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Let's Gut Real - Easy to Digest Nutrition Science


Making nutrition science accessible and easy-to-digest. Andrea Hardy, Canada’s Gut Health Dietitian, is on a mission to connect people to credible, up-to-date nutrition information about gut health and digestive disorders. Nutrition misinformation is rampant. If nutrition advice online scares you, it’s probably not true. Let’s Gut Real is all taking the fear out of nutrition messaging, cultivating critical thinking, and helping you understand nutrition science. Andrea talks with guests about digestive health, the gut microbiome, hot nutrition topics, and nutrition misinformation, sharing messages that are easy to consume and that inspire sustainable action. Andrea likes to say her goal is to get people to take nutrition a little less seriously – which may come as a surprise coming from a dietitian. Through humour, she injects fun into her science-based media messages. After all, poop jokes aren’t her favourite kinda jokes, but they are a solid #2.

Mar 31, 2020

*the podcast will be changing to every other week during the COVID-19 outbreak due to my interviewees busy schedules*

Jessie is a registered dietitian with a PhD in nutritional sciences. Her graduate work researched the effects of nutritional components and environmental factors on gut health and cardiovascular disease. She has a passion for educating individuals about nutrition and the power of nourishing body and mind.  Jessie's overall goal is to make nutrition science attainable.  From breaking down nutrition science to busting myths that are so prevalent in today's society, she strives to empower individuals to become responsible consumers of social media content and experts on their own bodies.

Jessie & I talk about:

  • in animal models, how pollutants interact with the microbiome & overall host health
  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) as a persistent pollutant
  • how we are exposed to PCB's (primarily fish, fatty meats, & fatty dairy products)
  • how PCB's influence the mouse microbiota 
  • how PCB's influenced inflammation and 'leaky gut' (gut permeability)
  • how dietary fibre (inulin) helped to attenuate these changes in the gut microbiota
  • inulin increased good bacteria
  • Jessies big take-away message for humans & PCB's
  • why humans are NOT rats, but what we can change in our diet to have positive health outcomes
  • pesticides & the gut microbiota
  • conventional versus organic produce - what should you choose?

Want to learn more from Jessie? Follow her on Instagram at @jessiehoffman_phd