Brian JohnsonChairman & Philosopher in Residence at Heroic

+1: #905 The Origin of Disease

17 Dec 2025 · 2 min

Episode

17 Dec 2025 · 2 min

0:00

Brian Johnson (host) presents a short podcast episode emphasizing the central role of gut health in overall well-being. He claims that roughly 80–90% of serotonin and 70–80% of the immune system originate in the gut, cites Hippocrates’ maxim “All disease begins in the gut,” and references Dr. Gundry’s similar view (the longevity paradox). The episode closes with a brief actionable prompt about optimizing nutrition.

Questions this episode answers

September 27, 2019

80 to 90%

70 to 80%

"All disease begins in the gut."

Chapters

Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another optimize plus one. In our last couple 1s we've been hanging out in our guts. Good times. Surprisingly, that's where we discovered 80 to 90% of our serotonin and 70 to 80% of our immune systems. Crazy, eh? Today we're going to spend another moment on the subject. Get this. Although modern medicine pretty much ignores the gut as its standard of care focuses on alleviating symptoms rather than optimizing systems, the idea that our guts play a central role in our well being isn't a new idea. Let's jump into a time machine and rewind the clock about 2,400 years. Destination, ancient Greece. It's time to meet the father of medicine, Hippocrates. You know what he said? All disease begins in the gut. Dr. Gundry echoes that wisdom and adds a little bonus gem via the the longevity paradox, where he tells us, quote, as Hippocrates famously and wisely said, all disease begins in the gut. The good news is that all disease can be stopped there as well. And that's today's plus one. What's one thing you know you could be doing to optimize your nutrition? Is today a good day to make that happen? Fantastic. High fives, low fives, mid fives, right around the gut, etc. Let's do this.