Rediscovering Our Lost Skin Microbiome Diversity With Dr Larry Weiss @Symbiome

Hello and Welcome to the Microbiome Maverick Podcast, the only place where microbiome science meets real-world applications. I am your host Dr. Amine Zorgani, a microbiome expert on a mission to prevent the human microbiome from extinction!

In this new episode of The Microbiome Mavericks, I have the great pleasure of interviewing Larry Weiss the Co-founder and CEO of Symbiome.

After a 6-year collaboration studying the Yanomami tribe’s skin microbiome, Larry believes he has found an “evolutionary reference point” for healthy human microbiomes. The isolated Amazonian tribe has retained a diverse microbial community, including a protective “environmental biofilm” layer that modern urban dwellers lack. This diversity likely contributes to their robust skin health and lack of inflammatory diseases.

Unfortunately, studies show urban populations have lost 80% of ancestral microbiome diversity. We also miss out on the environmental biofilm’s absorption of UV rays, antioxidative effects, immune regulation and production of beneficial metabolites. Larry aims to restore some of these diminished functions to improve skin health, but directly reintroducing microbes has not been successful.

Instead, his company Symbiome utilizes fermented rainforest botanicals. By fermenting plants, while keeping their microbial communities intact, the microbes produce health-promoting postbiotic compounds as they would naturally. Symbiome then uses these fermented oils in their skincare line. Their products don’t treat disease; they strengthen skin’s resilience by restoring connections between skin, microbes, and nature lost through modern sterility.

As lifestyles continue eradicating microbiome diversity, collaborating with groups like the Yanomami provides invaluable perspectives on what we have already lost.

Enjoy the episode, and please follow and share! Happy to hear your thoughts and stay positive!

You can find more about Symbiome here: https://www.symbiome.com/

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