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The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health
Unavailable
The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health
Unavailable
The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health
Audiobook8 hours

The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health

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About this audiobook

Genetics and lifestyle are thought to be the two most important determinants of good health. But that is not the whole story. We have a second genome, our gut bacteria, that sets the dial on our bodies. Unlike our DNA, we can influence the gut bacteria, or microbiota, to optimize all aspects of our health.

In The Good Gut, noted Stanford researchers Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, who are doing cutting-edge research on the microbiota, investigate how the trillions of microbes that reside in our gastrointestinal tract help define us, affecting everything from our immune response to our weight, allergic reactions, aging and emotions; how they are under threat from the Western diet, our antibiotics, and our sterilized environment; and how we can nurture our individual microbiota.

This is urgent news. The recent change in our gut microbiota is linked to the alarming increase in obesity and autoimmune diseases. Our intestinal microbiota play an important role in the prevalence of predominantly Western afflictions, such as cancer, diabetes, allergies, asthma, autism, and inflammatory bowel diseases. These gut bacteria are facing a mass extinction, and the health consequences are dire. The average American has 1,200 different types of bacteria residing in his or her gut. That may seem like a lot until you consider that the average Amerindian living in the Amazon has 1,600 species and is much less likely to develop Western maladies.

How can we keep our microbiota off the endangered species list? How can we strengthen the community that inhabits our gut and thereby improve our own health?

Your prescription for gut health is unique to you, and it changes as you age. The Good Gut offers a new plan for health that focuses on how to nourish your microbiota, including recipes and a menu plan. Drs. Sonnenburg look at safe alternatives to antibiotics; dietary and lifestyle choices to encourage microbial health; the management of the aging microbiota; and the nourishment of your own individual microbiome.

The proper understanding and care of our gut may be the most important health choice we can make.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 21, 2015
ISBN9780698403017
Unavailable
The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health

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Rating: 4.100000028888889 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found this book to be highly informative and potentially useful. The author provides information on the relationship between microbiota and ourselves. He explains how we live in a relationship with microbes, which is both beneficial and antagonistic. I found the information on microbial influence on our brain to be interesting. The authors practical advice on the influence diet on microbes in our gut and our health/aging is helpful. I recommend this book to anyone who is living in a microbial world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Awesome book! It is very helpful, detailed, and informative! I will definitely listen to more from this author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Sonnenburgs have written a well-researched and compelling read. I had no idea of the huge importance the microbes that reside in our guts play in our overall health and well- being. As a quick summary, the Sonnenburgs, through their research, have identified some things that have been proven to have a negative impact on the development and maintenance of a health microbiota:
    1. birth by caesarean section
    2. lack of breast feeding
    3. use of antibiotics
    4. use of antibacterial household cleaners and hand sanitizers
    5. increased dependence on processed foods
    6. diminished plant-based diet
    7. decreased consumption of fibre
    The good news is the microbiota is a living community and an ever changing one. Changes to lifestyle, diet and less reliance on antibiotics and antibacterial cleansers can go a long way towards improving one’s health. I was intrigued to learn that fermented foods play an important role in promoting a healthy and diversified microbiota and that back in the days of our hunter-gather ancestors, fermentation was a method for prolonging the life of certain foods and promoted good gut health in the process. Always good to know that some of my favorite foods – like sour cream, sauerkraut and pickles – have a very positive impact on gut health, just like yogurt does. I don’t agree with everything the Sonnenburgs say (I am a little disturbed by their views on hand-washing routines), but I found their speculative comments about possible links between gut bacteria health and obesity, allergies and some autism spectrum disorders to be very interesting and keen to follow the scientific research to see if any conclusive scientific evidence arises. There does appear to be enough evidence supporting the importance of the microbiota in treating certain illnesses, such as the FDA approval of Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) to treat reoccurring c. difficile infection. The authors write with an enthusiasm that makes this book engaging reading for anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating field of study, I just wish the book had been edited to remove the repetition of some of the content. I listened to the audiobook and unfortunately, did not have access to the additional resources of microbiota-rich recipes that are included in the print version.