Can drinking alcohol impact our gut health? It sure can. Since our gut health is so crucial for our overall health, this episode focuses on the connection between alcohol consumption and the microbial component of our gut health, the gut microbiome. In this episode, I spoke with microbiology researcher Andrew Day about how alcohol disrupts the gut microbiome and mycobiome — the fungal community in the gut — causing changes that affect the body and brain.
We explore whether quitting alcohol can heal the gut and the potential of future therapies like probiotics or fecal transplants to aid recovery. Join us to learn about the gut microbiome’s surprising role in addiction and what science is uncovering about this complex relationship. By understanding these connections, we gain insight into the broader impacts of alcohol on health and behavior.
Topics covered in this episode:
- The role of fungi in the microbiome
- Impact of alcohol on the gut microbiome (and mycobiome)
- Recovery and microbiome restoration
- The gut microbiome and addiction
- The gut-brain axis and alcohol consumption
- Potential of microbial therapies for recovery: probiotics, prebiotics, fecal transplants
- At-home microbiology activity: Grow a biofilm
Listen to my episode with Andrew Day
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Links & Resources
- Vincent Racaniello’s microbiology podcasts: TWIM, TWIP, and TWIV
- What is the microbiome? (article)
- A Reliable Gut Health Resource: Insights from Gut Health for Dummies with Kristina Campbell (article)
Connect with Andrew Day
Andrew Day is a PhD student in Dr. Carol Kumamoto’s lab at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Andrew Day and Dr. Kumamoto have been studying the connection between the gut and the brain in the context of alcohol use and misuse for the past 5 years and have discovered new microbes and mammalian pathways that impact the amount of alcohol consumed by the host. Andrew Day and Carol Kumamoto’s joint articles have been highlighted in Nature Outlook and National Geographic. Currently Andrew is working on finishing up his PhD and writing final publications for this work that he hopes will be released in 2025. Andrew’s unique experiences with alcohol-use disorder and maintaining 5 years of continuous sobriety provide a unique lens to study these interesting and important topics. Because of these experiences, Andrew cares deeply about addiction research, policy, and treatment. He hopes to continue to work in addiction research or policy in his future job following the completion of his graduate studies.
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