The Microbiome Solution

A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out

By: Dr. Robynne Chutkan

Narrated by: Rebecca Mitchell

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Microbiome Solution, Dr. Robynne Chutkan, a preeminent gastroenterologist, explains how the standard Western diet and our super-sanitized lifestyles are starving our microbiomes, depleting the "good bugs" that are crucial for keeping us healthy, and encouraging overgrowth of exactly the wrong types of bacteria, which can leave us vulnerable to a host of autoimmune and chronic health conditions. Here, she shares her powerful program of simple yet effective lifestyle and diet changes to help you recover and reverse the damage, along with practical advice throughout, including:

• An overview of the "modern microbial disrupters" that are stripping our bodies of their natural protective systems
• Delicious, nourishing recipes that actually encourage the growth of good bacteria
• A list of important questions to ask your doctor if you have been prescribed an antibiotic
• A guide to choosing the right probiotics and supplements
• Critical information on how to prevent and recover from health conditions like eczema, chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn's disease, colitis, IBS, and more

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2015 Robynne Chutkan (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[A] thoughtful approach to health and wellness that's well worth the time of readers able and willing to research and evaluate Chutkan's many claims for themselves." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great info

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this book already to several clients and friends.

What did you like best about this story?

The information was easy to absorb, easy to understand, and easy to apply.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It sure helped me change a few things in my diet.

Any additional comments?

I loved and agree with everything except the part about not using soap on your skin. I work with the skin and there are plenty of very clean, organically produced, chemical free cleansers that will not harm the skins natural protectant layer (the sebum layer produced by the skin). It is essential to remove free radicals and pollutants that settle on the skin every day and can be absorbed into the body (since your skin absorbs 60% of what you put on it). Other than that this book is amazing!

WOW!

This is comprehensive, cutting edge, easily digestible (pun intended), even humorous at times. I finished the book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. If you have health issues; especially many of those for which there is little help or hope available, you owe it to yourself to get this book. If you don't have health issues you need this information to ensure that you remain healthy.

Disappointed

Doctors are people too, and they can be off the mark. I was hoping this would be more soundly researched, but she lost me when she talked about pre-antibiotic history as though people didn’t suffer from terrible disease. Plague anyone? And I’m grateful I was vaccinated for whooping cough. She lost me after that.

Glorified Newsletter!

While I did learn valuable, new information, it soon became repetitive and continuously referenced the authors’ other book and website. It could have been shorter & cheaper!

Many chapters were just lists and were devoid of any real substance. Heavy on the anecdotes, not many clinical studies quoted. This seemed more like a glorified newsletter from a “functional medicine” gastroenterologist.

Mixed Feelings

Much of the book's content is good and useful. I've certainly heard before that the microbiome can be important for health, and that vaginal birth is better than C-section. And in a few cases the author cites studies or otherwise sounds like a rational, critically thinking person. And unlike a lot of advice-dispensing authors, she is actually a degreed and practicing professional. So that's all good.

But dang, she gets extreme and faddish with some of her recommendations. I got concerned in a number of instances, such as when she says that all GMO food is bad for you (there is nothing intrinsically bad about GMOs. They aren't "frankenfoods", and humans have been modifying plants for thousands of years via agricultural techniques).

I suspect that there's a significant amount of material that may not be justified by science. Unfortunately, there's so much content here that it could be hard to sift through and separate the good from the bad, so it's hard for me to recommend this wholeheartedly. I feel that there must be better introductions to managing gut flora. If you do listen to this, I strongly suggest that you do some research of your own (reputable sources only, please!) to double check any given recommendation before you actually try it out.

Absolutely recommend this book

Lots and lots of great info here. I have re listened to this audiobook twice now and incorporated lots of Dr. Chutkan’s advice into my daily diet/routine.


That being said, without any spoilers, there is a lot of information about babies, mothers, and women - which is GREAT to have in the book but I found my self skipping quite a bit since, well frankly I’m not a girl! That is one tiny tiny tiny issue I have with the book - other than that it’s 5 stars in my book.


*waits for everyone to get my book pun*



Tough crowd...
cheers from LA!

RADICAL is the key word in the title!!

It is very informative about health and it's shortcomings in the medical field. Insightful and worth the invested time.

Good Basic Overview of Microbiome

It's all the basics. If you use only conventional medicine and know very little about the microbiome, this is for you. If you already know that a stunted microbiome is linked to lots of autoimmune disease and to skip antibiotics, eat lots of organic fruits and vegetables, skip antibacterial body care products, and roll in the dirt, then there's not much for you in this book.

Book does include lots of recipes.

Narrator is robotic and might actually be AI.

You're a flotilla of symbiotic organisms

This book explains the important roles that your microbiome plays in your health, and how you can promote and maintain a wholesome microbiome balance. I recommend the book - its not too long, offers good advice, and helps clarify some of the science around this growing field of our relationship with all of the organisms that live inside of us.

Informative and eyeopening

There is a lot more research and attention coming out about the gut connection to our overall health and brain health. Dr. Chutkan’s book is informative and eye opening. However, i had a really hard time getting past this narrator. She literally sounds like a computer or AI. When you’re already listening to science presented in a pretty dry manner, you can’t have a computer voice reading the material without detracting from the subject matter. I’ve heard Dr. Chutkan speak on a podcast, and wish she had narrated her own book. She has a warm and friendly demeanor and would have expressed her passion for this information in a much better way.