Is Diet Culture Wrecking Your Gut Health? | Dr. Will Cole

Digest This

Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

347: Ever feel like your stomach is reacting before your brain even catches up? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Will Cole to talk about what is really going on with the gut brain connection and why your stress, shame, and even childhood trauma might be showing up as bloating, anxiety, brain fog, or inflammation. We get into his newest book, Gut Feelings, and unpack everything from the vagus nerve to “shame inflammation,” plus how chronic stress can spike inflammatory markers like interleukin 6. If you have ever wondered why you can eat the same meal on vacation and feel fine, then eat it at home and feel wrecked, this one is for you. We are connecting the dots between your gut, your nervous system, your past, and your plate. And trust me, it is all connected. Topics Discussed: → How does stress affect gut health? → Can shame increase inflammation levels? → What is the gut brain connection? → Does alcohol damage the gut microbiome? → How does childhood trauma impact autoimmune disease? As always, if you have any questions for the show please email us at digestthispod@gmail.com. And if you like this show, please share it, rate it, review it and subscribe to it on your favorite podcast app. Sponsored By: → Seven Sundays | Go to https://sevensundays.com/ and use code: lilsip for 20% off → Ollie | Treat your Palentine with Ollie! Go to https://ollie.com/digest and use code digest to get 60% off your first box! → Fatty15 | For 15% off the starter kit go to https://fatty15.com/digest Timestamps: → 00:00:00 - Introduction → 00:06:01 - The Gut-Brain Connection → 00:08:16 - The Vagus Nerve → 00:12:28 - Chronic Inflammation → 00:14:14 - “Shame Inflammation” → 00:17:15 - Shame, Digestion, + Gut Health → 00:19:52 - Inflammatory Foods → 00:26:21 - Alcohol Risks → 00:31:19 - Diet Culture → 00:36:34 - Self-Care → 00:39:47 - Political Correctness → 00:41:04 - Mindful Eating → 00:46:28 - EMDR → 00:48:31 - Childhood Trauma → 00:52:31 - IBS Triggers → 00:56:56 - Gut + Feelings Further Listening: → How To Spot Synthetic Vitamins On A Label | BOK Check Out Dr. Will: → Gut Feelings (Book) → Website Check Out Bethany: → Bethany’s Instagram: @lilsipper → YouTube → Bethany’s Website → Discounts & My Favorite Products → My Digestive Support Protein Powder → Gut Reset Book → Get my Newsletters (Friday Finds) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So there's one study that I talk about in the book. It's really about it was math problems and
0:04.6	public speaking. So there's sort of that stress shame combination that people can have. And they measured
0:10.6	levels of intralukin 6, which is a type of inflammatory protein. And researchers show that the
0:16.0	people that had the highest levels of stress and shame had higher levels of interleukin 6.
0:19.6	The people that practiced self-compassion had the lowest levels of interleukin 6. The people that practiced self-compassion
0:21.9	had the lowest levels of interleukin 6. When the body is in that stressed state, that will shift
0:27.8	the body into that more of that sympathetic state, which will impact inflammation levels,
0:32.3	which will impact the gut brain axis, the connection between the two, and will impact
0:36.0	the brain hormonal axis.
0:43.0	You're listening to The Digest This Podcast, and I'm your host, Bethany Cameron.
0:48.9	Hey, guys, welcome back to The Digest This podcast. I'm your host, Bethany Cameron.
0:57.4	And guys, I'm just so pumped up about today's episode. I interview Dr. Will Cole and he is the face behind the popular podcast, The Art of Being Well, and New York Times best selling author.
1:03.4	And he just came out with his fourth book, gut feelings where he addresses the shame-fueled
1:10.6	relationship between what you eat and how you feel
1:13.9	and shares ways on how to reduce stress and inflammation, not only by the foods you consume,
1:21.8	but by changing your mind and addressing past trauma and the emotional aspect. I just finished interviewing Dr.
1:31.3	Will and as you can tell, I am so fired up. In this episode, we talk about diet culture and
1:38.9	anti-diet culture and how both are toxic, how shame can be causing gut issues, good foods versus bad foods,
1:47.7	and if there is a difference, ways to not obsess over health all while continuing to follow
1:55.5	the diet you as an individual need to support your own health needs. We also talk about the Vegas nerve,
2:03.8	EMDR, childhood trauma, alcohol, inflammatory foods, and so much more. So without further ado,
2:11.7	here's my interview with Dr. Will Cole. So there's a cereal on the market that's taking over. This cereal is vegan, paleo, grain,
	...

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