Targeting the microbiome to boost your health & longevity - Episode 134

Join Dr. Jeffrey Gladden in this conversation with Colleen Cutcliffe, Co-Founder and CEO of Pendulum Therapeutics. Colleen earned a PhD in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Johns Hopkins University, did her postdoctoral work at Northwestern University, and is on a mission to make millions healthier through microbiome-targeted medical probiotics. In this episode, they discuss her personal journey to the creation and development of Pendulum, how it works to treat conditions like metabolic syndrome, inflammation and neurodegeneration, and the ways in which treating and maintaining a healthy microbiome could be a hack to successful aging and disease-free longevity. If you are looking for a natural route to overall health and optimization, this episode is for you.

Show notes:

Dr. Gladden introduces Colleen, and she introduces herself, gives us her personal journey to the creation and development of Pendulum, her personal connection to it. (1:30)

Colleen talks creating products that have the efficacy of a drug but the safety of a probiotic. (2:40)

Colleen mentions a study that showed how kids taking antibiotics before six months of age are systematically more prone to diseases like obesity and type two diabetes as they age. Dr. Gladden mentions how antibiotics affect children. (4:00)

Colleen tells us how butyrate is a small molecule with a really important role in a variety of different things. Our colon cells, for example, are the only cells in our entire body that use butyrate as their source of energy, as opposed to glucose. (6:10)

Dr. Gladden explains how the fiber metabolism generates butyrate that feeds the intestinal lining, including how fascinating it is that this butyrate is responsible for releasing GLP-1. (7:30)

Colleen clarifies that if you are missing your microbes, ingesting fiber does not make much difference. (10:00)

Dr. Gladden mentions some misconceptions about microbiomes and comparing the person's stool against an "ideal" stool. (11:59)

Dr. Gladden talks about keystone strains and explains that what we are eating affects and influences them, highlighting the importance of eating different kinds of fibers. (14:00)

Colleen describes a study they did, seeing a way to influence the microbiome and then have this impact on A1C and blood glucose. (17:00)

Dr. Gladden talks about how microbes also affect appetites and dictate your cravings. (19:00)

Colleen explains that the (Pendulum) formulation is stable but needs to be refrigerated, and lists the five strains: Akkermansia muciniphila, Anaerobutyricum hallii, Bifidobacterium infantis, Clostridium butyricum, and Clostridium beijerinckii. (21:10)

Colleen mentions some of the trials they have done and the approach they adopted. (24:10)

Dr. Gladden brings up neuroinflammation and poses the question of Pendulum's capacity in decreasing it. (27:04)

Colleen elaborates on the known relationship between managing your blood glucose spikes and neural inflammation. (28:05)

Dr. Gladden explains what resting metabolic rate is and how it is measured. (32:44)

Colleen talks about the importance and role of diversity in your diet to metabolize some foods, maintaining "the fence to your garden" (gut lining of your microbiome) and the regulation of mucin, which is the glue that keeps everything properly in place. (35:34)

Colleen talks about what is on the drawing board for her at the moment. (39:15)

Dr. Gladden brings up the connection between autism and microbiomes. (41:30)

Colleen talks about considering microbiomes as an additional intervention effort. (43:25)

Colleen gives out her three takeaways for listeners: the diversification of our microbiome, the importance of regulating how your body metabolizes sugar, and giving yourself a boost with the Pendulum glucose control strains paired with the proper diet. (45:39)

Colleen emphasizes the importance of people consulting their physicians when making changes that could affect their health. (48:00)

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