A Seed Talks Touring Lecture
The Gut-Brain
Connection
Dr Emily Prpa on your second brain, the vagus nerve, and the wild science of the gut-brain axis — cutting through the fad-diet noise with what the research actually says.
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What happens in the gut doesn’t stay in the gut
90% of signals along the vagus nerve run gut to brain, not the other way. Your microbes are talking. We’re just starting to listen.
Your Second Brain
A 9-metre tube. Trillions of microbes. A fingerprint’s worth of uniqueness. And a nervous system that can operate without the one in your head.
The Vagus Highway
The nerve that lets gut microbes whisper to your prefrontal cortex. How butyrate, serotonin and the physiological sigh tip you out of fight-or-flight.
The BS Detector
98% of nutrition advice on TikTok is wrong. We’ll debunk the leaky-gut myth, the probiotic hype and the supplements you probably don’t need.
About the Talk
You’ve heard your gut is important. But what does it actually do? And what does a healthy one look like?
Dr Emily Prpa takes us through the latest gut microbiome science, focusing on the gut-brain axis — the two-way communication highway between your digestive tract and your head. We’ll look at how 90% of your serotonin is produced in the gut, why your microbiome shapes your mood, immunity and sleep, and what fibre, fermentation and the Mediterranean diet actually do at a cellular level.
Equal parts microbiome masterclass and myth-busting: expect the real science on probiotics, leaky gut, fad diets, at-home test kits and the reasons intermittent fasting research got written for men and copy-pasted onto women. You’ll leave with a simple framework — the Magic 30 — for nurturing the tiny ecosystem that runs most of your body.
Content notice: references to animal research are included throughout the talk.
Followed by a Q&A.
What to expect
From our guests
“Great presentation style, incredible info and really enjoyable. Cuts through BS easily and with humour — gets through so much info easily. One of the best I’ve seen from Seed Talks or others.”
“Wonderful presenter who not only knew her material, but was engaging and entertaining. A very good speaker.”
“Emily was passionate about her subject and provided lots of amazing information in a really understandable way.”