Episode 132
Flourish From Within: Microbiome, Metabolism, and Real-World Stewardship with Anu Simh | Dr. Robert Whitfield
September 4th, 2025
48 mins 36 secs
Tags
About this Episode
Dr. Robert Whitfield speaks with Anu Simh, a board-certified functional coach, founder of Nine Arms Wellness, and author of Flourish From Within: Feed Your Gut for Lifelong Health. Their conversation focuses on practical strategies to support the microbiome, stabilize metabolism, and approach GLP-1 medications with long-term outcomes in mind.
Anu Simh shares her approach to helping women restore gut function, simplify food choices, and create sustainable habits that last. She also discusses her work training other coaches and advocating for women in underserved communities.
Topics include fiber variety, the role of environmental exposures like plastics and additives, and how coaching can promote both internal balance and external integrity without relying on restrictive or short-term methods.
This episode offers a realistic, science-informed discussion for listeners seeking steady, sustainable progress.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:
Meet Anu: coach, educator, and author of Flourish From Within
Microbiome 101 for real people: what diversity and resilience mean in practice
Fiber famine and why plant diversity matters more than perfection
Healthy fats, polyphenols, and functional foods that support short chain fatty acids
The antibiotic habit: collateral damage to immunity, motility, and metabolism
Travel gut problems and terrain building before and after the trip
Plastics, xenoestrogens, and why labels matter for weight maintenance
GLP-1s, rapid weight loss, and unintended effects on face fat and skin
Practical coaching for sustainability: keep it simple, consistent, and human
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Welcome and Anu’s backstory
8:58 **Microbiome 101: microbes, symbiosis, and why it matters
**11:22 What a healthy microbiome really means: resilience and diversity
19:11 Healthy fats, polyphenols, and short chain fatty acids
29:55 Terrain building over bug hunting: how to make the gut more resilient
35:35 **Estrogen recycling, the estrobolome, plastics, and preservatives
**47:25 Gut motility and gastric emptying issues
**52:34 **GLP-1s, real-world side effects, and sustainable coaching
Links and Resources
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