And ever since then, which is really quite a long time ago now, I like made it the most important thing in my life. So yeah, slow down. And it really makes a difference. So I love this. I'm very excited about your book and. Oh, you also have something that you created. Tell everybody about the ebook that they can, that they.

Yeah, I put together I an e book connecting bone health and the microbiome. And then I also have a quiz if you're curious about where's my micro. Am I really taking care of my microbiome? So that's a quiz that can kind of give you a little, you know, a glimpse of what, what's happening. And then once you take the quiz, the emails will support you to take care of the microbiome in simple, easy to follow ways. Nothing too drastic or nothing too immediate. Because that's always hard, you know, because you can't take 40 grams of fiber on day one. Impossible.

That's a good things don't just all of a sudden. Yeah, everything. How do you tell people who've never, you know, people who, when they're listening to this, like, my diet has no fiber. How would you start? Like how slow do you, do you recommend starting?

Well, first of all, we need to clarify that fiber comes only from plant sources. So if you're eating, let's say potatoes, corn, things like that, they're really low in fiber, but you love your potatoes. Boil and cool them and then eat it. So that's going to up your resistant starches or fiber and start simple, you know, in the morning you could do overnight chia chia puddings, you know, add some nuts and seeds. Have a salad that you can handle, like, you know, like field greens with some starchy tuber, like sweet potatoes, things like that. And if you can't do grains, you don't have to. There are so many other things that you can add. Add into your salad.

Sounds good. Any last minute things. So we'll have all the links, we'll have the links for your new book. When is it coming out? So everybody knows?

Well, my publisher says 29th April, but it's available for pre order. But the launch is on the 29th.

So exciting.

It is exciting. Yeah.

Your baby getting out to the world, right? I know.

I feel very pregnant right now.

I feel like I'm ready. Oh, wonderful. Such an important message. And think how many people's lives are going to be changed by this.

Yeah. Margie, I heard somewhere that two out of three Americans do not know the word microbiome. And I'm on a mission to change that.

Absolutely, Ralph, I can. I'm glad, I'm glad I was able to have you here, spread this important information. We'll have everything in the, in the show notes, any last minute things you want to share. This has been so, really.

So I just want to say, I don't know, you probably say this every day to your students. There's such a fear around osteoporosis and bone loss. I want, I want people to explore that with confidence, with having these tools, you know, having someone like you to guide them, you know, because I'm telling you, like, my mom's 92. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis when she was in her 50s. She did not have a fracture until last year. I mean, she was doing great. I have 80 clients in their 80s and they've been slapped with a label. But that does not mean that they're not doing well. They're stronger than ever, really working towards optimal health. So it is completely possible and to really have that hope that you don't have to have this label like, I am osteoporotic. It doesn't make any sense at all. You know, I couldn't agree more.

To me, I tell people, I, I mean, this is what I say. I've been doing this for over 25 years, that people look back and they Tell me. You know what? This was a blessing in disguise because all the good things that they made them, it was the catalyst for change. And so it made them look at their microbiome, start exercising, reducing their stress, all these amazing things. And the quality of their life is so different now that, and they're so empowered. So it really took the fear, turned it to empowerment and they're doing amazing and they're really thriving. So I completely agree, you know, because it is. That diagnosis is so scary, but it is scary.

It is very scary, you know, so.

We have to take that and, and the people who listen, the people, you know, because they're taking action. They're taking action and they're listening. What can I do? What steps can I make? And yeah, you know, changing your microbiome and working on improving that is going to just be a win, win in so many ways. So, yes, I love ending on that positive note because.

Yes.

Yay. Thank you.

Thank you, Margie. This is a pleasure. So, so nice talking to you.

Thank you for being here and I'm very excited. Good luck with the book. I know.

Thank you.

Changed lots of lives.

Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Anu and now have better understanding of why the microbiome is so important when it comes to our bones and have some tips that you can put right into your life. All the links that Anu talked about, including the link to her new book, will be in the show notes.

So thank you.

Thank you so much for tuning in and if you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes as well as it helps spread this information lets people know about it. So thanks again and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks for listening to this episode. Be sure to get your free gift that includes the best posture exercises and stress reduction techniques for better bone health that you can do right now by clicking the link in the show notes or YouTube descriptions. Also, if you know someone with low bone density or osteoporosis, then please do them a favor and share this link to the show with them. Until next time, continue to live your best life ever. See you soon.