SAN DIEGO, CA – Consumers can learn of the latest insights into the role that gut microbes play in disease prevention and emotional well-being at a special public event on Friday, Feb. 9 as part of the 15th annual Natural Supplements Conference, hosted by the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.

Health experts say that the human body is host to a vast number of microbes (bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms), with the largest population residing in the gut. Collectively, these microbes are referred to as the human microbiota. The information exchange between the brain, the gut and its microbiota not only affects basic digestive functions, but also impacts other important areas of health, such as brain function and the immune system.

"Only recently have scientists begun to appreciate just how much our health depends on the trillions of microbes that call our body home," said Dr. Robert Bonakdar of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. "New insights are emerging rapidly in this field, and our forum will give consumers a great opportunity to hear about the latest evidence. What is most exciting is that supporting our microbiome holds promise not only for improving gut health, but also potentially for conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity and even neurological disorders."The Gut-Brain Connection forum is set for 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa on Mission Bay, an event that will bring together some of the nation's leading authorities in this field, including Rob Knight, co-founder of the American Gut Project and senior editor of the microbial ecology journal, ISME Journal, and Joseph Pizzorno, naturopathic physician, researcher and founding editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed publication Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal.Other experts on the panel will include Mimi Guarneri, M.D., founder and president of The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, and Dale Bredesen, M.D., a neurodegenerative disease expert and founding president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Bonakdar, M.D., will moderate the panel.After the discussion, attendees can attend a book-signing event, where they can meet the panelists, whose recently published works include "Dirt is Good" (Knight); "The Toxin Solution" (Pizzorno); "108 Pearls to Awaken Your Healing Potential" (Guarneri); and "The End of Alzheimer's" (Bredesen).

Paradise Point Resort is located at 1404 Vacation Road, San Diego, 92109. Cost is $20 per person or $30 for two people. For more information or to register, visit www.scripps.org/gutbrainconnection, call 858-678-6400, or email med.edu@scrippshealth.org.