Best Tools for Gut Health & Weight Loss | Dr. Chris Thompson
Andrew Huberman talks with Harvard gastroenterologist Chris Thompson about how the gut works, why fiber matters, GLP-1 drugs, catching metabolic problems early, and less invasive weight loss procedures.
The gist
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Thompson says fiber and fermented foods like kefir feed gut microbes; Huberman says psyllium husk made him feel better after meals, not bloated.
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Thompson favors time-restricted eating so insulin can fall, and suggests a CGM for a month or two plus a fasting insulin test.
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Thompson says about a third of weight lost on semaglutide can be lean mass, so he suggests a DEXA scan first and resistance training.
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He asks all patients to do resistance training, plus zone 2 cardio for fat burning and HIIT to mobilize visceral fat.
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Thompson's ESG procedure, developed in 2012, folds the stomach through the mouth to curb ghrelin; he says a one-time GLP-1 gene therapy just entered trials.
"I do. Yeah. I like kefir and everyone says that, right? I like that. I think it's phenomenal."
▶ Play at 26:48
Andrew Huberman uses it
"Recently, I started supplementing with a powdered psyllium husk, and some of them actually taste pretty good. My expectation was I was going to feel really bloated. It was quite the opposite. It made post-meal — subjectively the sensation — just feel good, feel great."
▶ Play at 20:133 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD and Tim Ferriss.
See all on the Psyllium Husk page"The benefits of intermittent or time-restricted eating, intermittent fasting probably would outweigh that risk. You need to give your pancreas time to relax. You need to have insulin come down. If you're eating frequently, your insulin levels are always up, and that causes pro..."
▶ Play at 22:434 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD, Rhonda Patrick, and Stacy Sims.
See all on the Time-restricted eating page"Fasting insulin goes up. So you can get a fasting insulin level. That's the next thing you check, right? It's not a lot to ask for. It's an inexpensive test and you can see if you've evolved into that problem where now you have chronically high insulin levels. The White Hall 2..."
▶ Play at 1:09:594 creators recommend it, including Jeremy London, Natalie Crawford, and Tyna Moore.
See all on the Fasting insulin test page"You could catch that by doing a CGM, right? So that's one way you could do it — a continuous glucose monitor. You could then see if you have particularly glucose spikes to certain foods. And if your glucose is shooting up to 200 with certain meals, you know you're sensitive to..."
▶ Play at 1:09:4911 creators recommend it, including David Sinclair, Mark Hyman, MD, and Rhonda Patrick.
See all on the Continuous glucose monitors page"In people that I'm concerned about that, it's good to get a DEXA scan beforehand, right? Make sure you have adequate muscle mass. And if you don't, you really have to think twice about if you want to do the GLP-1."
▶ Play at 39:0810 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD, Abbie Smith-Ryan, and Brigham Buhler.
See all on the DEXA scans page"All my patients I ask them to do resistance training, even before they start losing weight, before they go through a procedure. It's essential."
▶ Play at 2:05:2613 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Lieberman.
See all on the Resistance training page"Hit a little Zone 2 and then resistance training. I think those are the most important things long term."
▶ Play at 2:06:228 creators recommend it, including Peter Attia, Bryan Johnson, and Greg Doucette.
See all on the Zone 2 training page"HIIT is great. High-intensity interval training is great for mobilizing visceral fat because your visceral fat has beta-adrenergic receptors on it. It's responsive to acute stress, so it will mobilize when you're going through the stress of high-intensity interval training."
▶ Play at 2:05:444 creators recommend it, including Abbie Smith-Ryan and Stephanie Estima.
See all on the High-intensity interval training pageWhat they recommend · 11 picks
Health & fitness
8 picks · Chris Thompson ·Chris's health & fitness →
"The benefits of intermittent or time-restricted eating, intermittent fasting probably would outweigh that risk. You need to give your pancreas time to relax. You need to have in..."
"In people that I'm concerned about that, it's good to get a DEXA scan beforehand, right? Make sure you have adequate muscle mass. And if you don't, you really have to think twic..."
"You could catch that by doing a CGM, right? So that's one way you could do it — a continuous glucose monitor. You could then see if you have particularly glucose spikes to certa..."
Andrew, Joe, Tim and Mark agree on 43 things
See what they all use, in their own words. Paid ads are left out.
See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleSupplements
3 picks · Andrew Huberman and Chris Thompson
"Recently, I started supplementing with a powdered psyllium husk, and some of them actually taste pretty good. My expectation was I was going to feel really bloated. It was quite..."
"I do. Yeah. I like kefir and everyone says that, right? I like that. I think it's phenomenal."
"I take Lovaza, the high-dose omega-3 pharmaceutical, because I don't want the mercury. It's cleaned of mercury. My blood markers are where I want them to be."
Chris Thompson
9 picks · guest
"The benefits of intermittent or time-restricted eating, intermittent fasting probably would outweigh that risk. You need to give your pancreas time to relax. You need to have in..."
"I do. Yeah. I like kefir and everyone says that, right? I like that. I think it's phenomenal."
"In people that I'm concerned about that, it's good to get a DEXA scan beforehand, right? Make sure you have adequate muscle mass. And if you don't, you really have to think twic..."
Andrew Huberman
2 picks · host
"Recently, I started supplementing with a powdered psyllium husk, and some of them actually taste pretty good. My expectation was I was going to feel really bloated. It was quite..."
"I take Lovaza, the high-dose omega-3 pharmaceutical, because I don't want the mercury. It's cleaned of mercury. My blood markers are where I want them to be."
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