11. Hannah Kleinfeld: Gut Health and the Microbiome: Improving and Maintaining the Microbiome with Probiotics + More

Antibiotics do destroy the gut microbiome.

So antibiotics are meant to kill bacteria in our body. Unfortunately, they don't discriminate or differentiate between what are the bad bacteria that are making us sick and the good bacteria in our gut. So many research studies have actually shown this that even a short course of antibiotics within a few hours to a few days of taking them can very much, almost dramatically change our gut microbiome. It diminishes the, the diversity as well as the amount of the good bacteria. And if that's not counterbalanced by restoring the gut microbiome, that can lead to, you know, first and foremost, things like digestive issues. But because our good gut bacteria are so diminished, that actually leaves space for some bad or unwanted bacteria to grow and thrive.

The following is an operation podcast production. All right, so good to see you.

Thank you.

Hannah Kleinfeld from Omnibiotic. You don't know this, but I've been obsessed with you for a really long time. So if anyone goes back through my social media, they'll see that I've never really been a massive promoter of a lot of brands, like in that term, that in that world of influencing, I will only ever post consistently about products that I love, but more specifically products that I've used and really felt the difference from a while back. My best friend, she gave me a sample of omnibiotic stress and it was a game changer for me. Like, I felt a noticeable difference. So we'll dive into all that today. I just wanted to thank you for being here. I'm excited to dive into this conversation. You know, this podcast is all about getting rooted, rooted in your life and your well being and back in your body. So I'd love to know what are three things that help you feel more rooted and why?

Yeah. So I think for me, one of the top ones for sure is daily movement and some sort of ground grounding practice. You know, whether that's a walk outside or Pilates or yoga and or meditation, A big second is nourishing my body, you know, through really high quality, nutrient dense foods as well as hydration and a good kind of, you know, core supplement routine. And then my last one would be sleep. Just getting enough sleep because that changes everything for me.

And you're a new mom.

Yes. So I can know what it feels like to not sleep. And that makes a big difference necessity.

So in terms of like movement and being outside and stuff like that, did it take you some time to figure out what was perfect for you? Because I feel like a lot of My clients, they'll see and hear things in media and, you know, they try them on, but it's someone else's ritual. So do you think that over the years you've really adopted these?

Yeah, I think. I think about this a lot, actually. I almost feel like I go through these phases where, you know, there might be a couple months where I'm feeling most rooted and grounded, doing, for example, Pilates. And then it's something else. And I really think trusting your body that way too, and really feeling into what feels good for me and not what are my friends doing or what's the latest on TikTok? And, you know, I think more and more people are shifting away from this, but even for me, in my early 20s, I was just, you know, on the treadmill, like, thinking that that's the best way to stay fit and. Yeah, and just looking at how that has changed for me and how much better I feel now, doing the things that really feel good for me versus what I. I should be doing is a real game changer.

I love that you called that out because I think we're all searching for that perfect formula and we need to stick to it, but our bodies are changing, the seasons are changing, nature is changing, life is changing. So it only makes sense, right?

Exactly.

All right, so on the flip side of that, you know, working with a lot of the clients that I have, I feel like they're instilling a lot of these wellness rituals as a checklist, and a lot of these things, you know, they're committed, but they could be fueling their inflammation, fueling poor gut health, fueling inflammation within their body. So for you, what have you noticed? What are things that make you feel uprooted and why?

Yeah, I think for me, the biggest one is stress, for sure. I just. I can immediately feel it. It impacts, you know, my focus, my mental energy, my anxiety levels, even my digestion. It's just an even my sleep. You know, when you're stressed, you're just wired the whole time. So for me, that's a big one. I think you probably see this too, but a lot of, you know, eating just bad foods for a few days, if it's, you know, I mean, obviously I indulge every now and then, but if I'm just, you know, traveling or something and just not really nourishing my body with nutrient dense foods, but focusing more on overly processed things, I can immediately feel that shift again in my energy and my digestion. So that's definitely something I'm very sensitive to. And then the last thing for me again is, you know, not sleeping, like getting, not. Not getting enough sleep, which is a.

Huge one, I swear, even as a nutritionist, food obviously is so important, but sleep is kind of like moving to that number one category in order for the body to repair and help us function at our best. Yeah, yeah. So it's good that you call that. Yeah, that's actually a really great segue. When we think about this, I wonder for a lot of the people who are, you know, addicted to trying new supplements and diets and stuff like that, there's almost a sense of people, they get used to living with the symptoms that they have. Right. God forbid anyone out there actually gets sick or they really feel their health completely fall apart. But I know that this is something, you know, unique to myself, but also to you. So share a little bit about your journey and how you got there because it's so relevant to your story and obviously to the power of the product.

Yeah. So, you know, I think you make such a good point. So many people are living with symptoms and they might realize that something is not quite right, but it's tough sometimes to even find the right practitioners to kind of diagnose them and acknowledge that this is an issue. So for me, you know, my story kind of quickly. I was in my early 20s, I was living in New York City, you know, feeling pretty invincible out of college and just living my best New York life, working in consulting, so, you know, working long hours, traveling a lot. And I could kind of feel some symptoms coming on that I didn't have before. Like sometimes my legs would feel really weak. I felt more foggy, I felt more quote, unquote stomach bugs even though nobody else was sick. And I always thought, well, it's because I'm traveling more. I'm just, you know, a bit nauseous after eating or something, some GI issues. And over time they just got worse and worse until pretty much one day I could barely get out of bed. I was having spasms and just major brain fog. So much fatigue. And thankfully at that point, I found a functional medicine doctor in New York City who was also very familiar with Lyme disease. And it turns out, you know, I had Lyme and some other tick borne co infections. And that for me was such a wake up call because, you know, again, in your early 20s, you take health for granted. Everyone was telling me that these random symptoms I was feeling were maybe stress or, you know, I was working too hard. Maybe it was in my head I actually saw a primary Care practitioner who just gave me extra protein. That was her, like, recommendation. So when I finally found someone who could tell me what's going on and then help me repair, that was huge. And, you know, through that journey, I really started exploring other alternative methods of healing and also got introduced to how important the gut microbiome is to all of it. People who've had Lyme know that for many, the gut really suffers from Lyme, but then also the antibiotics. You know, months and months of antibiotics and other herbal antimicrobials were really doing a number on my gut. And as I was started, as I started repairing my gut, I really noticed, oh, wow, you know, my brain fog is getting better, my energy levels, everything started to shift. And, you know, probiotics were a big part of that. However, what was really frustrating for me is that a lot of the brands here in the US That I was trying, they did like, a little bit, but then it kind of the progress stalled, and I never felt like I truly got the breakthrough that I was looking for. And it got to the point where I kind of resigned myself to just living with these symptoms, you know, brain fog and nutrient absorption issues and all these things that you probably see in your clients and patients, too. And then a friend of ours introduced us to omnibiotic in Europe. She's actually a doctor, and she was raving about how the product was taking the market by storm. She was fascinated by the fact that these were, you know, targeted formulations towards different health needs, the clinical studies behind them. So I tried them. And, you know, I. As you said, I felt the difference pretty much immediately. And it just was such a game changer for me. And long story short, it begged the question for me, why are these not in the US and here we are a couple years later.

Yeah. So how long have you been in.

The US So omnibiotic or me personally? So I've been. So. We lived here once when I was younger, from like sixth to ninth grade. And then I came back for college and have been here ever since.

So I'm older than you. I'm asking because I feel like I come from a generation where, you know, I had a sore throat, go on antibiotics, I had tonsillitis every single year. So I would say from the ages of about 3 till my mom found a functional medicine doctor when I was like, 16, 17, I was on antibiotics every single year. So, you know, you with your story and so many people out there who suffered from so many different issues or imbalances, you know, over time, there was Likely some sort of depletion that was happening. Right. And like, thank goodness you took a stance and finally saw like, enough is enough. These symptoms aren't normal. I'm not supposed to live this way because truth be told, a lot of people, they just continue to live with that because they have doctors who are even affirming swimming. It's like, oh, it's normal.

Yeah.

Look at the job that you have. You're stressed, it's normal. It's your hormones. Yeah, it's normal. Right.

Or they just prescribe, you know, something to mask the symptoms and then you kind of live in this illusion that you've solved your problem, but really it's just being masked and you're not getting at the underlying root cause.

Yes. And that's such an important topic for today because I think, especially now because of social media, there's a lot of brands that put so much money into like compelling marketing, like, you think this is the best product, this is the cure all this is going to save me. This is going to take away everything. And a lot of the time I see people who have a list or a cupboard full of products that they're just hoping will work. Right. So getting to the root cause, that has to be number one.

Yes.

Now, on the topic of antibiotics, so tell us a little bit more. I think people, they understand that antibiotics do destroy the gut microbiome. Let's dive a little bit more into the why. And yes, there is a time and a place for antibiotics as long as they're prescribed, responsibility. And I would even say on the flip side, you know, finding a doctor who can really put you on a protocol for following the treatment. So tell us a little bit about the antibiotics. What do they do to the gut microbiome?

Yeah, sure. By the way, quick side note which I always find so fascinating, in Europe, many doctors, when you are prescribing antibiotics, prescribe a probiotic.

Come on.

Especially oftentimes specifically omnibotic AB10 because it has the clinical studies supporting, you know, the gut restoration aspect. But yeah, I think it's really important, you know, people need to be thinking about that. But anyways, let's talk about, you know, what specifically do antibiotics do? So antibiotics are meant to kill bacteria in our body. Unfortunately, they don't discriminate or differentiate between what are the bad bacteria that are making us sick and the good bacteria in our gut. So many research studies have actually shown this that even a short course of antibiotics within a few hours, hours to a few days of taking them can very much almost dramatically change our gut microbiome. It diminishes the diversity as well as the amount of the good bacteria. And if that's not counterbalanced by restoring the gut microbiome, that can lead to, you know, first and foremost, things like digestive issues. Oftentimes you even have the term antibiotic associated diarrhea. You know, many people get diarrhea because the gut is out of balance, Bloating, you know, other GI issues, nausea. But then oftentimes, you know, because our good gut bacteria are so diminished, that actually leaves space for some bad or unwanted bacteria to grow and thrive. And you know, again, that can kind of lead to issues down the road. And then I think the other thing that's really interesting is because such a big portion of our immune system resides in the gut, by not restoring your healthy gut microbiome, you can then actually have issues down the road. Secondary infections, you know, a UTI a few weeks after taking your antibiotics or a yeast infection or skin flare ups. It really kind of starts a vicious cycle if you're not careful.

I wanted to take a quick break from our episode to thank our sponsor Omnibiotic who provides a line of premium gut health probiotic supplements. Made in Austria and rooted in over 30 years of microbiome research and clinical testing. Research shows us that 80% of our immune system resides in our gut. But many factors can diminish our good bacteria like stress, certain medications and unhealthy foods. But when we have enough good bacteria, they help us digest our food, absorb valuable nutrients, destroy disease causing cells and produce important substances that allow our body to function well. This is why Omnibiotic probiotics are a staple supplement in all of my clients healing programs for healing and optimizing gut health and why I make sure that my entire family supplement with them as well daily Omnibiotic challenges the one size fits all approach prevalent in the US Probiotic market. Offering targeted formulations that address diverse health concerns including liver detox immunity and stress management. Each Omnibiotic sachet contains a dose of freeze dried probiotic powder infused with prebiotic nutrients. When mixed with water, these probiotics get rehydrated and fortified for their journey through the digestive system. In tests using a GI tract simulator, this powder delivery mechanism ensured 83% of omnibiotics good bacteria reached the gut alive and active, Compared to an average of only 7% among the leading US probiotic capsule brands. If you are ready to optimize your gut health, I cannot recommend Omnibiotic more My clients, my kids and myself have all felt and seen unbelievable results. Try them out now by heading over to www.omnibiotic.com and use code Rooted15 to save 15%. Again, that's www.omnibiotic.Com and use code Rooted15 to Save 15% for women especially. Right. Like just dealing with vaginal infections and stuff like that. Following that, what's interesting too is you're listing off some of these symptoms. Yes, it's unique to using antibiotics, but I would say it's also the result of living in today's modern world. Right. When we think about the standard American diet, the foods that people are consuming, the lack of diversity that exists in our world today, I think you know about this. Obviously you see the data on the other side, but the rise of imbalances with disease and metabolic syndrome and immune related disorders. Right. Amongst adults and children, which is, which is key. So let's move in now to the probiotics. What specifically is their role?

Yeah, so I think with, with antibiotics specifically, you know, because we're diminishing so many of the good bacteria, probiotics are these good bacteria. So you're essentially just replenishing your gut with these good bacteria and restoring the diversity and the balance. Also, if it's a good probiotic that you're taking a high quality probiotic with the right strains, it actually helps create an environment in your gut to attract other good bacteria to grow and flourish by changing the ph and having a strong mucus layer. And then on top of that, you know, because your gut microbiome, your bacteria can help produce things that influence the immune system, strengthen your mucus layer, strengthen your intestinal barrier. It also helps to support and restore those other aspects of, you know, healthy digestion, nutrient absorption, immune function. And you know, one of the really easy things to do this with is with a probiotic. You know, I know we've, I've mentioned it before, but our omnibiotic A B10, it was specifically formulated to restore the gut after antibiotics. And we see that in clinical studies. You know, you take omnibiotic A B10 with your antibiotic and you see a dramatic reduction in, you know, diarrhea, other associated GI issues, even secondary infections like C. Diff. It's really extremely effective and a great way for supporting your gut during and after antibiotics.

I love that you brought up a B10. So a lot of my clients who even have surgery, I'll put them on a B10 after and they actually feel a difference. So for a lot of people, when they go through those, those bouts of diarrhea or just irregular bowel movements for days, if not weeks. They find that there's a lot more regulation. So we'll dive into that.

Yes.

So when we think about this podcast, I mean, for me, for my healing journey, really, I went back to my roots. Right. When we think about gut health, you know. Yes, it's this trending word. The science is growing. I think that the evolution of information and data around gut microbiome is going to continue to evolve. Very, very. Also something that all of our ancestors were talking about. Right. Hippocrates says, you know, all disease begins. Begins. Hippocrates says all disease begins in the gut. Ancient Greeks knew about the power of digestion from Ayurveda, you know, ancient Indian practices. They knew that a high functioning digestive system was the source of all health. When we look at ancient traditional Chinese medicine, they understood the power of digestive health and elimination. And now we finally have this scientific data that's proven and suggesting that they've known this all along. So I think you have the coolest job on the, on the planet because you get to see all the data that's happening. And I would say that the data that omnibiotic has is probably. It was the, the hook for me.

Interesting.

Like, it was just. It proved to me everything that I needed to see, because otherwise I would walk into this grocery store, I would see a massive wall of probiotics. And as a practitioner, you know, I think a lot of practitioners would go to 3, 4, 5 brands consistently, but without access to the research. And this is unique to omnibiotics. So let's talk about that.

Yeah, it definitely is. So, you know, I think you're so right. The ancient cultures knew a lot of this already. And I think in a way, our modern lifestyle and modern medicine has kind of neglected the role of the gut in a lot of this. And that's why it's so exciting to see all this research. And, you know, I think literally every week there's new research coming out about potential connections between the gut microbiome and, you know, different health conditions. I think one really interesting area right now is, you know, the gut in relation to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and even autism spectrum disorders and other things where they're finding some really interesting connections.

Yeah, yeah. So if someone's thinking about and like you're listing off these different symptoms, you know, when someone thinks about what to take right now, they're understanding, well, I want to go with a brand that does have the science that is making this accessible to people. How do they know what probiotic to take, what strains to take, where do they start?

Yeah, I think that's a really great question. We actually get this question all the time. And I think one of the first and most important foundational things to really think about is different probiotic strains or different bacterial strains do different things in our body. And we also know that they can work in teams to accomplish things that each one alone wouldn't be able to accomplish. So diversity is key and making sure you have the right strains that help you address the things you're looking to solve for. And I think one of the challenges is when you just walk into a grocery store and see these products on a shelf is it's unclear for the consumer why these strains were combined. You know, was there a specific reason or was it just kind of like, we know that they are generally good for us, so let's put them in a product. The second thing is, just because they're in a product, you're not sure if they actually make it into your intestines alive and active, so they can be effective. So ideally, you want, as you said, clinical research showing this product was tested in its final formulation against specific endpoints. And then you also want to make sure that it actually gets delivered where it should go and be alive. So, you know, with, with omnibiotic, we have these different targeted formulations. And I would say for someone who's looking to take a probiotic, I would really say first and foremost, think about what are you trying to optimize? Of course you're looking to optimize digestion, but what else is going on in your life? You know, think about, okay, first of all, how is your digestion? Do you have diarrhea, other issues? Then what are your lifestyle factors? Are you living high stress life? Are you exposed to a lot of toxins that maybe you need to help your body clear out? You know? And then lastly, how are you feeling? You know, your anxiety, your mental health, your energy levels, your skin? And then really based on that, you can choose a probiotic that helps you address some of these things as well.

Yeah. So let's talk about that myth of the refrigerated probiotic.

Sure.

Why you should stop wasting your money.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think, think, you know, one of the things to really think about is if a probiotic has to be refrigerated, your body temperature is much higher than refrigeration.

Your stomach Acid, Yes.

And then you have your stomach acid. So if the products are already so fickle or, you know, unstable in a way that they can't even survive in room temperature, what are they going to do if they hit body temperature, environment? Plus your stomach acid, which, by the way, your stomach is designed to keep bad bacteria out to kill bad bacteria. So our good bacteria in the form of probiotics, have a really hard job to do to survive to get through this acidic environment into your intestines. So with omnibiotic, our delivery mechanism ensures that a high amount of these probiotic bacteria make it into your intestines alive and metabolically active. We tested this in a GI simulator, and for Omnibotic, 83% of the bacteria survive, compared to an average of 7% across, across the top 10 leading US brands. So, you know, that also explains why some people just take a probiotic and they say, yeah, it didn't work for me.

Absolutely. And look, I've tried so many brands out there, so the fact that I noticed a difference within the first few days of taking it was just. It was incredible. So to that point, then, now I feel like, you know, on social media, people who are really wanting to understand the gut microbiome, you'll find functional medicine, doctors who will say, you know what, just focus on food. It makes no sense for you to take a probiotic because you don't actually know if you need that strain, then you have other practitioners. And this is where I'm veering, too, is yeah, we live in a modern world that is toxic. We are living with higher stress levels than ever before. We started this episode, we were talking about the amount of plastics that we're exposed to through our clothing and the environment and industrial pollutants and our environment, like, you know, I just think it's essential in order for us to want to stay optimized, that it makes sense to incorporate. Put a probiotic supplement into your everyday regime. Yes. Use Food 100. Always go food first. But if you're supplementing to make up for, you know, with life, I don't know anybody who doesn't live with stress or high levels of stress. So tell us about that.

Yeah, I fully agree with you. I think, you know, if we lived in a gorgeous farmstead somewhere with no stress and no exposure to toxins, and we were farming our own foods, you.

Know, feed in the grass.

Exactly. Then I think our gut microbiome would be okay just with food and, you know, living that life. But to your point, the reality is most of Us don't live that way. And it's actually so fascinating. I was looking, speaking of cool data, I was looking at some research that came out last year where they looked at the Hadza tribe in, in Africa and they actually, actually, which is a, you know, they still live kind of off of their land and lower stress and away from industrialization. They have a significantly more diverse gut microbiome. And when you compare it to human, like to generally us as a human population who live in this more industrialized world, you see we have more inflammatory things going on in our gut. And you know, I think that's just fascinating. Like we're just living in a world where we're dealing with things that make us inflamed, that want to get us out of balance. And it's so important to really replenish a hundred percent.

Can you tell us what is a GI simulator? Yes, yeah, I've heard you say that before. What is it?

Yeah, it's so, you know, it's basically a machine that just simulates your different steps of your gut, of your digestive tract. So it basically starts with a chamber that's simulating, you know, the amylase in your mouth and kind of chewing and then it, you know, and then it's time based too. So then it gets into another little area that's very acidic at the level of your stomach. It simulates the churning of the stomach and then, you know, it kind of goes on like that, changing the ph and the duration. So when you put something in a GI simulator, like a probiotic, you're literally measuring at the different, different, you know, spots. Oh, how many bacteria are alive now, alive now, alive now. And then you can also measure their metabolic activity because, you know, a bacteria can be alive. But I always make the comparison to thinking about a human. Would you want this kind of like injured old, you know, person, I don't know, fixing something in your house versus a, you know, young, strong bacteria?

Absolutely.

And I think that's kind of. They get. You want to make sure that the bacteria kind of reach where they should be in your intestines alive and in their kind of peak performance state so they can actually do what you want them to do versus kind of like hanging out and eventually dying and being excreted.

Yeah, and that's a great point too, because we think as we age that we naturally become depleted. Right. So for me, equally as exciting as gut microbiome and probiotics and stuff like that is like the mitochondria. Right. So we now know that the mitochondria works in a network and they communicate throughout the body. But the gut microbiome is no different. Right. It is connected to so many different types of systems. There's so many different strains of probiotics responsible for different duties. So let's break this down so people really, really understand. Let's start off with, like, what is the gut brain connection?

Yeah, sure. It's honestly my favorite connection to talk about because.

Especially today.

Yeah, yeah.

So relevant.

And, you know, even for me, I mean, going back to my Lyme journey, my. My brain was such a mess after Lyme and taking omnibiotic stress release specifically, like, helped me so much, just restore some of that clarity and. But anyways, so the gut brain connection is really this. They call it a dual pathway. So it's, you know, the gut communicates with the brain and the brain communicates with the gut. And we know that our gut bacteria are responsible for supporting the production of so many neurotransmitters, hormones, metabolites, and other messenger signals to the brain. For example, 90% of the body's happiness hormone, serotonin, is produced with the help of our gut bacteria. We know that, you know, mental illnesses, especially depression, are linked to a depleted gut microbiome. And, yeah. So, you know, again, supporting the gut and making sure you have these bacteria that communicate with your brain is so essential. While we're on the topic of really incredible study we did with omnibiotic with was, we actually looked at MRI data, and people took omnibiotic for four weeks, and they compared their connectivity, their functional connectivity in the brain. And on these MRI images, you can literally see changes in their functional connectivity in these areas that are responsible for more focused attention and, you know, good, strong brain function. So it's really incredible to you literally saw that connection between the gut and the brain.

And it's interesting, too. Like, I know a lot of these studies, they have to be done on adults, but I'm looking at it through a lens of children also. Right. So we never used to see so many cases of ADD and ADHD and stuff like that. And yet it's no secret. You walk into any grocery store and all food marketing is geared towards sugar. And we know that bad gut bacteria tend to thrive on refined starches and sugar and these chemicals and stuff like that that have that gut brain connection. Right. So that is just fascinating. We'll talk about kids in a little bit. Let's continue with the connection within the body. When we think about the gut immunity connection, then so you Mentioned this a little bit before in terms of healing, but when we think about our immune system, and especially in the past few years coming off of COVID I think that's why there's been this rise in interest also. And, like, how do we really reboost our gut microbiome again? Like, yeah, how can we really take ownership of our immune system now?

Yeah. So, you know, I think many people kind of look at me with big eyes when I say the gut is one of our largest immune organs in the body. Fact is, 70 to 80% of the body's immune cells live in the gut. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense because anything we ingest, so food and water comes to the gut, and that's really our first line of defense. And we know at this point that our gut bacteria directly communicate with the immune system. They send messenger signals saying, you need to attack this, or this is not right. They can. Can help upregulate our immune response or down regulate our immune response. And I think with an immune system, you know, the. The word balance is key because on the one hand, you want it to be strong to help defend against the things that shouldn't be in our body, but on the other hand, you don't want it to go into overdrive, which then leads to autoimmune issues and all these things that you're trying to avoid.

And what do you say, you know, from the data that you have or the stories that you hear, the practitioners that you work with, with, do you suggest that people have a look at their labs? Like, you obviously are on that boat because of your own healing journey, but are the practitioners that really love omnibiotic, are they. Are they seeing the results when they look at people's labs with their. Their immune system, or maybe they've got terrible leaky gut or something like that following?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm all. I'm a huge fan of lab work, and I think it can just tell us, you know, I'm black and white like, like, what's going on. And yeah, you. You know, we hear it from practitioners all the time, whether it's, you know, improvements in leaky gut markers like zonulin, improvements in immune markers, even improvements in certain metabolic markers, especially for omnibiotic. He talks with one practitioner who did an experiment on himself. I think he took. He talks for three months and looked at his triglyceride levels and insulin resistance markers and also, you know, his weight loss, and he had really incredible, impressive results. So, yes, we hear it all the Time. And the best stories are, you know, when practitioners experiment on themselves and really feel the difference or, you know, of course, telling us about their patients.

Incredible. Yeah. I'm a really big fan of the gut restoration protocol for my clients. So one, they diversify, but they go on an entire program. Do you want to just share about that really quickly?

Sure, yeah. So it's our three month program, it's called the Gut Health reset program. And it really, we put this together with three goals in mind. The first being, you know, in month one, you take omnibiotic A, B10, which is our gut restoration probiotic. So that really helps restore good balance. But also we know the strains in omnibiotic A, B10 actually have the ability to push out certain bacteria that can make us sick. So think, you know, C Diff and other things. So that's month one, you're really restoring and laying a strong foundation. Month two, you follow it up with omnibiotic stress release, which really gets at strengthening your gut barrier. So anyone who has heard of leaky gut knows that if our gut barrier is weak, things can leak into the bloodstream, leading to all kinds of issues, including chronic inflammation, food allergies, you know, brain fog, you name it. So omnibiotic stress release really works at restoring and, you know, the gut barrier and also reducing inflammation in the intestines. And then the bonus of that is since it is our gut brain access probiotic, people often report, you know, improvements in, you know, mental clarity, energy levels, focus. So that's really a really big impact for many that they're seeing. And then the third month is kind of getting at that immune system aspect of things with omnibotic balance, which is our immune support probiotic. And that really helps that balancing the immune system, you know, making sure we have these strong defenses in our gut at while making sure that our immune system doesn't go into overdrive.

Yeah, I love it for so many of my clients, one, because they are targeted, but two, they look at it's a holistic view of healing. Yeah, right.

That's true. Yeah.

So we talked about the immune system, we talked about the gut brain. Let's talk about the gut liver.

Yes. The gut liver axis is another one of those things where I'm just, every time I read more about it, I'm just amazed because who would think that the gut and the liver have anything to do with each other? And you know, the liver is one of our most important detoxification systems in the body and it's connected to the gut through the portal vein. So anything that's absorbed from our intestines into our bloodstream goes to the liver. And the liver's job is to clean anything out that shouldn't be in our body. The problem is if our gut is leaky and inflamed, a lot of things we don't want to get to the liver. Liver, like toxins, residue of, you know, chemicals and medications. Whatever gets into the, gets to the liver. And the liver has to work overtime to really detox. If this continues for too long, the liver just gets tired and overburdened and overworked. Aren't we surprised? And you know, that really can impact liver function. And since the liver is also so tied into metabolic functions like insulin management, it can really lead to a lot of metabolic issues as. As well.

Well, so the liver then, along with the gut microbiome, are constantly working.

Yes.

I think it's pretty incredible. So if they're communicating with each other, this is a good opportunity to just call out anybody who's listening who is experiencing any type of digestive imbalance. And our digestive system starts in the mouth, ends at the anus, anything and everything in between. Right. We talked about the fact that a lot of people just start getting used to living with the symptoms that they have. Right. Irritable bowel syndrome is something that's just like, ah, I've got IV ibs. I've got ibs. It's like, well, no, you gotta heal the ibs. Because to your point, with that degree of inflammation and aggravation within the gut microbiome, if those toxins can't stay within the gut, they are recirculated within the body. And so life could still look good, feel great. Your stress might be low, but if your body's constantly working, you're going to eventually become depleted. So again, this is just. I love love, because stress, like, I think it's not even about stress. Today we're living with chronic levels of.

Stress, chronic levels of stress. You know, both mentally, kind of from everything, but also physically, as you said earlier, the toxins in our world and, you know, the hit workouts we're doing, it's all stress on the body.

Absolutely. So you brought up a good point about insulin resistance also. So another topic that's really, really trending, and you would never assume that the gut microbiome had anything to do with your, your insulin resistance. Right. But now more than ever, we're seeing people with metabolic imbalances as we get older.

Right.

We think that we're Eating healthy, but with the result of just not paying attention for so long or having a poor diet for so long, it's really impacting our metabolic health, despite the hit workouts, despite the walking, despite hitting all the checklists on your list. So what kind of studies have you seen with Omni and insulin resistance?

Yeah, so we actually did. I would say it's one. It's two studies essentially, where they took type 2 diabetes patients, you know, which, you know, insulin management is at the core of. Of diabetes. And the patients didn't do anything different. They didn't change their lifestyle, didn't change their diet. The only thing they changed in this time frame of the study was taking Omnibody Ketox. And they looked at at three months and at six months, what are some of the main kind of cardio metabolic markers as well as inflammatory markers that we're seeing. And across the board, they saw a significant improvement across these markers. You know, 70% improvement in triglyceride levels. I believe it was like 50% improvement in C reactive protein, which is a huge inflammation marker, and a 64 improvement in insulin markers. So. And, you know, again, taking a probiotic.

Changing their diet, anything. Wow, that is fascinating.

Yeah.

And this is from omnibiotic Ketox formula.

Exactly. That was the Omnibiotic Ketox formula, which, again, was formulated with that gut liver connection in mind.

That is fascinating to me. And also, who couldn't use more support with that? Right. Especially with triglycerides. Like, a lot of the numbers that we see, they're not even the result of the here and now. They're things that we've done in the past. Right. Or the foods that we were eating or abusing in our 20s and 30s and beyond. So, all right, so what are some of the biggest mistakes that people are making when it comes to probiotics?

Yeah, I think the biggest mistake, and I can't even blame people for it, is, you know, you walk into a grocery store and you see, as you said, this wall of probiotics. Which one do you pick? Maybe it's the one with the marketing or the branding, the packaging that catches your eye because it looks cool. Or maybe it's the one you saw trending on TikTok. But what people don't really look at is, you know, what is the formulation, what. What are the strains that are in it, what clinical studies behind it do we know it actually works. And that's really what omnibiotic set out to do. You know, we're changing how probiotics are formulated, develop the clinical studies and research behind it and also making sure that it actually gets to your intestines in a way that has an impact.

Can we just double click on this for a second? Because I feel like especially for our, I'm a little bit older than you, but our generation and girls that are younger, you know, know just like the food industry. In the food industry you can go into a health food store, go into Whole Foods and you'll see a food product that is labeled healthy, all natural, gluten free keto like checks all the boxes. We think that it's gotta be good for me, right?

Yep.

Meanwhile, it's causing you to be on this metabolic rollercoaster throughout the day. It's fueling the bad bacteria in your gut. You know, the supplement industry is getting to a point where it's no different. Like it's a marketing play, you know, it's even in terms of being in a retailer pay to play for what eye level you're going to be on for consumers. Right. And then there's the marketing, the advertising for TikTok and social media and stuff like that. So I think that there's a time and a place like we have to use social media as a platform because it works. It's great for educating. Right. It's really, really great for, you know, even enrolling community. Right. But talk to me a little bit about your differentiation with omnibiotic.

Yeah. So you know, as I mentioned earlier, because different strains do different things in the body, omnibiotic has targeted formulations. So we don't have this one size fits all approach where it's just you combine a few strains and kind of hope that they do what you think they might do. It's targeted formulations to help you solve specific health needs. Each formulation is clinically tested. So it's not just that we're relying on data from a strain that was tested in a lab or in some other study. We're actually testing the final combination of strains. That's why in the clinical studies you will see it says, you know, omnibiotic AB10 was used in this study and here are the outcomes. And you know, omnibiotic is developed by a gut microbiome competence center. This is the gut microbiome. And studying the gut microbiome is all they do since, you know, almost 30 years. And I think that's a huge difference compared to, to other manufacturers that have a ton of different, you know, vitamins and supplements. And a probiotic is just one little portion of their, their Expertise here. It's really, we know what the strains do. We combine them mindfully. They're clinically tested. And as I mentioned earlier, we know that the delivery mechanism is extremely effective.

Thank you for pointing, like, just owning in on that because I think that's the greatest game changer. And would you say that there has. I just feel like there has to be some influence coming from your Europe, being found in Europe first prior to coming to the U.S. yeah, that's actually.

A great point that you bring that up. So, you know, Omnibiotic was founded by Anita Fraval. She was a pharmacist by training. But really what got her fascinated about the gut microbiome is that she lost her husband very early to colon cancer and that really, you know, he was treated by the best doctors and they were doing all the things. But after he passed away, she kept asking herself, is there anything else we could have done? And she came across, I believe it was the Hippocrates quote again, that said, you know, all disease begins in the gut. And that really started her passion for deeply studying the gut microbiome and ended up to formulating Omnibiotic. And, you know, the end is really, the rest is history. That's, that's how we're here today. And one of her biggest goals for the brand was to really science first, you know, deeply understanding and studying the strains, but also making sure we have really clean, high quality ingredients. If you look at the omnibiotic label, you will see every strain has a number, a letter, number, combination at the end that essentially is called a specified as at the substrain level. So what that means is you're specifying not just, you know, the strain itself, but you're literally specifying it down to kind of what the genetic sequence of that specific substrate strain is. And that ensures that with every batch, you're getting the exact same strain and outcomes. Many other supplement labels on probiotics will just show the strain without that substrain designation, which essentially allows you a lot more flexibility in where you source these from batch to batch. And unfortunately, that means that sometimes you're not really getting the exact same strain.

Right, so let's talk about the, the delivery mechanism. Right. So when it comes to absorption of the probiotics that you take, the delivery mechanism of omnibiotics is very different than any others. It's something that my kids also love. So talk about that.

Yeah. So, you know, you, you kind of pointed it out. It's a powder, it's not a capsule. And the goal or the reason it's a powder is because through a lot of testing and studying omnibiotic found that that's really the most effective way, way to get these products into the intestines. And the way our delivery mechanism works is you have the probiotics and then in that powder we also mix prebiotic nutrients that are specific to the probiotic bacteria in that formulation. And what that means is when you rehydrate that powder in water or another neutral liquid prior to intake, these probiotic bacteria rehydrate from their freeze dried style state. They soak up this water, they begin to consume the prebiotic nutrients that are mixed in, which makes them really strong and that ensures a higher survival through the intestines. If the bacteria, the freeze dried bacteria, say in a capsule were to come in contact with the acidic liquids in your stomach or the upper parts of your small intestine, they again, they soak up because they're freeze dried, they soak up the first liquid they come in contact contact with. If that liquid is the acid or the digestive enzymes in the upper part of your intestines, it's too acidic and they essentially die.

Got it. Okay, so timing wise then. So I have this thing with my clients, my meditation teacher. We talk about a morning ritual which is rise P meditate rpm. For my clients, they know that it's rise pee meditate omnibiotic.

That's amazing. I love it.

That's what I do. So I just share what works for me. I prefer taking them first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The data that you've seen, is there a better time to be taking them?

We typically recommend the most important thing being on an empty stomach. I know it varies a little bit by brand. Some brands they take with food, it really depends on, you know, the specific strains and the brand's recommendations there. But for us it's really taking it on an empty stomach so that they get through the acidic environment as quickly as possible. You don't want them sitting in a stomach where the stomach is like, oh, let me add more digestive juices because I have breakfast to digest. You know, you kind of want it empty, it's just in a little bit of liquid. It goes very quickly through your stomach, gets out of that acidic environment and then, you know, they reach the intestines where they can really colonize and flourish. With regards to whether it's morning or night, those are usually the two favorite times people take it in the morning or at night before bed. I have, you know, many People also take it twice a day or they do like one in the morning, one at night, which is very popular. But yeah, those are really the two times. And then most important, just on an empty stomach.

Love that. Yeah. If I'm working with a client, we're really dialing in on gut healing and gut restoration. Or if they have high levels of stress, I'll do one in the morning and then one in the evening. Maybe even two different strains depending on what they need.

Yeah, for sure. That's. I mean, especially if you're going through something like, you know, you're restoring from antibiotics or you're storing gut imbalance, and you're also maybe working on keeping inflammation low. Doing that. Like AB10 with stress release combination is a really popular one. One.

Yeah. So I have to tell this to Lena also. So stress Release and then AB10. A lot of my clients, when they start working with me, they think that it's normal to have a bowel movement in the morning that's always only induced by coffee, which is not. Like, that should not happen. You should not. You should be able to have a bowel movement in the morning after hydrating, not after dehydrating the colon with coffee. So my clients who've done the stress in the morning and then the A B10 at night have noticed a difference in the quality of their bowel movement the following day.

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I mean, you know, people always roll their eyes when I start going there, but your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health. And, you know, there's this little chart called the Bristol stool chart. And, you know, it shows you kind of what a good bowel movement looks like. And I think it's really, really important to get educated on that because your body is sending you signals and being able to understand those signals. And, you know, tailoring maybe your diet a little bit differently the next day or your supplements that you're taking can make a huge impact. I mean, if you have waste just sitting in your colon and not eliminating it, that also makes your body reabsorb some of these toxins that you should really be eliminating on a daily basis.

Basis a hundred percent. You can talk about poop all you want. I do that every single day. I also do it with my kids, too. You know, from my. My son from the time he was really little, he understands the quality of his bowel movements when he eats really great food that's healthy and nutrient dense, most likely with no ingredient labels, versus when he goes to the party. And he has access to a lot of the junk that's there, which is fine in moderation, but he really just does understand the. The difference. So on the topic with kids, then, do you. Have you done any studies on children?

Yeah, so we have. So first of all, in general, anyone in the world of clinical studies will know that doing studies on children or pregnant women is really difficult.

Absolutely.

But, you know, we have a probiotic specifically for pregnant women, and then kind of babies, slash toddlers, which is our Omnibotic Panda. I don't know how familiar you are with that.

Not so much. I ended up just kind of cutting the dose that I'm taking for my kids.

Yeah, yeah. But so with Panda, what they really looked at is, for infants and babies, what is the impact on colic, which is, you know, a huge issue for many babies.

Yeah.

And again, the findings were pretty impressive. I think the general kind of incidence rates or occurrence of colic and infants is between 30 and 40% of babies with taking Omnibotic Panda. It went down to under 5% in the. In the. The kids that started taking it. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

So that's a huge. Anyone who's a parent who had, like, a screaming Baby at 2 in the morning really knows that that can be a game changer.

Yeah.

And then the other thing they looked at is children who were at risk for developing eczema because they had a family history of eczema. What happens if you give them Omnibiotic Panda? Because it also has those immunomodulating effects. And again, they saw a really significant reduction in the number of kids who got eczema. Eczema in the treatment group versus the control group.

So prevalent.

Yes.

Right.

Yeah. All these allergies in childhood. I actually wish that was an area where a lot more research was going. Because if you can change the trajectory of a child's, you know, gut microbiome, that impacts the child's immune system, mental clarity, and kind of, I think, almost every single aspect of their lives.

Yeah. And I'd say, like any issue of the skin. Right. With my clients, I directly go to their liver and their gut microbiome. So it's like, it's so essential. And you bring up another point, too. With children, like, with these numbers being so high, you know, what is the statistic with women? All the toxins that are found in our umbilical cords. Right. Despite our best efforts, even, like, living in the industry, recently, I even did a urine test to check on all the toxins within me. They found microplastics.

Yeah.

In my urine. And like, I'm the girl who's doing all the things and trying all the supplements and the detoxing and the infrared. But again, you know, if it's something that is just so relevant in today's world, why not give your body a little bit of support and just notice if you feel any difference, Notice if you see any difference in the symptoms within your. Your kids. Yep. I think it's essential.

Totally. And, you know, especially if it's these things that are so easy in a way to incorporate into your daily routine. You know, it's not this three hour practice you're doing three times a week, week. It's, you know, nourishing foods, hydration, the simple kind of day to day things that you're implementing to support your health.

That's a good point. Right. So it's habit stacking. So first thing in the morning, everyone should definitely start their day with hydration. With my kids, it's the same ritual. So we all start our day with a glass of water. And with them, I get them to put their Omni in and then they're stirring it themselves. Right. So it's like a little activity for them. But they take ownership of their health from a really young age, which I, I've really enjoyed that process.

I love that so much. You're empowering them to be, you know, to take charge of their health and know what feels good and what doesn't. And I just love that.

Yeah, you're feeding your body, like a beautiful concept to actually nourish your body. Okay. Probiotics, all of these incredible strains. Like, how does someone know what to start with? Like, you know, for your girlfriends, you have a girlfriend saying, okay, Hannah, just tell me, where do I start? Yes, what do you recommend?

So I always say, think about what you're trying to optimize in your body. Do you look at your digestion? Do you have any digestive issues you're experiencing? What is your lifestyle like right now? Are you really stressed? Are you eating a lot of processed food? Maybe because you're traveling a lot for work? You know, are you working long hours? And then how are your energy levels, your mental clarity, really kind of taking inventory of your health and where you see those gaps, what are you for looking, looking to support? And then based on that, another good thing, if you really are struggling with GI issues, I think a good stool test with a practitioner who knows what, you know, what they're looking at is huge. It's so interesting and then based on that, choose a targeted probiotic like, you know, one of the omnibiotic formulations to really help you address what you're solving for if you don't know where to start. I think the Gut Health Reset program, as you know, is a really fantastic place to start because it really resets your whole foundation. If that's a little too much for people to commit to, then I often say, you know, start with a month of omnibiotic A B10, it really restores and replenishes. And then maybe choose stress release if you're really stressed, looking to manage your inflammation levels, or he talks as a great option. If you're really, you know, eating a lot of processed foods, exposed to a lot of toxins, then, you know, give your liver a little love, too.

Love that. Yeah. And to the point of. So with these, with these different strains, these different products, the taste is generally the same across the board. So you mix this powder into the water, the water gets a little bit of a white, cloudy color. The taste is really refreshing. Yeah. It's not something that's. There's no artificial sugars or any flavors that are added. So just as a preface to people who are curious.

Yeah. And you know, some people, I've. I've had a handful of people, especially kids too, where it's like, they will not drink this. You can always mix it in milk or a non water, coconut water, anything. You just don't want it to be acidic. So no coffee, no orange juice. Careful with smoothies. It really depends what else is in there. And nothing too hot because we know, you know, heat kills bacteria. So those are really the things to look out for, but especially for kids, you can mix it in a little applesauce or yogurt. That's fine. Fine too.

Very good. All right, probiotics, we've talked about. Let's talk about my favorite prebiotics and postbiotics. So I don't know if you know this, but growing up, my mom, she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. So I've only ever known her to be completely deformed. And she would try anything and everything. And so I remember books on gut health, you know, mid-80s, early 90s, and she'd put all these different foods and fiber specifically on the plate in front of us, just like that. We would see it. And of course she was imprinting. It worked. But let's talk about the science behind the prebiotics and postbiotics. Yeah.

So you know, prebiotics, it's fiber and prebiotics and fiber are the food sources for our good gut bacteria. So if we're not eating enough fiber and enough diversity of fiber, we're essentially depriving our gut bacteria of the foods they need to thrive. And fiber also adds bulk to our digestion. So essentially that's why many people who are not eating enough food fiber have constipation and just overall issues with digestion. And so, you know, it's, it's huge. It's crucial. And if you look at the data, the majority of Americans are actually diff deficit and they, they are not meeting their daily recommended fiber intake.

Yeah.

And so, you know, I think for me, when I think about fiber, the most important thing is food. How are we getting more fiber through food? So many amazing food options. But for some people, if that's something they struggle with, taking a prebiotic supplement can also be helpful. I would just always say, you know, again, there's a wide range of options out there. And ideally you take one that has kind of a mindful combination of fibers because some, if you take too much, it can make you constipated or very bloated. So at omnibiotic, I don't even know if you know this, we have the Omni logic line of prebiotics.

No.

Oh, okay.

Logic.

So it's, it's basically, it's called omni logic and it's our, we call it precision prebiotics because it's different combinations of prebiotic fibers mixed with some micronutrients like, you know, zinc or vitamin D, depending on what you're looking to optimize. So omni logic plus, for example, really works on those energy producing cells in your intestines, helps with some metabolism and obviously also, you know, know, keeps your digestion going. Yeah. So I'm a big fan of prebiotics. Yeah. And then postbiotics. You know, I think postbiotics is really a fancy term for the things your probiotic bacteria produce. So it's their metabolites. And in an ideal world, if you have a balanced, thriving gut microbiome, you should have the right bacteria in there to produce these postbiotics in the right amounts.

Right.

However, you know, if the microbiome is depleted and you don't have enough of these bacteria, that's when we see, you know, your butyrate is really low, your short chain fatty acids are really low. Which are these postbiotics or metabolites? And I think there is a time and place for supplementing with these postbiotics, especially if your Gut is really depleted. But how I always think about it, especially if you're trying to kind of trim down the number of supplements you're taking, making, I would think about it as, like, make sure you get that fiber or these prebiotics in to support a thriving gut microbiome. Take a good probiotic to make sure you have the right bacteria, and then essentially you're just building your own powerhouse of probiotic bacteria in your gut that then help produce these postbiotics.

That is a great point. So people need to understand the more that you feed the good guys, the more that you're reinoculating the gut, the colony. Yeah, right. To do the work.

Yeah. And the cool thing thing is once you have that ecosystem of good bacteria, they also help to keep the bad ones out. And this group of opportunistic bacteria and yeast, that they will thrive when there is space. But if you have enough of the good guys, there's no space for them to thrive. So, you know, they keep things like Candida, which is a common culprit, they keep that in check and cause you.

To crave more of those foods, right?

Yes.

So support the, the colonists.

Yes. Support the good guys.

And I'm sure people listening are going to want to know, you know, how do you. Do you have any strategy behind your diet? The types of foods that you purchase, what you're putting onto your dinner table every single night, what do you focus on?

I think you and I are on the same page. You know, I. I mean, especially through my Lyme journey, I had to be really cautious of what I was eating. I developed some food intolerances. So, you know, for me, me, I really feel a difference if I eat clean, like, nutrient dense, fresh foods. I cook a lot myself. For me, you know, my main mantra is, like, it doesn't have to be fancy. Like, it just, you know, has to be like nutrient dense and nourishing, you know, energizing and nourishing for me. But yeah, I feel like that's my main strategy.

Oh, girl, you and me both. I think people, I'm sorry, I'm not the nutritionist that has these beautiful, elaborate meals. Meals. And if I have time to cook and prepare those things, then I love it. Beautiful food is essential. It's actually part of ayurveda, which is what I grew up with. But for me, in every single diet that I've tried, I've gone vegan, paleo, tried keto. Whether you eat animal protein or not, the more that I've prioritized, diversifying the plant fibers in my meals, that is when I thrive. My energy is great. My bowel movements are perfect. My hormones feel like they're in check. I feel more satiated. I feel like I really don't have. Have to be on a supplement protocol as much. So, yeah, I'm a big, big fan of that. And avoid being a creature of habit. Right. So I think a lot of my clients, when they come to see me, they're on autopilot. They go to the grocery store every single week. They've got the exact same grocery list, which means that they're only taking in a limited amount of vitamins and minerals and nutrients and fibers from those specific foods. Right. None of our ancestors ate that way. They would eat seasonally. They would eat what was available. So they were constantly getting. Getting a variety of different vitamins and minerals, but also from the microorganisms of the soil.

Yeah.

That those foods were grown in which nature is designed to help us thrive. Right, Totally. So the quality of the soil supports our immune system also. So avoid being a creature of habit. Diversify. Eat the Rainbow is so much more than this buzzworthy Instagram hashtag. It's like, eat the rainbow. Buy what's on sale. If that's going to help you, like a four forces you to just try something new. Right?

Yeah. I also think, you know, there's other ways. There's those farmers boxes to get some variety. I think, you know, I've seen some people even do a challenge where it was like one new vegetable or fruit like every week or something just to. Yeah. Get curious with the things you maybe don't usually incorporate.

Yeah, I think that's great. And honestly, like, look up one new recipe a week or a month if you're really busy, and then you're going to just go, grow. Yeah, grow that. Right. Do you have any data, like, you know, are you a big fan of using herbs and spices and stuff like that?

I love it. I mean, I. So I am familiar with, you know, Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, and it definitely has been part of my healing journey over time. I wish I was a real kind of like herbalist and really could dive into it because it's so fascinating. I mean, that's, you know, also things nature is giving. Giving us. But I do, I love incorporating different spices and herbs into cooking. You know, just, I feel like even just a fresh parsley or basil can make such a difference on a meal and it's so fun. So, yeah, I'm a big fan for both Kind of the day to day cooking as well as the more medicinal use of, of these things.

Yeah, I wanted to call it out because, yeah, fibers, fiber is such a big piece. But thinking about our healing journeys, working with Ayurvedic or TCM practitioners, there's such a focus on herbs and spices. And I would say that's like nature's ant anti inflammatories. Right? Like that's nature's medicine. So if you want to build your medicine cabinet, focus on herbs and spices, grow your own. I'm with you. We'll do a course one day.

Yes. Yeah.

All right, so anything else that you practice daily with all this information that you have around the gut microbiome and wanting to thrive, what are some of your personal practices?

Yeah, I mean, you know, I do, I do really focus on my gut microbiome because I personally feel it in the research shows the two and this whole conversation really, I think has shown this too, that it impacts so many different systems in our, our body. So a big one for me is, you know, incorporating my daily omnibiotic as well as just doing other things to keep my gut microbiome nourished. And a lot of that is also what makes me feel good overall. So good hydration, a really, you know, nourishing diet or nourishing foods, trying to keep my stress low and you know, sleep, those are. And daily movement. I feel like some of that we touched on already in terms of things that ground me. But yeah, for me, that, that's really. Those are my pillars of wellness.

Those are essentials. And what about, do you, you know, before bed, your bedtime ritual, are you good at limiting screens like you're a new mom? So that last hour, two hours when your baby goes down is like such an essential time to get your time back. But what about, do you have any restrictions around that time?

I wish I had more. But I do have to say something I've really enjoyed doing is just once my baby goes to bed to just use a little bit of time to put a podcast in or listen to some music and just do some chores around the house in peace. You know, that I just. It can be something as simple as folding laundry or just tidying something up, but it just makes me feel kind of like I can not be in my head. It makes me feel productive and I am listening to something that's, you know, relaxing. And I do think it also means that I am not, you know, watching TV or on my phone. And it's kind of this time where I'm disconnecting a little bit from all the other things going on in life.

Yeah, the busyness. Right.

But I do wish, I feel like some nights I do a little bedtime meditation, you know, or some other wellness ritual, maybe taking a bath, anything to really kind of ground and get back into my body. And those are of course the nights that I sleep the best.

Of course.

But it's hard to do every day. So I think that's the other thing, you know, just being realistic. And I don't ever want a wellness ritual for me to feel forced. I think that's really important. And so if that's just not in the time and day that it allows, then that's fine. But sometimes I really crave it. And again, you know, trusting your gut, listening to your intuition, I think it's just so important.

That's such a good point. Like when you really shift the dialogue in your mind from restriction to nourishment and you're doing the things to nourish yourself and feel, feel good. Like it just makes you exhale, your shoulders, just relax away from your ears and stuff like that.

And I think, you know, then you're moving away from the checklist to really doing what feels good for you.

Yeah.

And yeah, I think wellness and wellness practices shouldn't feel like a checklist. To your point.

I love that it's trending to go for earlier dinners. Yes.

I mean I have dinner at like 5:30.

In perfect world, I'm done eating by 5:30.

Journey.

It's not always the case, but I definitely notice a difference. And based on what we talked about too, when we think about the communication from the gut to the brain, you know, Ayurveda said this for a long time also. I'm going to say that again. Ayurveda. This is a foundation of Ayurveda. With digestion, you know, no food in the stomach, three hours at least before you go to bed. And if you think about it, you know, when we're eating too close to bedtime, having really late dinner, our digestion is active. Those good and bad gut bacteria, they are active. They're sending signals to the brain. If the gut and the digestion is actively working, then our brain isn't getting that deep restorative sleep that we need.

Yeah, that's true. And also, you know, I'm sure it impacts other organs in the body. If the liver has to work on detoxing what's coming from the gut, it can't focus on detoxing. Just the things that it has accumulated over the day. So it all relates. And I think in traditional Chinese medicine, even they say, you know, if you wake up between a certain, certain number, like between certain hours a night, that's a sign that your liver is overburdened. And it's all connected.

It's all connected. And our body just wants to be this like smooth running orchestra. We just have to support the environment within us to get there. This has been such a great conversation. We now know that you and I want to do a course on herbalism. We would be great dinner dates together. The first one's at the restaurant.

Yes.

Anything else that you wanted to cover with Omni in terms of studies or static or anything?

No, I think we've covered a lot. I mean, I could keep talking about it for hours, but I think for today we've covered a lot.

I think so too. We got into the different strains and different products and stuff like that. So, you know, with every guest that I have on, we do a bit of a speed round in terms of closing questions. So the first one is, what is one way that many women are making health and healing too complicated?

Yeah, I think, you know, I really think if anything, as it becomes a chore or something that's this really, really expensive, time consuming, must do as healing or health ritual. That's where I think it becomes a little dicey. So in my mind, especially if you're supporting, you know, your ongoing wellness, it needs to be attainable, easily incorporated into your day to day. Of course, if you're trying to like heal something, you know, things might not be comfortable all the time, but I think in terms of overall achieving wellness and maintaining wellness, ideally it's sustainable, attainable, it feels good. It's not a checklist.

Make it feel good for you.

Yes, yes, Emphasis on that. For you, not for your friend.

All right, what is your favorite ancient healing remedy?

So beyond taking care of my gut, I love acupuncture. It's just it really. I've really experienced the power of acupuncture so many times throughout. Throughout the last 10 years or so. And I feel like it's definitely something in my healing toolbox that I go back to when I need a tune up.

I love that. Can I also ask, like, you know, living in Germany, growing up in Germany, do you remember any rituals in Germany that you would see people around you practice?

Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, so this is when I was growing up, so I was definitely, you know, younger and maybe things have changed, but I remember Going to the farmer's market with my mom, like, at least once a week. And that's where we got to your point. The season, seasonal things, you know, and they still had earth and soil on them. And it was. First of all, it was such an amazing experience for me as a kid to, like, pick your own vegetables. And I really miss that here. You know, of course, it's amazing that we have access to all foods at all times, but really, getting your daily or weekly groceries from a farmer's market was incredible. And then the other thing that I think was really prevalent as a mindset in Germany is this idea that really, you should be getting your vitamins and minerals from food. When I was a kid, almost no one around me was taking supplements. And, you know, I think that's a really, really important thing to consider too. Like, in an ideal world, you're getting a lot of the nutrients you need from your food now. Yes, that has changed with how our, you know, supply chain of foods has changed as a. Well. But, yeah, I think just understanding that a lot of the healing things can come from, you know, nature and don't have to be artificial.

I agree. I have similar memories going to Denmark when I was younger. But I also, I know this is true of Germany also, but, like, the ritual around being together and eating community and as a family is what stand outs stands out the most for me from, like, the time that we toured around. So thank you for that. All right. If you had to pick something about modern medicine that excites you, which, what would it be?

I think it's really exciting to see more and more practitioners getting excited about alternative ways of healing and incorporating that. You know, for example, acupuncture, again, going back to that as a modality. But, you know, many are now looking at acupuncture for things like fertility and even autoimmune issues. And I think it's so important that we're not looking at any one of these modalities as a silo. You know, Western medicine can coexist with these more traditional ways of healing, and they can amplify each other if it's done in a way that considers both. And I think that the practitioners who are starting to take that mindset, this is where I hope medicine is going and what really excites me.

I'm with you, sister. All right, so what are the top three things that we can start doing right now to optimize our health?

Yeah, so I think, you know, we've talked about it today. The gut is so Core to overall well being, that making sure your gut microbiome is strong and in order is great. We do that, you know, through making sure we have the right bacteria, but as well, you know, the right nutrition, hydration. Which leads me into my next point which is I think, you know, overall having good nutrition, nourishing, really nourishing your body. And I think to me that includes hydration as a key point point. And you know, the last one for me would definitely be managing your stress, which can again include a variety of things, whether that's, you know, your daily movement, your meditation, your mindset work, sleep, all of that. But yeah, you know, taking care of your gut, nourishing your body and sleep stress.

What I love about asking these questions that everyone, we go back to things that are just the basics, they're essential, they're things that we know to be easy and good for us. And most of them are actually, actually free.

Yes, this is true.

All right, so if you could leave our listeners with just one takeaway that you're most passionate about right now, what would it be?

Yeah, I mean, you know, since this episode was really about gut health, I really think the gut is so core to our well being that and you know, as we talked about our modern lifestyle and modern medicine is really neglecting the importance of the gut microbiome. So kind of coming back to our roots, looking at some of these more ancient ways of healing and restoring and really reconsidering our gut health for overall well being can be so powerful and a real game changer for many. And you know, one of the main ways you can do that is through first understanding your gut, kind of what's going on and then taking a high quality probiotic like Omnibiotic to really support yourself.

I couldn't agree. Agree more. I've loved this conversation. I wanted to connect with you for so long, one on one. You are such an incredible thought leader. You make a lot of this data just so relevant and tangible for listeners. So keep doing what you're doing. I'm your biggest fan. I'm so grateful that I found Omnibiotic and I can't wait to have you back on.

Thank you, Mona. It was so fun being here. I feel like we could be talking for hours and I think a lunch date sounds great.

Yes, lunch or five o' clock?

Dinner. Yeah, exactly. Thank you.

Thank you.