Ready to unlock the secret to supercharging your bariatric journey through gut health? Tune into this episode featuring Dr. Edmund Chen for transformative insights! As a passionate bariatric surgeon and devoted BariNation advocate, Dr. Chen reveals how the gut microbiome, fueled by bariatric surgery and a fiber-forward diet, can reduce inflammation and enhance your metabolic wellness. He shares practical tips for bariatric patients to thrive with minimally processed foods. 

Join our vibrant BariNation membership community for live support, delicious whole foods recipes, and a welcoming bariatric community to fuel your inspiration for as little as $5 per month! You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time donation.

Start elevating your health today!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• (00:00) Opening
• (02:08) Discussion of gut microbiome in the digestive system, producing metabolites that affect gut health
• (03:45) Discussion about diets of ultra-processed foods, inflammation, cardiovascular health issues, and autoimmune diseases 
• (08:15) Bariatric patients temporarily transition from protein shakes to whole foods after post-bariatric surgery
• (12:45) A fiber-forward diet with minimally processed foods is the second-best way to enhance the gut microbiome
• (14:30) Bariatric surgery is a critical step that bariatric patients have already taken to improve their overall health

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Bariatric surgery is the most effective way to improve gut health and gut microbiome, shifting it to a healthier state that enhances metabolic wellness and supports weight loss, as evidenced by studies showing positive changes in microbiome complexity post-surgery.
• A fiber-forward diet rich in whole foods and minimally processed foods is crucial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, as it provides essential fuel to beneficial organisms and reduces inflammation caused by ultra-processed foods.
• Ultra-processed foods and saturated fats can harm the gut microbiome, leading to increased inflammation and health issues like obesity, cardiovascular health problems, and autoimmune diseases, making it vital for bariatric patients to prioritize fiber and real foods.

RESOURCES:

• BariNation Website
• Tune in, and don’t forget to join the BariNation Community to attend community meetups, watch exclusive bonus content and support the podcast for as little as $5 per month! You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time donation.
• BariNation - Email

GUEST RESOURCES:  

Texas Center For Surgery - Website

TCBAS BariNation Membership - Website

Dr. Edmund Chen - LinkedIn

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Edmund Chen, a skilled bariatric surgeon, graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University and earned his medical degree from Cornell University. After researching metabolism at the National Institutes of Health and training at Northwestern and Duke, he specializes in ultra minimally invasive procedures using the da Vinci system for bariatric surgery, including gastric sleeve, bypass, and revisions. Known for compassionate, patient-focused care, he optimizes outcomes for bariatric patients at his Dallas practice.

ABOUT:

If the BariNation podcast helps power your bariatric journey, become a monthly podcast supporter and help us produce the show! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com and help us support people treating the disease of obesity with humor, humility, and honesty.

April Williams: You've just tuned into a podcast that welcomes you into a community, a resource center, and a safe place that powers your [00:00:15] journey towards personal wellness.

Natalie Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

Dr. Edmund Chen: Can't wait.

We were like, if Dr. Chan talks about gut health, fiber, gut microbiome, you win a bingo. So we know this is your, your absolute love language when it comes to bariatric hair. So before we jump into the questions, we introduce yourself [00:01:00] just briefly for anybody who hasn't had the opportunity to meet you yet.

We love everything that Barry Nation stands for, and we're just happy to provide any sort of support for our community that we can, uh, that we can provide.

You've talked with the doc sessions. You are just front and [00:01:45] center. You, you are the reason that I think so many people are making the decision to undergo surgery. You are a real person, you're a kind person, and you work every day to eliminate shame and stigma. So thank you for that Amy Day.

Dr. Edmund Chen: Thank you so much.

Dr. Edmund Chen: So I love this topic, and you guys know that I love this topic and I think I love this topic because the gut microbiome is such an important, [00:02:15] important sort of ecosystem and it impacts our body in so many different ways, and that's why it's such a hot topic these days, which is our continuously finding ways that the gut microbiome influences our health.

And it's more than just, I mean, these organisms more than just, you know, we just. You know, they, they just like sit with us and they don't just like walk around with us all day. They [00:03:00] produce their own metabolites. And these metabolites we've been shown to have increasing effects on human health. These metabolites can influence health and disease, and a lot of research has gone into trying to elucidate what the gut [00:03:15] microbiome is and how, uh, these metabolites influence our health.

Dr. Edmund Chen: So a lot of studies exactly that. So you could have a good gut microbiome. You could also have [00:03:45] bad gut microbiomes, the bad gut microbiomes, or have been linked to a lot of the pro-inflammatory problems that people have. And so just like you know, obesity is a pro-inflammatory condition. So is having a sort of bad gut microbiome is [00:04:00] a pro-inflammatory condition, and you know, changes in your gut microbiome have been linked to, you know, everything from cardiovascular health or cardiovascular disease.

April Williams: So maybe let's start with the not so good. What things damage our gut microbiome [00:04:30] or kill some of those organisms that are living inside that system?

The gut microbiome needs fiber. That's its main sort of, uh, fuel source. Okay, [00:05:00] so much of a diet doesn't have enough fiber. If our diet doesn't have enough fiber, well then the gut one, the good organisms can sort of die off and bad organisms can sort of take over. And those bad organisms, if they're looking for, you know, food.[00:05:15]

April Williams: Okay. And, and I'm just gonna take a little bit of a step back here and make sure that I'm understanding what, what you are saying. So when we eat these ultra processed foods, what we're talking about is food that has been processed to be very [00:05:45] different from its original form, right? So, so food that has things taken out of it, or additives that are placed into it, right?

Dr. Edmund Chen: Absolutely. So I think these, al there's a lot of, you know, talk these days also about ultra processed foods, right? Yes. You know how bad these foods are for us. Yeah. And I think a lot of [00:06:30] that leads to, you know, essentially these ultra processed foods can cause detrimental effects on your gut microbiome.

Have an ingredient list that reads like, you know, you know, whole paragraph full of [00:07:00] all these sort different chemicals. Those are processed foods.

After surgery because we're, we're healing and we need protein shakes and we need easily digestible foods. So it's not to say that these items. Can't and shouldn't have a place in, in, in your bariatric life. [00:07:30] But what I've really started paying attention to is those labels. Just like what you said, if I look on the back and it has a bunch of different things listed.

But as a patient, if I'm not [00:08:00] thinking about adding. More whole foods to that diet, that could be a little bit detrimental, right? If I'm just relying on, on those types of processed foods.

Mm-hmm. Do we need to have a protein shake here and there? Do I drink a protein shake here and there? Absolutely. And I think here and there intermittently is totally fine. Yeah. I just wouldn't want, you know, [00:08:30] hopefully we get to a point where we're not just drinking protein shakes every single day and that we're eating some sort of mixture of real protein, you know, chicken, Turkey, something that looks like, you know, meat.

April Williams: Yes. Right. It, it absolutely is a balance because it Right. Our stomach capacities, what, what we can digest, we understand all of that.

Dr. Edmund Chen: Absolutely. And you know, on the, on the flip side, also improving our gut microbiome has been shown to have, you know, improvements in health and in our metabolic journey as well. So we can go either, you know, one or two ways we can go, you know, to a bad gut, [00:09:30] gut, gut microbiome and have some issues. On the flip side, we can improve our gut microbiome and be well.

So that's the goal, right? To improve our gut microbiome and be well.

Dr. Edmund Chen: Well, for a lot of our Buried nation people, uh, you've already done it. Having bariatric surgery is one of the best things that we can do to improve our gut microbiome.

Bariatric surgery in all forms sleeve duodenal switch. Bypass all these operations can change the gut microbiome and actually shift that microbiome to a more healthy state. Um, that shift in the gut microbiome can help change our [00:10:30] metabolism and can help improve our overall health. I mean, I can really nerd out and go into some of the studies that people have done, uh, you know, gut microbiome and gut microbiome transfers.

I'm sure you've seen those lectin resistant mice. Really big mice. Uh, you know, uh, these mice had their gut microbiome completely knocked out. They're germ free, right? So they're completely gut microbiome free. They get the gut microbiome trans, [00:11:15] uh, transplanted into them. Well, the OB mice who had the gut microbiome from a bariatric patient lost weight.

And so [00:11:45] that was, I mean, that's one of the coolest studies that the people had done. They've done a whole myriad of other studies looking at after a bariatric surgery, uh, the complexity of, of the gut microbiome increases. You wanna a complex microbiome full of many diverse organisms. [00:12:00] The complexity increases a whole host of studies.

But all this says is that the bariatric surgery is one of the best things that we can do to improve our gut, gut health.

So like, yay, team, go, go bariatric patients. Awesome. [00:12:30] Okay, so then what's the second best thing that we can do to improve our gut health?

Right? Really shop at the periphery of the store of the supermarket. Mm-hmm. We always talk about that, right? Mm-hmm. The periphery of the stores where the less processed foods are, and that's where we do try to do the majority of the shopping, and yes, we you sometimes in the middle foods, but not make [00:13:00] that big sort, you know, know.

Um, we avoid saturated fats where we can, because saturated fats seem to be bad for the gut microbiome. Essentially, we just [00:13:30] had, we, we tried to maintain. A good diet and a good diet has been shown to improve our gut microbiome health.

April Williams: There you go. There you go folks. You heard it from the experts yourself.

Whole food forward [00:14:00] recipes that have developed, been developed by our resident chef Steph, for our bariatric life. So if you are looking for ideas on how do I make the peripheral food delicious and interesting, and aligned to my bariatric journey, we have about 500 examples from you in that community. So if you would like to [00:14:15] check it out and join, click the link in in the show notes below.

Dr. Chen, thank you for joining me today for this very concise conversation on gut health.

The gut microbiome is super, super, super important. And like you said, April, you guys, a lot of our patients have done the best thing for it already. By having bariatric uh, [00:14:45] surgery.

April Williams: Awesome you guys. Well, thanks for tuning in. Share this episode with your friends if you think it would be helpful. And join us in the Berry Nation support community.

Alright, Dr. Chad. Till next time. See you in the nation soon. Next

April Williams: That wraps up another empowering episode of the Berry Nation Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, keep the conversation going by joining the BariNation membership community where you can attend live support events access. On-demand resources and find a [00:15:15] caring community.

Natalie Tierney: Join us at barination.mn.co.