Dr. Sherrie Bain Unveils Secrets of Skin Microbes: Expert Insights on Probiotics, Dandruff, & More

Transcript of Interview with Dr. Sherrie Bain, Microbiologist, with Arielle Brown of Bea’s Bayou Skincare

U1

0:00

Okay. You ready?

U2

0:06

Yes I am. Awesome.

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0:08

Okay. Well, again, I wanted to thank you so much for joining us. Um, as the founder of BS Bias Skincare, I started with just googling and learning about microbiome and organisms that live in and on our bodies and what purpose they serve. And, um, not being a microbiologist, there's a huge wealth of information that I don't have outside of just trying to find it and see how we can incorporate that to teach our, um, and not only teach, but also encourage our customers. So that way they feel empowered that they know what's going on with their bodies and just in general. So thank you, yes, for helping us fill in those gaps. So I know you're a microbiologist, but can you give us a little background on what you do and what made you interested in microbial ology? Because it's so cool.

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1:02

Yes, I totally agree. So, you know, I started out my career as a marine biologist, and then in my undergraduate university, I started learning about these fascinating organisms called parasitoids, which are parasites that infect insects predominantly. And so that started my interest in more of a microbiology related field. And so when I was looking to do a graduate program, I looked at Texas A&M, which had a wonderful scientist at the time who was a parasitoid specialist, and I wanted to work with him. Unfortunately, he was not accepting grad students, but I was able to find a wonderful research advisor and her focus was on E.coli. And so my earliest, um, foray into microbiology was looking at the genetics of E coli and how it adapts to different environments. And since then, I've always been fascinated, not just with the disease causing microbes, but more the environmental microbes and also the microbes that help us in so many different ways that we're not aware of.

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2:08

Wow. Did you know as a child that you were so interested in science and like the the world of microscopic things?

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2:16

Absolutely. So definitely science. I you know, I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where I spent a lot of time outdoors. And so that piqued my interest in science in general. And I've always had an investigatory mind. And so that also helped in terms of going to graduate school.

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2:32

That's amazing. Um, for anyone who wants to be a microbiologist, would you what would you recommend? Like is there a certain pathway, um, or like what are some of the different, um, uses that come out of studying microbiology? I'm sure it's a lot.

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2:49

Absolutely. So there are so many different specific aspects of microbiology, which covers a lot of different types of microbes. You can, you know, get into the food industry. There's a lot of microbes that are involved in making different beverages as well as different food items yogurt, cheese, uh, beer, wine, all of those things are relying upon microbes. And so I would say find out what you're really interested in learning about, because guaranteed, there's going to be an aspect of microbiology that you can apply to that specific area. And then I would encourage anybody who's interested to really focus on math and science in your starting from middle school, or even sooner, because that's going to be helpful. And when you are in high school, if there are opportunities to maybe go and do an internship in a research lab, if there's a university nearby or even a summer program that involves microbiology, then I would encourage anybody who's interested in microbiology to pursue those. But as we are sitting here right now, you can tell that there's so many different new avenues of microbiology that are being explored by a number of different industries. And so I think the skincare industry, definitely the dietary industry, which has been expanding over the past few decades in terms of focusing on things like probiotics and gut health, is really important. And so you can again find what you're interested in. And there will definitely be an aspect of microbiology that is applicable.

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4:19

Yeah. That's amazing. And being in the cosmetic industry now. Um, I and just seeing how things have moved so quickly in that space. It's really eye opening. As someone who loves formulating to to see how we can incorporate those things. Um, but before we get to that, can you explain what exactly is like the gut microbiome specifically? Because I understand or I think I understand that different parts of the body has different, I guess, environments of microbiome or micro, um, I guess organisms. So can you explain that?

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4:55

Yeah. So, so by far the number of microbes that are part of our body exceed our actual cells, our human cells, and that include microbes that colonize the skin and microbes that colonize places like the gastrointestinal tract. You also have microbes in places like your, you know, nasal passage. And so, um, the microbes that are present are going to either be transient, meaning that you're exposed to them temporarily. So if you're in a different environment, maybe you're exposed to what's in the air, but you also have your natural or native microbial microbes that are going to be present. And so the gut microbiome is simply the collection of microbes that are usually present within a person's gastrointestinal tract. And we focus on the gut. But it's really not just the gut. We have the upper respiratory tract and the upper digestive system, as well as the lower digestive system that have really important microbes present as well. And what we want to have in, um, you know, an ideal situation is we want to have a balance of microbes that are going to be what we call mutualistic microbes, microbes that are going to be getting nutrients from us to some extent because that's how they get their nutrients. But but that are also going to be helping us, whether it's physically helping us by just coating the internal surfaces of our gastrointestinal tract so that it prevents more pathogenic microbes that we may be transiently exposed to from colonizing us, or if it's actually helping us by producing things like vitamin K and vitamin B12, which is what some of the microbes in our gastrointestinal tract do. Sorry.

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6:35

That's amazing. Okay. So how does that play a role in our diet, our stress? Or like, how does our diet and our stress play a role in what those microorganisms are doing?

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6:49

So so definitely when it comes to stress, we have immune responses that may be triggered when we're stressed, and that may potentially also trigger parts of our microbiome internally to secrete different types of chemicals, proteins and factors that may benefit us to some extent, because it may be secretions that help to increase the coding in places like our stomach or our guest are large and small intestine, so that may be helpful. But we also have triggers that may cause microbes to secrete factors that may be seen as something that is causing an almost like an allergic reaction, if you will, within our system. And that's where we, you know, we want to try to maintain our stress level at the minimum if possible. And we also want to try to eat healthy because the healthy composition of foods that we eat is what the microbes are going to be exposed to, and that's going to help them to get the nutrients that they need to remain established. And one on one factor, for instance, is when you are, you know, not getting enough nutrients in your diet and then your gut health is decreased because the microbes are not getting the nutrients that they need from the food that you're eating, then that might alter the balance of microbes in your system. And a really important aspect of the microbes in our GI tract is simply just their presence. So the beneficial microbes provide a protective layer that's going to exclude pathogenic microbes that we may encounter transiently. But if we don't have those beneficial microbes present, then that's where the pathogenic microbes may become more well-established in our GI tract. And one of the triggers for that, sometimes in addition to stress, is also things like taking antibiotics. And sometimes we are, you know, we need to take antibiotics, especially if we're having like surgery or if we have another infection. Uh, it's it's sometimes helpful, but at the same time, especially for our GI tract, if we're taking oral antibiotics, that may be a factor that inadvertently removes some of the helpful bacteria that are present. And so we need to then potentially restore the natural balance, either through our diet or by taking probiotics.

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8:58

Got it. And so in my own personal experience, I felt like, um, from high school through most of college, it's when I started learning about probiotics and how they were helping my body and also researched and digestive enzymes, which was kind of helping me as well. And I had gone to an allergist and dermatologist to try to just figure out what, what is going on with my body, like, what am I doing wrong? And I found that something that kept coming up was like dairy and bread. And so are there specific, um, things that we should avoid or, or is it really different for each person, or is it kind of like so they were different?

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9:38

It's definitely different. And I think it's important to say that, you know, you should always consult with your primary care physician when you're if you have questions about how the food that you're eating is going to impact your GI tract microbiome. But it's also, again, you know, it depends on your overall health. Sometimes that's a factor. It depends on your genetics. Um, sometimes it depends on other environmental factors that may not be relevant to every person. And so it's really important to take a look at what it is that's potentially causing or triggering any changes that you notice within your your digestion or within your GI tract. Then speak with your primary care physician, find out which potential probiotics might be helpful in that situation, or which potential foods to avoid because, you know, some people are lactose intolerant, some people are gluten intolerant, and those are things that affect our immune system. But it could also potentially be impacted by the types of microbes that are present in our GI tract. And, um, the the National Institute of Health had just released a very useful, uh, probiotic guideline that is available for there's a commercial or more of a professional version of the guideline. There's also one for consumers that is more in layman's terms, but it explains what the role of your microbiome is. And then some of the diseases that may be impacted positively or negatively by changes in the microbiome, and how probiotics may or may not help those situations. There are sometimes conflicting studies, but there are in some cases, clear studies about, especially with regards to antibiotics, how it can potentially be helpful when you're trying to restore the natural gut microbiome.

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11:21

That's amazing. Um, I spoke to a founder sometime last year, and she's working on the use of probiotics for post-surgery recovery post cancer, you know, treatment recovery post. So it really is cool to see that these little tiny things have such a huge impact. Um, in terms of our skin health, how does that relate with the gut microbiome?

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11:46

So. So a lot of times we can tell when we're stressed and we start to see that manifest in changes in our diet. Some people if you're stressed, you may have constipation. Some people have diarrhea. It can potentially impact, uh, diseases such as ulcerative colitis and so on. But we also start to see changes in our skin. And a lot of that is hormonal in terms of basis of changes in our skin. But when we have differences or changes that result in alteration of the gut microbiome, that can later translate into what we see in terms of the physical impact that it has on our skin with regards to breakouts or very, very dry skin. One thing that I want to mention is the importance of staying hydrated in all situations. You know, water is great, and I don't think that people realize just how important it is in the normal digestive process. So whatever type of food you're eating, there's a process called hydrolysis that is going to break down the food products that you're eating. Hydrolysis is simply breaking apart of water molecules. And so it's really important that not just when you're eating your meals, but throughout the day, you're staying hydrated because your body needs the water to help to digest your food. And if you don't have enough of that water present, it's putting more and more, um, energy. It's like a more energy intensive process for you to even digest food. And so I think it's always important to think about how you're staying hydrated. And hydration, you know, doesn't have to just be plain water. Um, there's some scientific evidence that things like coconut water is really good at helping you to stay hydrated because it contains potassium and other types of minerals that help to build your electrolyte balance. And so those are positive things that you can incorporate into your diet. If you're I'm not a natural water drinking person. And so if I can drink something like coconut water or just put a little bit of lemon in my water, then that's something that I would prefer over just plain water. So

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13:51

yeah. So for our and that's really great advice. And I try to I, I to try to remember to drink water because throughout the day I'm like wait it got so late in the day I didn't drink enough water. Um, so that's a really good tip to remember. And we all know how great that is for our skin too. Um, so as you may know, I have seborrheic dermatitis, which I know is one of the eczema, and. Having gotten diagnosed at 13, I was prescribed like medicated shampoos there, roid creams, very common prescriptions for that issue. And even at a young age I'm like, um, something here is not adding up. Like, I'm not I'm not feeling relief. Um, and I'm not seeing the same type of, um, benefit that I was expecting from something this strong per se. Mhm. Um, can you kind of explain what those products are supposed to do and kind of, and I'm sure that, you know, things have developed since though we're working more so in the natural hair care, natural hair care product space. But I'm sure those medicated products do serve a purpose that I know helps a lot of people. So can you talk about that?

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14:58

Yeah, sure. So a lot of the products that are going to be used to treat various types of skin conditions and including support dermatitis, are things that are going to be steroid based because they're trying to reduce the inflammatory response in your body that might lead to drying out of your skin or any other type of adverse condition that may result from imbalances in how the hormones and the steroids in your body are being initiated or activated. And so there are one, you know, again, wonderful products that, as you mentioned, chemical products that may be helpful, but I mentioned that NIH guide. And one of the things that they talk about is the very beneficial use of probiotics in a number of clinical studies that show that taking probiotics and certain types of probiotics are have been shown to be very helpful in apoptotic, um, dermatitis. And so that's something where ingesting healthy bacteria can potentially help with this skin conditions that you're experiencing, even if it's not directly linked to your gut microbiome. And so I encourage people to maybe review that NIH guideline of different types of probiotics and see what is said in there, because one of the things that, you know, we're talking about probiotics in a general term, but there are different types of probiotics that may be suited for specific individuals. And that's where you want to talk to your physician, your primary care physician, know and understand what your specific condition is, and then see if there are combinations of those positive probiotic bacteria that may be more helpful to you as an individual, as opposed to just taking a general probiotic that you might just go and pick up from the pharmacy or the grocery store or something like that. So that's

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16:42

great advice. I saw a company that and I if I remember the name, I'll share it maybe in the comment section for anyone interested. That seems to do something like that, where you kind of provide some type of information to create a profile, and then they can help determine. But I guess they perceived to be the best probiotic blend for you. Um, so it's interesting to see that continue. Um, as far as, um, natural remedies, I know you talked about inflammation and how the medicated products are trying to help quell that. As far as natural products and natural ingredients, um, do you in your studies or in your knowledge and know how those also can provide benefit or or is it is it what and what with medicated ingredients and synthetic ingredients? Or is it like better or worse? What is your take on on that? So

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17:34

my take is that again it's going to be subjective to specific individuals and conditions. But when we're talking about natural products, a lot of the chemicals or the pharmaceutical products that we now use are based on initial findings from natural products. And so even some of the cancer medicine that we use, definitely things like aloe vera and vitamin E, is very helpful in not just skin conditions, but also in terms of balancing our gastrointestinal tract. And so again, I would encourage your your listeners, your viewers to educate themselves about their own bodies, try to see what if they can figure out, you know, what, our trigger foods for having an upset stomach and or what are the conditions where you feel like your skin is not at its best in terms of staying hydrated? What are the products? Natural products like aloe vera or, um, carrots? We have turmeric. We have lots of different products rosehip, different oils, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil. All of these are things that I have personally used throughout my childhood and adulthood. But there also is now some growing scientific evidence to support that they're providing benefits, not just in terms of, you know, protecting our skin physically, but potentially helping to keep microbes that are going to be beneficial, giving them the nutrients that they need to help us stay hydrated, to help our skin stay, you know, soft and regenerative. And that is what I think a lot of people need to really continue to focus on just learning more about the different aspects of how your bacteria on and on your skin and in your gut is going to be helpful, and not just focusing on the ones that could potentially be pathogenic. Because we hear about diseases all the time, we're just emerging from Covid. And so people are so focused on a lot on the negatives. And every now and again you hear about, you know, a salmonella outbreak or an E coli outbreak, but E coli, especially overall. Is one of the most beneficial bacteria that we can have in our GI tract, because the one that's natural to our direct is the one that's producing our vitamin K and our B12, and helping us to stay healthy and helping to prevent those more toxic or pathogenic bacteria from becoming established. And so, yes, there are pathogenic versions of E coli that are potentially going to cause infections. But for the most part, in healthy individuals, E coli is a beneficial microbe that's very, very present in our GI tract as well as other types of lactobacilli. And I know some people who may be lactose intolerant think that they don't need lactobacilli or they want to stay away from dairy. But probiotics that contain lactobacilli may also be helpful, even in those situations where you're lactose intolerant person, because the bacteria will naturally help to balance the environment within your gut. So that's

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20:29

amazing. Do you? Are there other myths or common myths about either the microbiome or our our gut biome that you could debunk for us? I mean, I didn't know that there was anything that great about E coli. So I guess

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20:46

the whole category

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20:47

for me. Are there other things that you've uncovered in your studies that you were like, wow, that's. Something the common person wouldn't think, you know.

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20:55

Yes. So. So with regards to skin conditions. And this is something where especially if, you know, you mentioned how you were diagnosed as a teenager with a dermatitis skin condition. What I want to highlight is the fact that especially when you're a teenager, if you're, you know, playing sports, you may be acne prone and that is in part due to hormones, but also you have to be mindful of things like sharing bath towels. And when you're in a in a gym class, or you know somewhere that if you live in a household with multiple people, because different individuals, even within the same household, may have a slightly different composition of microbes, that may impact another person who's maybe using the same towel. And so sometimes just being aware of how our differences, our micro differences in terms of our environment and our bodies are different can be helpful in maintaining your overall natural microbiome internally as well as externally. And so, um, you know, there are it's a very common issue with athletes where you get these little tiny pimples all over your skin and maybe even some people who who exercise in the gym a lot. And it's because you're taking that towel and you're, you know, drying your, your, your body with it. And you're maybe not recognizing that there are microbes on there that are getting into your skin as you sweat and as you rub and dry yourself. And so that is something where I encourage, especially teenagers, to who are already focused on not getting acne, which is a part of a natural part of being a teenager, but focus on in terms of hygiene, just being aware of making sure that you're, you know, using dry towels every time and changing out your towels in terms of when you're playing sports, making sure that you're not using somebody else's towel in terms of home care and taking baths and so on. Those are the things that transfer microbes from person to person. And although it may not result in some major infectious disease, it could potentially impact your skin overall. And so those little changes can help to keep your skin healthy.

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22:59

That's amazing. And it's something that you really don't think about, like sharing pets and sharing towels and sheets and blankets and just every little, you know, all of those things. Um, when you do introduce the healthy microbes to an environment in the body, how long does it usually take the body to adjust? Is it kind of quick like, oh thank you. Or is it more like, wait, these microbes need time to to rebalance. Like how what how does that work? I'm so curious. Well it's

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23:27

subjective. And so of course it's going to depend on the person's overall health and the extent of, of imbalance that is present at the time that you're trying to take, uh, or introduce these probiotics or just through foods that you might be eating. A lot of the studies that have been conducted are studies that look at usually like a six month period of what happens after you start to take, uh, probiotics and how that helps to or adversely impacts your system. Because in some cases, there have been, uh, studies that showed positive impact. But also studies that show especially for immune compromised individuals, there could potentially be adverse impacts of taking probiotics. And so again, that's why you want to make sure you speak with your doctor, get some advice about what might be the best course of of action for you. But usually about 3 to 6 months is when you start to see changes based on the scientific literature. And again, it can vary. One thing that I would also mention is with newborns. For instance, our gut begins to be colonized during the process of birth. And so a natural birth is when we start to get our gut microbiome. As we're passing out of the birth canal. The e-coli that becomes established in our system is E coli that's actually present in the mother's birth canal. And so that's when the babies start to get their gut microbiome established. There have been some studies that link potential later, um, gastrointestinal or gastrointestinal illnesses to cesarean sections, because that is a process where we're not going through the natural birthing process. So we're not getting those healthy bacteria that are going to establish our gut microbiome in the same way. And so again, talking to your physician and seeing in terms of breastfeeding, is there a way to introduce probiotics to infants who have who have been born via cesarean section, or what are other ways that you can help them establish their gut microbiome because they're not getting it through the natural birthing process.

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25:29

Wow. That's

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25:31

deep.

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25:33

That's I could go down so many other questions with that. But that's really good to know and I appreciate you for sharing that. What about with wound healing? Um, it's one of the things that I read about back when I started Bees by You in 2020 was they were showing the benefits of probiotics for wound healing and wrinkles and acne, as you mentioned, and so forth. So how do they help with recovery for wounds?

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25:58

So so again, it's going to depend on, you know, the extent of the wound. Sometimes it can be something where you just establishing the natural bacteria that may have been impacted by a wound is going to help to, to establish that connection that is, is temporarily impeded when you have some kind of a like a flesh wound or, or a situation where you might have an ulcer or something where your gut microbiome is, is disrupted. But, you know, again, it's something where you want to talk to your physician because at the time when your skin or other parts of your body may be compromised by any kind of a wound or an incision, whether it's surgical or if it's something where you had an accident. Those are also points of entry for bacteria that may not usually cause infection. So wound healing involves making sure that you protect the wound and allow the body's natural clotting factors and other, um, chemicals and and immune responses to take over and start to, to allow that process of healing, but also to make sure that you are protecting that area, potentially with beneficial bacteria, so that you're not being exposed to bacteria that may be in the environment and may cause infections. And so one way to do that at times is to potentially use UV light as a healing, uh, part of the healing process for people who are diabetics, for instance, in wound care. That's one of the things that that may be very beneficial. The the UV light is going to kill the bacteria that may be associated with the wound itself. And although it's killing potentially all types of bacteria, what you're really trying to limit is the exposure of the wound to any type of pathogenic bacteria, whether it's a known pathogen or something that we called an opportunistic pathogen, which is something that may not usually be pathogenic, but because you have this, you know, this entry point, then it may cause an infection. And so proper wound care involves making sure that you initially limit the type of bacteria or any bacteria that is present in the wound. And then as this the incision or wound heals, that's when you want to start using those products that are going to promote your healthy bacteria. But also really just be aware of keeping that area clean and allow it to heal to the point where you have that protective layer of your skin, and then the bacteria that are going to be beneficial will start to recolonize that particular environment. Probiotics can potentially help internally because with the probiotics, you're getting the healthy bacteria that are known or that have been shown scientifically to promote your overall immune system and your immune your immune response. But again, depending on the situation, you may not want to take a probiotic at the time that you have a wound, because that might actually cause an imbalance in the natural bacteria.

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28:57

So that's one of the things that, um, I was really curious about. And you had mentioned this before our call. So I have to know is how massage therapy and the microbiome, how do they connect? I have

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29:13

okay. Yes. So, so in positive and negative ways. So of course, you know, we talked about the fact that our skin is colonized or is inhabited by many different types of microbes that are protective and beneficial. When you have when you're getting a massage, for instance, you are potentially putting, um, you know, providing or creating small little incision points where bacteria that are typically just on the surface may gain access to below or sub sub epidermal layers of your skin. So you have to be mindful of that. A lot of massage therapists will use herbal oils, things like lavender oil, which do have some beneficial antimicrobial properties. But you have to be careful that you know you always want to, as a massage therapist or as a client asks that your massage therapists wear gloves. I know a lot of people don't like to wear gloves when they're giving massages, but that's helpful. And also, um, make sure that they're, you know, they're sanitizing their hands so that they're not inadvertently introducing bacteria below the surface of your skin, especially if it's like a deep tissue massage where you could be getting little scratches and so on. And then for the the actual therapists, there's something called herpes whitlow, which is a very common, um. You know, uh, condition that a lot of, of, uh, massage therapists will develop where they get little, uh, pimple like, um, lesions on their fingers, particularly because there are different types of viruses that may be present on the skin, the surface of the skin of clients, and herpes viruses. We know about them from cold sores and of course, the sexually transmitted disease version. But there are other types of herpes viruses that are very common on the skin, and they cause little blisters called herpes whitlow. That can become common for people who are massage therapists. And so even though you're using things like love and the oil, it's really important to be aware of that because you could potentially be exposing yourself to, oh, it's not a life threatening condition, but it's something where you could be getting these little blisters and lesions from interacting very closely with the skin of your client. And then if you're, you know, you have multiple clients and you're really into using your hands without gloves and so on, which a lot of massage therapists do, you could potentially be transferring those microbes to somebody else. And so, um, making sure that you're, you know, sanitizing and aware, just aware of the fact that any kind of pressure that may produce an incision into the skin might be an entry point for bacteria that are usually on the surface of the skin, that are not causing any adverse impact until they're below the surface. So you might have more, you know, pimples on a particular part of your skin. And you don't realize it's because you just got a little scratch while you're getting a massage. So

U1

32:02

wow. Something else I've not ever thought about, and I'm sure so many other people have like, never really thought. I mean, you think about general, you know, use hand sanitizer. Of course, I'm thinking about the incisions that might happen from a massage, so that's good. To also keep in mind, um, and you mentioned the hands, and that made me think of when we wash our face, when we're always touching our face throughout the day and things like that, um, to be mindful of what we're doing around. And I know for a lot of our customers, we have sensitive skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, acne, maybe, um, you mentioned even diabetics earlier. I know their skin can sometimes, um, you know, need special care. What we do in our routines, um, or what types of products do you think we should we should use, or maybe we should avoid in those daily face and skincare routines. Even our scalp. You know, we.

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32:57

Yeah. So so even if it's a more an autoimmune or a genetic based type of skin condition like eczema, which is not an infectious disease, you can have situations where because of the drying out of the skin and not having those natural oils that are present, it may make your skin more susceptible to infections because just like with the massage example, now you're the bacteria that may not usually get in in under your skin. They may have access points because of the dry, flaky skin. And so again, there are lots of, uh, pharmaceutical products that will help to hydrate your skin. Water again is really important. Anything with like vitamin E oil can be potentially helpful. Aloe vera, you know, if even if you're not a plant person and you don't have a lot of plants in your home, I would encourage you to, you know, just have some aloe vera in your home. There's nothing better than having natural plants that you can just go and take a piece of aloe vera, rub it on your skin, maybe at bedtime, and that will help to hydrate your skin. But it's also providing potentially very important proteins and other types of enzymes that may help to heal your skin over time. And so those are my big one is aloe vera and then coconut oil. It also depends too. If your your skin condition is something where you're overproducing oil, then you may not want to use something like extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil on your skin because that's going to exacerbate the problem. So, you know, you talk to your dermatologist, find out what is going to be best for your situation. But there are lots of plants and essential oils that you can find, and those can be helpful if you consistently apply them, um, depending on the situation and in your specific case. So.

U1

34:41

Wow. Well thank you. Thank you for the tips and the education. So before you go, before we let you go, um, I love our, our, um, customers and and viewers and listeners to get to know you a little bit more, because it is not every day that I get to meet a black microbiologist, a female black microbiologist. It's just not every day. And so I'm so excited. And I was telling doctor Bang, I'm fangirling. Because like I said, I love learning about what is going on with my body. Like at the end of the day, that's all I want to know. If and then it empowers me to be able to do something about it. So I'm just fangirling about that. Um, but we want to get to know you a little bit before you go. So I'm going to ask you a couple questions. Hopefully they'll be more fun for you. So you okay? Uh, too much pressure. Um, but where are you from?

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35:33

So I spent most of my childhood in very remote parts of the Bahamas and then in mainland South Florida. And since my teen years, I've lived in about 11 different states. And, um, you know, I'm I've been a more of a road warrior, if you will, until recently. I have a six year old son and so more settled in California. Now I live in Monterey, but my childhood was spent on a lot of different adventures. My parents worked in very remote parts of the Bahamas, and so that's where I spent most of my time until I was old enough to go to school.

U1

36:06

So that's amazing. Thank you. We wouldn't have guessed we would go, okay, what is your favorite Bahamian food?

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36:16

Oh my gosh, I love seafood. I could eat, uh, Caribbean spiny lobster every single day. I was joking with my sister that I'm going to. I love cooking and I'm going to one day when I have time, make a seafood cookbook that's basically 365 ways to make lobster. And it's going to be a lobster every single day, because I can literally eat lobster every single day. So

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36:40

multiple different ways.

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36:42

Yes.

U1

36:43

Oh my God, that sounds delicious. Thank you. Please let us know because we'll be full time. Yes. Um, okay. Spicy or sweet?

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36:54

Definitely spicy. Spicy sweet is even better.

U1

36:57

Oh, see? No one said that before. That's like how you did that. Okay, um, finish this sentence. I wish I knew blank when I was blank.

U2

37:11

I wish I knew about YouTube when I was in high school, which YouTube didn't exist, so. But I would literally probably be like living on Mars because I would have figured out a way to get there by now, just from all of the knowledge that's available on YouTube these days. But I love learning. And, you know, so I would be a rocket scientist somewhere out in the galaxy. Now, if I could have had YouTube back when I was in high school.

U1

37:38

So you would have been a rocket scientist.

U2

37:39

Definitely. That's so

U1

37:41

cool. One of my advisors is, I believe, headed to space. Um, I don't know if it's going to happen this year or what, but I'm excited to see her shoot up into the sky.

U2

37:52

Awesome, awesome.

U1

37:54

That's amazing. Okay. Last question. 1s Um, and I and I was going to ask the other question as the last question, but you made me think of something. Um, if you could go back and tell your younger self anything, what would you tell her?

U2

38:10

I would tell her that life is going to be an amazing journey, and by far the positive adventures that you're going to have are going to be so incredible that you will very quickly forget any of the negative experiences that you've had.

U1

38:26

Wow.

U2

38:28

Beautiful. We love

U1

38:29

it. 2s Well, Doctor Bayne, again, thank you so much. I'm so honored and I appreciate you for trusting us and trusting me with this conversation with you. Um, and I'm excited to share it. I know we have some amazing customers who have been with us since I started a few years ago, and so we are constantly trying to figure out ways to keep for me, certainly personally, to keep learning, but then also to connect that knowledge to what we're developing and to make sure our customers feel empowered. Um, so last thing, what can we do for you? Is there anything we can do for you?

U2

39:04

Well, look out for my cookbook when I finally get around to it. But, you know, I I'm I'm starting to launch my own company where I'm focusing mostly on Stem education. I'm also really interested in dairy health and just food security and how microbiology plays a role in that. I'm wearing my B earrings right now because bees are so important, and so just look out for me in the future, because there are going to be some things that are developing over time. And I hope that your, your customers and your fans stay in touch. And I hope that I get to know some of them over time. And thank you so much for this opportunity. Yes

U1

39:42

of course. So can we follow you or are you on socials?

U2

39:45

So I am on Instagram and I will send you the link to my Instagram. I am also on LinkedIn. That's I believe how we we connected. And so I will send you those social media links. I'm very social, although I'm a very private person, which is a, you know, a dichotomy. But um, yeah, but by all means, we, I love to connect with people on social media. So. Awesome.

U1

40:06

Awesome. Well, I'll share it. Um, well, thank you again. Have a wonderful, wonderful rest of your day. And, um, I will certainly reach out to you to let you know once everything is already and posted.

U2

40:17

Awesome. Great. You have a great day as well. Ariel.

U1

40:19

Yeah, you too. Have a good one. Bye bye.