The brain-gut mystery: what’s really causing your IBS? with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Education, Science

4.6 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

IBS affects over 300 million people globally, yet remains one of the most misunderstood gut conditions. In this episode, we explore the latest science uncovering the real drivers behind IBS - and why your gut microbiome may hold the key to understanding it. Joining us is Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, a board-certified gastroenterologist and ZOE’s U.S. Medical Director. Dr. Will breaks down why IBS is so difficult to diagnose, how stress and modern lifestyles are making symptoms more common, and what “problematic” poo can tell us. We then dive into the science: how the gut-brain axis influences everything from pain to food intolerances, why women are disproportionately affected, and how a disrupted microbiome plays a central role in IBS. Finally, Dr. Will shares practical strategies backed by the latest research - from dietary changes to cutting-edge treatments - offering hope for healing and prevention. Whether you're living with IBS or simply want to understand your gut better, this episode is packed with insights into one of the most common yet elusive health conditions of our time. 🥑 Make smarter food choices. Become a member at zoe.com - 10% off with code PODCAST 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily 30+ Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks Mentioned in today's episode Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the Gut Microbiome: A Comprehensive Review (2023) Diet and gut microbial associations in irritable bowel syndrome according to disease subtype (2023) The association between low birth weight, childhood recollections of parental response to illness, and irritable bowel syndrome: a twin study (2020) Analysis of brain networks and fecal metabolites reveals brain–gut alterations in premenopausal females with irritable bowel syndrome (2020) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zoe Science and Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
0:11.0	Your digestive system should perform like a finely tuned orchestra, with every instrument playing in unison.
0:25.6	But for 300 million people worldwide, the orchestra plays out of tune.
0:31.6	Bloating swells, pain crashes, and the harmony falls apart.
0:37.5	Irritable bowel syndrome is the name given to this most commonly diagnosed gut condition.
0:43.2	Yet there's no test, no cure, and no single explanation behind it.
0:46.7	But new science reveals a deeper story.
0:51.0	IBS is actually a song played between the gut and the brain.
0:56.8	And the unexpected conductor setting the score? The trillions of bacteria we recognize as the gut microbiome. In today's episode, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz uncovered the
1:03.6	mechanisms behind IBS and new ways to find relief. Will is board certified in internal
1:09.8	medicine and gastroenterology and he's also Zoe's
1:12.2	US medical director. He's a New York Times best-selling author and today he brings his extensive
1:17.5	clinical experience in treating patients suffering from IBS. By the end of this episode,
1:23.3	you'll understand what's really causing your IBS and how to find your harmony once again.
1:32.3	Well, thank you for joining me today.
1:34.2	It's my pleasure.
1:35.1	Great to see you.
1:36.3	Always such fun to have you with us.
1:38.1	And I don't feel that I need to explain our tradition here.
1:41.7	So I'm going to jump straight in to the quick fire round of questions
1:45.6	from our listeners. Are you ready to go? I'm ready. Let's go. Is bloating and stomach pain
1:50.9	something we should just live with? No, definitely not. Are you seeing more people with IBS than in the
	...

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