Gut

The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ

De: Giulia Enders

Narrado por: Katy Sobey

Our gut is almost as important to us as our brain, yet we know very little about how it works. Gut: The Inside Story is an entertaining, informative tour of the digestive system from the moment we raise a tasty morsel to our lips until the moment our body surrenders the remnants to the toilet bowl. No topic is too lowly for the author's wonder and admiration, from the careful choreography of breaking wind to the precise internal communication required for a cleansing vomit. Along the way, the author provides practical advice, such as the best ways to sit on the toilet to have a comfortable bowel movement, how clean your kitchen should be for optimum gut health, and how different laxatives work. She tells stories of gut bacteria that can lead to obesity, autoimmune diseases, or even suicide, and she discusses the benefits of dietary supplements, such as probiotics.

This book is a fascinating primer for anyone interested in how our ideas about the gut are changing in the light of cutting-edge scientific research. In the words of the author, "We live in an era in which we are just beginning to understand just how complex the connections are between us, our food, our pets, and the microscopic world in, on, and around us. We are gradually decoding processes that we used to believe were part of our inescapable destiny."

©2015 Giulia Enders; Translation copyright 2015 by David Shaw (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

New info

So readable (listenable)! I have a new appreciation for our incredible gut system. I raised seven children without knowing any of this, partly because the research hadn't been done, but also I was pretty carefree and not a worrier. I have a new great grandchild arriving and I'm afraid I'll be annoying with my newfound "expertise". If you have an interest in scientific and medical information you will love this book. The author has presented a staggering amount of information. I couldn't stop listening. The narrator is superb. There is enough humor in the writing and she caught it all. I sometimes could not believe that this is a translation. Wow!

Excellent book, a must read

This book is well written, well read, it is insightful, inspiring, amusing and captivating.
I used to get heavy colds that sometimes became pneumonia every winter, I suffered from a couple of bouts of cellulitis. I was on antibiotics several times a year. I realized my immune system was almost nonexistent.
I took heed to the research done in this book, and by taking lots (billions every day) of multi-strain probiotics and eating fermented food (like kefir), I have not had one sniffle this winter, not one cough. Another side effect was that my sugar cravings decreased. I had more energy, I wasn't as sluggish or moody, I seemed to have a better outlook on life. Finally, the last, most wonderful side effect was that I have lost 50 lbs. Who knew that these little microscopic organisms could do so much?
After reading this book, with the humorous undertones, I have a healthy relationship with my gut flora, I eat foods that they thrive on.
Thank you so much for writing this book. It has literally changed my life.

Generally good - a few inaccuracies

I enjoyed the book for the most part, and did learn a lot about various physiological aspects of the digestive system that I didn't know previously. However, I got more and more irritated as the author began to cite preliminary research as fact. I think its important to mention what is going on in the research sphere, but Dr. Enders seems to defend her claims about new microbiome or gut-brain axis theories with the oft-maligned "researchers have found". She will usually cite one specific researcher, and I'm sure that there are scientific papers out there that will back her up. But there is so much low-power science done these days and so much data manipulation, that just because there are a few papers out there with a claim doesn't mean that their findings are true, or applicable on a large scale. Dr. Enders also repeated a few common misconceptions as fact, such as "aspartame is carcinogenic". At that point I became concerned that a lot of what I had learned in this book was based on speculative science.

Overall, the gut is not discussed enough in general literature and this book contains decent insight, but it is not the final word on gut science.

Informative & Entertaining Journey through the Gut

Excellent, well-crafted, well-researched writing about the gut. I learned so much and was entertained every step of the way. Bravo and thanks to Giulia Enders!

A fun way to learn about the gut & microbiota

Great narration and production. The science and biology were made very palatable via witty delivery and discussion using normal words. A lot of people could understand this, and each and everyone of them would know a lot more about how their body works, what food does in the body, how antibiotics, probiotics and prebiotics work, plus, a lot about sanitation. All resulting in great information on various factors that affect our immune system.