#181: Choosing an Effective Probiotic with Ara Katz of Seed

Dr. Elana interviews Ara Katz, co-founder of the company Seed–a company dedicated to the next generation of microbial support. With a team of scientists, doctors, innovators, environmentalists, moms, dads, and more, they have taken the next step in probiotic research to develop their product, Daily Synbiotic. In this episode we will learn how various types of probiotics differ, what to look for when shopping for a probiotic and how microbes ultimately benefit us and our future generations.  

This episode is sponsored by Seed. Use code WHOLEMAMAS for 15% off the first month of Daily Synbiotic subscription at seed.com. 

Enjoy the listen! You can find us on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. We’d love to hear your thoughts on Instagram or Facebook.

Topics Discussed:

• The founding story of Seed and how they named their company
• Why being a parent means being a scientist
• What to look for when shopping for a probiotic
• The many benefits of a probiotic beyond the gut
• The maternal lineage of microbes: how our first microbes are seeded to us, and how we pass our microbes on to our children

 Show Notes

• Use code WHOLEMAMAS for 15% off the first month of Daily Synbiotic subscription at seed.com
• Learn more about Seed on Instagram
• Connect with Ara on Instagram
• Click here to learn more about Dr. Elana Roumell’s Doctor Mom Membership, a membership designed for moms who want to be their child’s number one health advocate!
• Click here to learn more about Steph Greunke, RD’s online nutrition program and community, Postpartum Reset, an intimate private community and online roadmap for any mama (or mama-to-be) who feels stuck, alone, and depleted and wants to learn how to thrive in motherhood.

Ara Katz is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Seed Health, a microbial sciences company pioneering applications of bacteria to impact human and environmental health. Their foundry model partners with leading scientists to translate breakthrough science into live biotherapeutics and innovations for consumer health with a portfolio targeting conditions where bacteria can become or replace the primary standard of care. Its consumer division, Seed, develops scientifically-validated, next-generation probiotics with a mission to bring much-needed precision, efficacy, and education to the global probiotics market. Its environmental R+D division, SeedLabs, taps bacteria to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our collective home.

Translation: Seed is disrupting the BS in the $50B global probiotics market and stewarding the future of how we will use bacteria to restore and sustain human (think: gut, skin, oral, vaginal, and more) and planetary (think: honey bees, soil, water, food supply, plastics crisis, and space) health with serious science.

Ara is a serial entrepreneur, dot-connector, first-principles thinker, and lifelong questioner. She combines an incessant pursuit of truth with her translational storytelling ability to steward the future of science communication—and change the way we discern evidence versus evangelism in making choices for our bodies, our health, and our world.

Ara previously co-founded and served as CMO of mobile commerce marketplace, Spring (sold to Shoprunner), was on the founding team of social commerce company, BeachMint (sold to Conde Nast), advises and is an angel investor in various companies like mindbodygreen, Stadium Goods (recently sold to FarFetch) and women’s healthcare startup, Mahmee.

She has been a fellow at the MIT Media Lab’s Center for Future Storytelling and CCA’s Design MBA program, was named in Marie Claire’s “The New Guard: The 50 Most Influential Women in America”, listed on Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley Top 100” and “36 Rockstar Women in NYC Tech”, and Create + Cultivate’s 100 List for STEM.

Please remember that the views and ideas presented on this podcast are for informational purposes only.  All information presented on this podcast is for informational purposes and not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a healthcare provider. Consult with your healthcare provider before starting any diet, supplement regimen, or to determine the appropriateness of the information shared on this podcast, or if you have any questions regarding your treatment plan.