Inside Matters

Episode 025 - End of Year Message

With a wrap-up of 2023, Dr James McIlroy reflects on his journey hosting the Inside Matters Podcast so far.
I have to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed the first year and a bit of the Inside Matters podcast.
I'm thrilled actually that I took that step to start it. And there was an element of not sure what I'm getting into here. Can I produce content once every two weeks? And are people going to want to come on and talk to me?
But fast forward to December 2023 and we've had genuinely some of the best minds in the microbiome space on the podcast. And we've got a loyal listener base who listened to most episodes. Some every single episode, there's a group of people who write into the podcast and say they're enjoying it.
They've learned a lot. Some people have taken action themselves on their health and some people are reporting amazing benefits. I feel better. Some people have had an impact on their disease and that just makes me happy. Because, fundamentally, I believe that the microbiome is extremely important.
I believe that gut health contributes to wider body health in a way that's currently underappreciated by the general medical community. And even specialist medical doctors who, for some reason, even with all the evidence that's available now, don't think it's as important as it is. So what it's about on Inside Matters is connecting with people on a really deep level and helping them live a better, longer, healthier life through taking steps to improve their microbiota and microbiome, in doing so improving their gut health, in doing so improving their wider body health.
And this is just the start, you know, we're, we're just at the start of this journey, which is why I'm excited. And we're starting to build good traction, you know, 35 5-star reviews on Spotify, I think it's 17 or 18 on Apple podcasts, people commenting on the videos, people writing it on Instagram, stopped once on the subway in Glasgow, which is a bit of a claim to fame.
And it sounds very egotistical, but it was pretty damn cool. And that just motivates me to keep going and to create. Even better content on a week-to-week basis for the listeners. None of it would have been possible without the team at the Podcast Studio Glasgow who've gone above and beyond to help build this because they believed, and believe in me as the founder and the host.
They believe in the vision and the mission of the podcast and Without them, we wouldn't have built the brand. We wouldn't have been able to get it going in the way that we have, and I've learned a huge amount from Mark and more laterally cam about podcasting and creating great content and this new world of education.
21st century year education.
I wanted to take this opportunity on, on record to thank Mark and Cam for their belief in the partnership that we've established. And I'm looking forward to 2024.
What have you got to look forward to in 2024 as a listener?
More great content. A couple of really high-profile people actually in this space booked in for the first couple of quarters in 2024, which I'm excited about.
We're going to continue with the content once every two weeks. We're going to have more solo episodes where I'm talking about topics that are probably more easily accessible to the general population. Why is that? Well, we've had great top minds coming on this podcast and we get deep, really deep actually probably deeper than any other platform on the internet for microbiome.
And for some people that's gold dust.

Episode 024 - Andy Scott - Training to Failure

In episode 24 we once again meet up with IFBB bodybuilder Andy Scott.
Hopefully, you can see for those of you who are watching the video Andy is massive. He's 130kg and there are just slabs of muscle on his body. So he knows a thing or two about how to gain muscle. If you're interested in how to gain muscle, lose fat, and get in shape, this is a podcast episode that you’ll want to listen to.
You can watch this episode on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/IViPBxJ8ZFE
For those of you who want to connect with Andy and learn more or perhaps have him as your personal trainer, I would highly recommend him because he blasts you and teaches you the true meaning of training to failure. If you think you're training to failure, and you've not been trained by Andy Scott or someone similar, you probably actually haven't trained to failure and doing so is worthwhile to get maximum gains.
Reach out to Andy on Instagram.
I'm very grateful to all of you. the listener for the support that you've been giving us so far. The best way you can support the podcast is by liking, subscribing and very kindly giving us a five-star review. People are messaging that I don't know and even bumped into someone recently who I didn't know who said they were listening to the podcast, which was frankly awesome.
We started this podcast over a year ago to produce high-quality gut health content for people all over the world and we've been delivering that content every second Thursday. If you know someone who’d benefit from the conversations on the Inside Matters Podcast, I’d encourage you to share the podcast with them.
 
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:06 How Andy got started
00:03:23 Socks and Crocs?
00:06:18 Are we in a simulation?
00:07:31 Switching rugby for bodybuilding
00:10:17 Being introduced to testosterone
00:11:58 Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary
00:13:03 Andy’s first competitive show
00:14:49 Show prepping as a living
00:17:49 The realities of pro bodybuilder physique
00:19:39 Magnesium dosing
00:21:16 Psilocybin dosing
00:23:15 Treating cachexia with CBD
00:24:47 Parkinson’s disease
00:32:52 Dealing with injuries
00:36:17 Dorian Yates and training to failure
00:43:23 TRT cycles and contest prep
00:53:51 Victor Black
00:55:01 Optimal recovery
00:56:57 Trenbolone
00:58:54 Focus on overall health
01:03:56 Drugs don’t make mass
01:08:25 Getting a pro card
01:14:44 If you’re considering a steroid cycle
01:16:50 Women aren’t interested in bodybuilders
01:22:46 Longevity
01:26:32 Creating programs for clients
01:29:20 Do women want to bulk?
01:35:35 Avoiding crash diets
01:39:01 Supplements
01:42:51 Swimming for fitness
01:47:52 Conclusion
 

Episode 023 - Dr Simon Baunwall - Evolving FMT in Denmark

In episode 23 we chat with Dr. Simon Baunwall, a medical doctor and scientific researcher focused on fecal microbiota transplantation, also known as FMT. Dr. Baunwall is based at Arras University Hospital in Denmark.
This conversation centred around the establishment of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a therapy in Denmark.
Simon talked to us about his work which centres around establishing FMT as a standardised, scalable approach using a blood banking type model, is fascinating. We talked about his perspectives on how the field might evolve looking forward, the next indication after recurring C-difficile infection, and the progression of FMT delivered by colonoscopy to delivery by capsules.
And we had some interesting philosophical discussions around what is the mechanism of action and how do you define a dose. This is important, as historically what researchers have used is the wet mass of starting material, in other words, stool, that goes into the process. But what we discussed is actually, that's probably not a good definition or metric for dose!
Additionally, we talked about the regulations, which Simon's been very heavily involved with. I particularly enjoyed this episode because Simon is a self-confessed lover of the Inside Matters podcast.
In fact, he has listened to pretty much all the episodes. So it was amazing to have a loyal listener on the podcast to talk about their fantastic work in the microbiome and FMT space.
 
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:38 How Simon got involved in the microbiome
00:04:01 We can do better
00:05:47 Low tech
00:09:21 Patient improvement
00:12:33 The metabolite perspective
00:14:18 How the process is evolving
00:19:31 Universally perfect donor?
00:23:29 Are we doing too much?
00:25:25 Likelihood of false-positives
00:30:18 Undergoing repeated screenings
00:42:02 Preparing for it going wrong
00:44:51 Safety issues
00:50:29 What is your vision?
00:57:31 Is it actually safe?
01:01:48 Building in scale
01:05:20 Accessing screening as a private company
01:10:43 Two different donor types
01:20:09 The struggle to get enough donors
01:24:15 Limitations of diet studies
01:28:07 Dr Mark Hyman
01:30:39 Regulating FMT
01:34:50 Presenting stool as a “drug”

Episode 022 - Dr Indrani Mukhopadhya - Next generation probiotics

Following is a conversation with Dr Indrani Mukhopadhyay, a lecturer at the Institute of Medical Sciences Microbiology and Immunology Group at the University of Aberdeen.
Over the last ten years, we’ve started to understand more and more about why the virome is important in both health and disease. Indrani is an expert in the viral and has been involved in some of the seminal research to characterise profiles and help us understand why the virus is important. So if you're interested in that, this is a great episode for you.
We also spoke about probiotics and what a next-generation probiotic might be in terms of its composition, structure and function. We spoke about Indrani's career progression. She's been all over the world involved in exciting research and setting up her new lab recently here in Aberdeen. So we covered a range of topics. 
Finally, we spoke about inflammatory bowel disease, how the viral elements of the microbiome might be important and how specific depletions of bacteria might be important too. 
As always, I wanted to thank you, the listener, for tuning in and for supporting the podcast. It's fantastic to get the feedback we've been getting about people enjoying it and if you are enjoying it and haven't yet liked and subscribed, please do that.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:52 - How did you get into the field of the microbiome?
00:06:32 - Research into developing vaccines
00:12:58 - Effectiveness of vaccines
00:14:24 - Complexity of the rotavirus
00:16:28 - Seasonal flu
00:20:01 - Viruses in our gut
00:24:17 - Viral metagenomics
00:33:06 - Knowledge of viruses greater than of bacteria
00:35:53 - What’s the most important part of the microbiome?
00:37:06 - Bacteriophages
00:40:15 - Enteric viruses
00:41:29 - Fungus in the gut
00:42:39 - Viruses keep bacteria in check
00:43:07 - Most exciting development in microbiome research
00:46:10 - Women in science
00:47:00 - Immunomodulator’s effects on gut viruses.
00:49:23 - Next-generation probiotics
00:52:20 - Taking probiotic supplements
00:54:28 - Manufacturing bacteria to treat patients
00:55:39 - Benefits of single strain vs consortia
00:56:34 - Universally beneficial probiotic?
01:00:25 - Thanks and conclusion

Episode 021 - Prof. Karen Scott - What is a healthy gut microbiome?

In episode 21 we chat with Professor Karen Scott of the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen.
Watch the podcast on YouTube.
Professor Scott is one of the world's leading researchers for gut health, gut microbiome and all things microbial. 
We had a fascinating and at times humourous chat about all things microbiome and bacterium. We cover questions such as;
Does Professor Scott take probiotics? What are some of the limitations of current microbiome research? What is a healthy microbiome and how can you make yours healthier through diet, nutrition and potentially supplements? We also cover the role of fibre in our diet and whether we really need to be eating 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day to get our fibre intake, or whether we can find good sources of fibre in other foods. And we chat about where Professor Scott sees the research into the gut microbiome heading in the next 5 years.
You can listen to this episode as a professor with a keen interest in the subject matter of the gut microbiome and still learn things. Likewise, this could be your first ever Inside Masters podcast and you'll learn a lot.
00:00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:47:09 - Getting into the field of the microbiome
00:06:38:08 - Detriments to bacteria transfer
00:11:17:05 - The problem of antimicrobial resistance
00:18:23:01 - Restoring the microbiome post-antibiotics
00:20:53:10 - Illegal to refer to “probiotics”?
00:21:51:23 - Is it a viral or bacterial infection?
00:25:21:07 - Discussion on vancomycin
00:30:29:02 - Does the microbiome change from when people are born and as they get older?
00:32:17:23 - Understanding how bacteria “use us”
00:34:58:13 - Why fibre is so important to the gut
00:40:30:01 - The risks of too much protein
00:41:48:08 - Are some fibres better than others?
00:48:40:04 - Does our gut make us “crave” certain foods?
00:50:17:14 - What is a “healthy” gut microbiome?
00:53:02:17 - Bacteria and inflammation
01:01:59:08 - Advancements in culturing bacteria
01:06:42:13 - Taking probiotics
01:08:42:09 - Thoughts on FMT
01:12:31:07 - The importance of feeding our gut bacteria
01:15:33:08 - Where is the field heading? And conclusion

Episode 020 - Kristina Campbell - Do probiotics actually work?

In episode 20 we chat with Kristina Campbell, microbiome science communicator, educator and author.
In this episode, I had a fascinating chat with Kristina Campbell, a science writer who specialises in tiny things. In other words, all the microorganisms that live on and inside of our bodies. It was our first remote podcast with a guest, and I'm really grateful for Kristina joining me and helping me produce such amazing content for all of our listeners.
We talked about what makes a good probiotic “good” and what makes a bad one “bad”. If you're somebody who consumes probiotics or is thinking about taking probiotics, you should tune into this episode because we really dig into where the field is and what are some of the key quality criteria that you should be looking for if you want to embark on a probiotics journey.
We also talked about where we see the field going in the next five years and even further on from that talked about some of the recent drug approvals as well, which we're all really excited about, plus some tips for parents who want their children to health a gut-healthy diet. This was the first remote recording that we did and it went really well.
As always, I would encourage you, if you're enjoying this podcast, to like and subscribe, the best thing you can possibly do to support Inside Matters is to hover your finger over the five-star reviews and kindly give us five stars. This helps bump us up the algorithm, helping the podcast reach more people who will ultimately benefit from the no-cost scientific information that we're delivering to you, the listener.
Timestamps:
00:00:00:00 - Intro
 
00:02:01:20 - Kristina introduces herself and outlines her background
 
00:05:13:09 - Kristina shares some of her own health journey
 
00:07:18:06 - Why the interest in probiotics?
 
00:11:32:01 - What to look for when considering a probiotic
 
00:14:33:24 - Probiotics vs life beneficial microbes
 
00:23:09:21 - Role of microorganisms and our digestion
 
00:32:24:02 - Microorganisms and new drug developments
 
00:35:13:01 - Fecal transplantation derivatives
 
00:37:24:09 - Developing bugs as drugs
 
00:40:10:22 - Should everyone take a probiotic?
 
00:43:00:18 - Kristina’s books
 
00:47:50:08 - What about prebiotics?
 
00:51:58:01 - Can a dead microorganism confer a health benefit
 
00:53:06:15 - The future of microorganism therapeutics
 
00:58:15:23 - Pioneers of the microbiome space
 
01:01:30:15 - Distilling the best information
 
01:08:31:21 - What’s next for Kristina?
 
01:11:30:15 - Tips for parents

Biome Bites Episode 010 - Can Gut Microorganisms Be Used to Treat Cancer?

In this Biome Bite, Dr James McIlroy examines the findings of studies that show the potential role of microorganisms to treat cancer along with looking at the question of whether FMT can play a part.
Be sure to get the Inside Matters Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts, and as always please leave a positive review.
As always, you can get in touch with Dr McIlroy via insidematters.health, and it would be appreciated if you could leave a positive review wherever you listen to the podcast if you're enjoying it.
If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider leaving a 5-star review wherever you listen to it.

Episode 019 - Dr Megan Eldred - Senior Policy Advisor and Dementia Mission Lead at the Office for Life Sciences

In episode 19 we chat with Dr Megan Eldred, Senior Policy Advisor and Dementia Mission Lead at the Office for Life Sciences.
Megan walked us through her journey from PhD and potential academia, to transition into the UK Civil Service and the work she does with the Office for Life Sciences. She told us about her journey to becoming the senior policy adviser and dementia mission lead on everything that entails.
More generally, the Mission aims to develop novel precision medicine tools that help boost the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia neurodegeneration. This is a much-needed and highly impactful endeavour. We all know somebody who is suffering from or who has suffered from dementia. It is devastating and still has massive unmet clinical needs and is a huge cost and burden to society that is a burden that is getting bigger because of an ageing population.
Megan talked about some interesting scientific and commercial developments in this field, including the approval of two drugs to slow the progression of dementia. We spoke about cures for Alzheimer's disease and how close and how far away we are. We also spoke about psychedelics, exercise, the mind-body connection and burnout.
As always, I would encourage you, if you're enjoying this podcast, to like and subscribe, the best thing you can possibly do to support Inside Matters is to hover your finger over the five star reviews and to kindly give us five stars. This helps bump us up the algorithm, helping the podcast reach more people that will ultimately benefit from the no-cost scientific information that we're delivering to you, the listener.
Timestamps:
00:00:00:00 -Intro
 
00:01:51:04 - Dr McIlroy’s neurodegenerative family history
 
00:04:01:20 - Dutch care home designed for dementia
 
00:04:43:02 - Japanese robotic seal
 
00:06:35:06 - Pet dogs and our microbiome
 
00:07:41:10 - Link between microbiome and depression
 
00:09:17:07 - Mice research
 
00:11:44:02 - Can the microbiome cure depression longterm?
 
00:13:30:01 - How habits are formed
 
00:15:22:27 - Addictions and their cure
 
00:19:15:28 - Fight or flight responses
 
00:25:41:01 - Building resilience
 
00:27:57:24 - Choosing a career path
 
00:30:36:20 - Undertaking a physiology degree
 
00:33:03:02 - Unknown unknowns
 
00:35:50:08 - The cell fate in the retina
 
00:37:55:24 - Intelligent design?
 
00:41:55:10 - Micro-dosing
 
00:49:33:11 - Understanding the retina
 
00:55:10:29 - Starting a career in the civil service
 
00:59:13:24 - Scientists working for the government
 
01:04:59:23 - Centre for Science and Policy
 
01:08:59:15 - Role as lead at Office for Life Sciences
 
01:14:46:09 - Focus on biomarkers
 
01:17:52:04 - Drugs approval for treating dimensia
 
01:20:10:10 - Understanding the disease pathway
 
01:24:51:08 - Funding research
 
01:26:44:21 - Our Future Health
 
01:34:28:01 - Sharing IP with competitors
 
01:39:45:24 - CSF testing
 
01:41:51:12 - Inflammation and the disease pathway
 
01:43:13:15 - Vaccine for cognitive disease?
 
01:46:19:27 - Conclusion
 
 

Biome Bites Episode 009 - Dietary Supplements: Do You Really Need Them?

In episode 9 of Inside Matters, Biome Bites Dr James McIlroy dives into the huge world of dietary supplements. He tackles whether, if your diet is good enough, supplements are really needed, and highlights some instances where supplementing our diet could be essential for good health.
He also points out some caveats and helps us understand how to plan a supplement regimen based on our health and lifestyle goals, and how to identify supplements that will actually work.
As always, you can get in touch with Dr McIlroy via insidematters.health, and it would be appreciated if you could leave a positive review wherever you listen to the podcast if you're enjoying it.

Biome Bites Episode 008 - Is Red Wine Good for Your Gut Health?

What are the potential gut health benefits of drinking red wine? Is it recommended to start drinking red wine based on studies that propose gut health benefits?In this episode of Inside Matter's Biome Bites, Dr. James McIlroy references a study from lead author Professor Tim Spector, which states:
"This is one of the largest ever studies to explore the effects of red wine in the guts of nearly three thousand people in three different countries and provides insights that the high levels of polyphenols in the grape skin could be responsible for much of the controversial health benefits when used in moderation."
But if alcohol is often considered a toxin, where does the balance lie between the potential benefits of red wine in particular for a healthy gut?
If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider leaving a 5-star review wherever you listen to it.