This gut health fact completely blew my mind

If you have a sweet tooth, this is why.

Hello friends!

If you’ve ever been really nervous and then felt things, um, moving to the point where you have to run straight to the bathroom (it me), you’re not alone. Your brain and gut are connected, and in today’s episode of The Liz Moody Podcast, we’re diving into just how deep that connection is and how you can support both.

I’m joined by Dr. Emeran Mayer, a world-famous gastroenterologist and neuroscientist and one of the leading experts on the gut-brain axis. He’s also the bestselling author of The Mind-Gut Connection, which is a truly fascinating read.

Dr. Mayer and I covered everything from the surprising gut microbe shift that can impact Parkinson’s and dementia risk to how stress literally changes the way your gut works.

But one idea in particular totally changed the way I think about cravings:

Your taste preferences are shaped in your first year of life

While yes, this is an important PSA for parents of babies, it was also totally mindblowing to me. Here’s how he explained it:

👶 Your cravings might not be “yours” at all

According to Dr. Mayer, our brains form comfort associations with food really early. If you were exposed to a lot of sweetness as a baby (think juices, desserts, even non-nutritive sweeteners), it literally trained your tastebuds to seek sugar for emotional reward. That early exposure can shape your comfort patterns for life.

🔄 But taste preferences can be rewired

Even if your brain was trained to love sweets, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck. Dr. Mayer explains that when you cut back on both sugar and artificial sweeteners, your taste buds slowly recalibrate. Over time, you stop craving the same level of sweetness, and your reward circuitry adapts, too.

🦠 Your microbiome shifts with your diet (and mindset)

The bacteria in your gut can influence what you crave and what you enjoy eating. But they’re surprisingly responsive. Slowly increasing fiber- and polyphenol-rich foods (like fruits, veggies, whole grains, herbs, and spices) help build up sugar-balancing microbes. And the earlier we start with kids, the better their lifelong gut-brain patterns.

From the episode:

“If the infant is exposed to very sweet foods…the taste preferences are programmed early in life. But it’s not set in stone. If you wean yourself off them, your taste preferences will adapt—and you’ll no longer crave the sugar.”

The takeaway:

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s so hard to quit sugar, this might be why. By dialing down the sugar (even the “healthy” sweeteners) and easing in more fiber- and polyphenol-rich foods, you can rewire your cravings and support long-term gut and brain health.

For more tips from Dr. Mayer—including how stress rewires your digestion, why artificial sweeteners confuse your gut, what a truly healthy diet looks like (hint: it’s not just about fiber), and the critical window that shapes a child’s lifelong mental health—listen to today’s episode of The Liz Moody Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

And let me know: Do you have a sweet tooth? If so, do you have any insight into what your parents fed you as a baby?

Xo,
Liz

P.S. Paid subscribers always get access to key takeaways from each episode, plus full downloadable transcripts. Plus, we have really fun and informative bonus issues: Last Friday, we dug into how bad red dyes really are for you, and this week, we’re taking a closer look at all the healthy swaps I’ve made, from beauty products to food.

Key takeaways