The Good Gut

Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health

By: Justin Sonnenburg, Erica Sonnenburg

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

A groundbreaking guide to the surprising source of good health.

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.

Includes a Bonus PDF with recipes.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 Justin and Erica Sonnenburg (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Make this your go-to book on microbes

A++. This book gets 5 stars, if for no other reason than it includes consistent solid scientific evidence and its authors excel at engaging in critical thinking and helping their reader sift through the myriad data associated with gut microbes. There are so many books and articles about the gut microbiome. It is one of my favorite subjects and is busting on the science scene like epigenetics did a decade ago and advances in cognitive neuroscience did 3 decades ago (a phenomenon that is still ongoing). The problem with exciting science, often termed "sexy science," is that not only are people completely enamored with it, they are willing to believe anything an "expert" in the field tells them. Just like the world of neuro is absolutely polluted with pseudoscience (Dr. Expert/fraud's promotion: Train your brain with my easy but expensive program!), the field of the guy microbiome has an expert, who specializes in pseudoscience, around every corner. Everyone thinks they are allergic to gluten. Only very few people actually are. People are buying probiotics in increasing high numbers and are convinced the people selling them are knowledgable and honest. In truth, scientists do not even know which microbes are most effective for various conditions. When they do uncover a species of microbe, it may work in one person, but not another. Thus, it is not a cure for x. It is a beneficial microbe for that *type* of person to ingest but not beneficial for another type of person.

The reason why we know so little, and why there are not solidly effective probiotics being sold in stores, is not because probiotics in general are pseudoscience. They are not. In fact, probiotics might be our best chance at fighting many types of illnesses (especially those associated with inflammation), combating obesity, and even curing mental deficits such as depression, anxiety, and even Alzheimer's. But, the study of gut microbes is in its infancy. Researchers need more time to map out various relations.

Even though we are a long way from understanding the microbiome in enough detail to sell probiotics as effective remedies for various health issues, there is still reason to buy them, *if* you find out how to understand the differences in brands, types, etc. These authors provide sound advice for buying, making, and consuming probiotics. They are hippyish enough to appeal to alternative medicine folks ("We make our own food. We are organic. We let our kids play in the microbe filled dirt."), scientifically savvy ("Here is what x study said about y microbe/product), and relate to readers of all types.

I was sad to see such high ratings for Perlmutter and Loberg's book, The Brain Maker. It is clear that people will buy into anything they think they can trust. I hope my scientifically educated friends rate The Good Gut highly so that maybe it will drown out pseudoscientific books like Brain Maker.

Kindle your microbiota and they will reciprocate!

I approached this book with a skeptical mindset. Much of what I had heard about the microbiota and the importance of eating things that are beneficial to your gut had come either from advertisements or from crackpots who thinks that their personal anecdotes trump all published science. Despite my initial antagonism to their arguments, the authors managed to break down my defenses to deliver a rather strong message, namely that our microbiota is vital to us and that what we eat will affect it. In other words, we live in a powerful symbiosis with our gut bacteria. I can recommend this book if you are searching for an introduction to this field.

We have about 100 trillion microbes in our gut. In comparison, we have about 37 trillion cells with ‘our’ DNA in them. This fact alone implies that the microbiota plays an important function. More and more research points to the microbiota as a key player in our immune system. When a pathogen gets into our gut, it will have to compete with the bacteria already present in the gut. So depending the quantity and quality of your microbiota, pathogens will have more or less trouble getting established, and in extension, making you sick.

From this knowledge follows many implications. Fecal transplants for instance, in which the microbiota (stool) is taken from one person and given to another, can affect the recipient's immune system as well as their digestion. Indeed, as you will learn if you read this book, there are even studies suggesting that stool transplants can not only health status but also moods (perhaps because health and moods are linked?).

This is a good book. The writing is accessible. The authors are scientists and, unlike many other people who argue for the importance of the microbiota; they base most of their arguments on scientific studies. However, even though I can understand the impulse, I was sometimes taken aback by the author's willingness to use personal anecdotes. The authors (who are by the way married), have a son who had problems with his microbiota and throughout the book, the authors discuss how they implemented what science taught them, in their home. Anecdotes are of course very powerful and the anecdotes in this book help drive home its message. However, sometimes, I got the feeling that they used anecdotes to argue beyond what we know from science. In doing so they are approaching the dark side, the one filled with crackpots and people who believe that eating beans make you immune to any disease. I hope that they can stay on the right side in the future, though I fear for them. To not end on a negative note, which would be unfair, this was indeed a good book. Highly recommended for everyone!

Best book on nutrition I've read

I'm very skeptical of nutrition advice because I feel like we're constantly being told different things, but this book is so fully supported scientifically and addressed in such a practical and thoughtful manner, I can't help but love it. It's extremely educational and at the same time just makes so much sense. The authors are also really good about admitting what the scientific community doesn't know for sure yet, and great about pointing out the whole correlation vs causation issue. I trust these guys and will be taking their advice to make my diet more gut friendly!

very disapointed in this book!

Pros
the reader was well qualified, easy to understand.
Cons
this book is a scattered overview.
it was too general .
I was expecting better.
there was nothing in this book to help patients learn how to repair and return their "gut" to a
healthy environment.

.

Helpful, useful insight

Would you consider the audio edition of The Good Gut to be better than the print version?

Often I use library books or listen to an audio book before purchasing print and I have already gone and purchased this hardcopy to use as a reference.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Good Gut?

The link between your gut and mood.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes I found the scientific data and information very useful and wanted to continue to learn more.

Any additional comments?

I chose this book looking for answers to many media topics regarding health and your "gut". This book balanced scientific data and insightful, helpful information in correlation with your health. I enjoyed the book and knowledge I gained from it.

Not as good as Brain Maker but good.

I listen to this book back to back with the brain maker. Overall this book unlocked a lot of information but I would definitely suggest the brain maker over this book. He's far off on his information about saturated fats animal fats, gluten and some other foods. To understand more on those foods read wheat belly, why we get fat, the Bulletproof diet among others in that line of thinking. But over all I would deathly suggest adding up your arsenal.

Way too long for the information that's in it.

Any additional comments?

This book could have easily be ten times shorter and still provide the same information. If you look for a good book on this subject go and read Brain Maker, which is in my opinion superior book in every aspect compared to this one.

Very good info for living

I have heard and read about the importance of the bacteria in our gut and this pulls it all together very nicely. My Grandmother always said we needed to eat a bushel of dirt before we were 5. Not actually eat it, but be outside and play in it We are too obsessed with being clean and it isn't good for us. The book has a nice balance of scientific information and practical advice.

great book.

this is the most important research of our generation. the authors present a compelling story about our microbiota and our future potential

Too General .

I'm dissappointed in this book. The reader had a monotonous tone. Which made it even boring.
The content was too general and high level. What foods do I consume to improve my gut . No Summary of that in the book. All I got out of the book was eat Yogurt and Fiber. which everyone knows.