Cravings Aren’t Weakness: The Microbiome, GLP-1, and Metabolic Health

Commune with Jeff Krasno

Commune Media

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 673 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Microbiome scientist Colleen Cutcliffe joins Jeff to discuss how gut bacteria influence metabolic health, mental health, and food cravings. They explore Akkermansia, a keystone strain that maintains gut lining integrity and stimulates natural GLP-1 production, affecting energy, blood sugar, and mood. Colleen explains what depletes beneficial bacteria and offers practical guidance on rebuilding gut health through diet, fiber, polyphenols, and targeted probiotics. This show is made possible by: Bon Charge: Get 15% off when you order at boncharge.com and use promo code COMMUNE Stemregen: Get 20% off your first order at stemregen.co/commune with the code COMMUNEPOD Vivobarefoot: Try Vivobarefoot risk-free with a 100-day return guarantee, and get 15% off your order at vivobarefoot.com/commune. LMNT: Get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at drinklmnt.com/commune. Sunlighten: Visit sunlighten.com/commune and use code COMMUNE when you fill out the “Get Pricing’ form to save up to $1,600 on your purchase.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Very specific strains in your microbiome can stimulate your body's natural gLP1 hormone.
0:04.5	And this is what I find to be mind blowing is that human health may be based around cells that are not human.
0:13.2	Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D. microbiologist Johns Hopkins trained.
0:18.7	She founded Pendulum Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering the next
0:23.7	frontier of microbiome science. I recently got to meet a customer who said, I've always had a
0:31.0	sweet tooth and like sugar cravings. And he said, I realized that's not me. That's not who I am.
0:35.3	It was actually these microbes that were sending these signals,
0:39.2	and I was able to change the noises in my head through changing my microbiome.
0:43.1	All of these things that you're feeling,
0:44.7	you might actually be able to change them through the microbiome.
0:47.2	Can you curb a craving for tequila?
0:50.8	Well, okay.
0:52.1	We know GLP1 doesn't just affect sugar cravings, but also all cravings.
0:58.0	Colleen, thanks for being here. Such a great treat to see you.
1:02.0	Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, excited for this.
1:04.0	Yeah, absolutely. So 90% of Americans purportedly are afflicted with some form of metabolic dysfunction.
1:13.6	I raised my hand, I was one of them.
1:16.6	And many of us don't even know it.
1:20.6	So I'm curious as a place to start, how do people subjectively experience metabolic dysfunction?
1:29.3	Yeah, it's a great question. And when you see that stat or you hear about, wow, 90% of us are
1:34.8	metabolically unhealthy, you kind of look around and you're like, well, that means maybe, probably
1:38.5	I am, right? And so I think that, you know, the classic ways people know is your doctor tells
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Commune Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Commune Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.