Let's say you're trying to lose 20 pounds or boost your immunity or increase your ability to fight COVID or even cancer.

Well, the amazing thing is with the right diet, you are well in your way to achieving these vital health goals.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today it's all about the gut, otherwise known as the gastrointestinal tract.

We'll start with a study that looks at the microbiome of those eating plant-based diets.

Almost 25-100 years ago,

Hapocriti says that all disease begins in the gut.

Feed our gut bacteria right with whole plant foods and they feed us right back with beneficial compounds like butyrate,

which are gut bugs made from fiber. Feed them wrong, on the other hand,

and they can produce detrimental compounds like TMAGO, which are gut bugs made from cheese, seafood, eggs, and meat.

Now, we used to think that TMAGO only contributed to cardiovascular diseases, like heart disease and stroke,

but more recently, it's been linked to everything from psoriatic arthritis to polycystic ovary syndrome.

The most concerned about our leading killers though.

We look at the top 10 causes of death in the United States.

We know about heart disease and stroke, killers number one and five,

but recently an association has been found between blood levels of TMAO and the risks of various cancers, killer number two.

It could be the inflammation caused by TMAO that explains the link between TMAO and cancer,

but it could also be oxidative stress such as free radicals, DNA damage or disruption in protein folding.

Killer number four, or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases like emphysema, and TMAO is associated with premature death in patients with exacerbated COPD,

though they suspect it's just due to them dying from more cardiovascular disease.

The link to stroke is no brain or no pun intended because of the higher blood pressure associated with higher TMAO levels,

as opposed to greater likelihood of clot formation in those with atrial fibrillation, and those with higher TMAO levels also appear to have worse strokes and four times the odds of death.

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