The Second Brain: What Your Gut Is Trying to Tell You with Dr. Trisha Pasricha

What does your gut have to do with mood, anxiety, and long-term brain health? In this episode, Dr. Annie Fenn talks with Dr. Trisha Pasricha, a neurogastroenterologist and gut-brain researcher, about what the gut-brain connection really is, what science supports, and what your symptoms may be trying to tell you. They cover why stress can trigger gut symptoms so quickly, how the gut’s own nervous system affects the brain, why travel constipation is so common, how the microbiome influences inflammation, and what emerging research suggests about Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and colorectal cancer risk. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the gut-brain connection 02:07 Trisha’s background in neurogastroenterology 05:34 What counts as “normal” bowel habits 08:56 Periods, hormones, and gut symptoms 13:44 Travel constipation and gut circadian rhythm 20:01 How stress affects the gut 26:09 The gut as a second brain 37:00 Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and the gut 44:20 The microbiome, fermented foods, and inflammation 55:57 Colorectal cancer risk in younger adults Links Host: Brain Health Kitchen / Annie Fenn https://brainhealthkitchen.substack.com/ Guest: Dr. Trisha Pasricha https://research.bidmc.org/gut-brain/people/team-member-1 BIDMC Institute of Gut-Brain Research https://research.bidmc.org/gut-brain/ Book: You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776380/youve-been-pooping-all-wrong-by-trisha-pasricha-md-mph/ (PenguinRandomhouse.com)