The microbiome is the current rock star of medical research. Scientists are so enthralled with gut flora that they've crowned it "the second genome." Apparently a happy microbiome really is the secret to good health. Despite the fact that we have yet to identify all of the bacterial strains teeming in our guts, five (!) new books break down what you need to know to transform your body's "second brain." You're not alone if you're not yet aware that sugar is bad for your gut but dirt is good, probiotics need prebiotics (and popping a pill won't cut it), Jerusalem artichokes are a must, and C-sections and formula are gut bug-unfriendly. Here, we sort out the useful from the not so useful, with plenty of the just plain weird along the way.
The Book: The Gut Balance Revolution: Boost Your Metabolism, Restore Your Inner Ecology, and Lose the Weight for Good! (Rodale Books)
About the author Gerard E. Mullin, MD, associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
In a nutshell: A science-heavy 3-phase weight loss program ("reboot, rebalance, renew") meant primarily for people with a considerable number of pounds to shed. It includes useful lists of gut-friendly superfoods, recipes, and even suggested yoga stretches (stress is bad for the gut). Dr. Mullin says he lost more than 100 pounds eating a gut-friendly diet before he entered medical school to become a gastroenterologist and a nutritionist.
Coolest idea: "There are few ecosystems on the planet that are as complex as the one inside of you. The species density of the human large intestine is nearly equal to that of the Amazon rain forest."
Ickiest part: "The microflora in your gut alone weighs about 3 to 5 pounds." (And it's slightly distracting that he uses the word "poo.")
Best trick for balancing your gut: "Become a good gut bug gardener." This doesn't mean just taking a probiotic—and you may not even want one if you eat right. First you have to "till the soil of your gut," then you seed it with good fat-burning bacteria, and then you maintain it by eating a mix of specific prebiotic and probiotic foods.
Extra credit__:__ A list of what Dr. Mullin says are gut-flora-harming substances: C-sections, bottle (not breast) feeding, obsessive hygiene, high fat and sugary processed foods, antibiotic overuse (from medicine, in our meat supply, and even in household cleaners as well as soap), stress, too much alcohol, and physical inactivity.
The book: The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight Your Mood and Your Long-term Health (Penguin Press)
About the authors: Justin Sonnenberg and Erica Sonnenberg, PhDs in the department of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He's an assistant professor, she's a senior research scientist.
In a nutshell: "We live in a microbial world," write the Sonnenbergs, and it's hard not to hear Madonna singing. Their book is what nonscientists need to know in order to make sense of the current fuss over the microbiome, plus some pragmatic advice from their own family life as parents of two young children (both born by microbiome-unfriendly C-sections)—about food, supplements, and embracing dirty hands.
Coolest idea: The third most abundant class of molecules in breast milk after fat and lactose, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are not digestible by the infant drinking it. Rather, "HMOs aren't for feeding the baby, they're to provide sustenance for his microbiota…. The lactating mom is not just providing for her baby, she is also whipping up dinner for the 100 trillion bacterial guests her baby is hosting."
Ickiest part: "The ideal stool is smooth, soft, and easy to pass and comes out in one long snake-like piece without any cracking, which is an indication of constipation. The lack of a splash means you are on the right track."
Best trick for balancing your gut: Eat well. That means a mix of pre- and probiotic foods, a "symbiotic" diet. When one of their kids was constipated, they revisited their diet. "We felt that we of all people should not have a child with gastrointestinal issues," they write. They tossed out white rice, white flour, and white pasta, and filled their shelves with quinoa, millet, wild rice, and legumes. "Our vegetable consumption increased to the point where the crisper drawers in our fridge couldn't hold our weekly allotment." They also decreased the amount of meat and added fermented, probiotic-rich foods (kefir, yogurt, pickles).
Extra Credit__:__ This family does not routinely consume probiotic supplements, relying instead on bacteria in fermented foods. They also don't routinely wash hands. "We often do not have our children wash their hands before eating if they have just been playing in our yard, petting our dog, or gardening." They do wash post-hospital or petting zoo, during cold and flu season, and/or if they've come into contact with chemical residues.
The Book: Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain—for Life (Little, Brown and Company)
About the author: David Perlmutter, MD, is a neurologist and president of Perlmutter Health Center in Naples, Florida. He is also the author of 7 books including the bestselling Grain Brain.
In a nutshell: Dr. Perlmutter says what happens in the gut does not stay in the gut; he claims it can determine risk for neurological conditions like autism, MS, depression and dementia. He describes how the gut gets built up and various things that harm the gut (including type of birth, medications taken as a child and chemicals in hand sanitizers). He then describes what he believes to be links to various brain-related diseases, with special focus on the aging brain. Finally, he offers microbiome-healing steps he says will boost mental clarity and stack the odds in favor of brain health.
Coolest idea: "Although the human genome we all carry is almost the same, give or take the small handful of genes that encode our individual characteristics like hair color or blood type, the gut microbiome of even identical twins is vastly different."
Ickiest part: "Much of what we know about the microbiome comes from studying so-called germ-free mice. These are mice that have been altered to not have any gut bacteria, thereby allowing scientists to study the effects of missing microbes, or, conversely exposing them to certain strains and watching what happens."
Best trick for balancing your gut: Follow his "highly practical" regimen of six essential keys: prebiotics, probiotics, fermented foods, low-carb foods, gluten-free foods, and healthful fat. He says you can reap the benefits in a matter of weeks.
Extra Credit: "Popular antidepressants like Paxil, Zoloft, and Lexapro increase the availability of the 'feel-good' chemical serotonin in the brain. You may be surprised to find out that an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the amount of serotonin in your body is manufactured by the nerve cells in your gut! In fact, your gut's brain makes more serotonin—the master happiness molecule—than the brain in your head does."
The Book: The Microbiome Solution: A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body From the Inside Out (Avery)
About the author: Robynne Chutkan, MD, FASGE, a gastroenterologist and founder of the Digestive Center for Women. She is the author of Gutbliss.
In a nutshell: This book is a mash-up—scientific background, plus personal story, plus patient case studies, plus a diet and even an embrace-dirt beauty regimen. It's the sequel to Gutbliss, which included the story of how Dr. Chutkan—a traditional gastroenterologist—healed her daughter's gut after she was born via C-section and didn't get enough breast milk, then took years of antibiotics. This book covers how she is now helping patients do the same. She calls it her Live Dirty, Eat Clean plan.
Coolest idea: "An immune system that doesn't get up close and personal with enough germs early on is like a kid with overprotective parents, ill equipped to deal with problems when they inevitably happen. Inadequate exposure leads to defects in immune tolerance and a trigger-happy state of heightened activity where essential bacteria, proteins in food, and even parts of our own body…are treated like the enemy and attacked."
Ickiest part: "There are lots of things that can bloat you…. Microbial imbalance leads to overproduction of bloat-causing hydrogen and methane gases, along with attendant abdominal discomfort, a change in bowel habits, smelly gas…. Any or all of these, whether as constant problems or as symptoms that ebb and flow throughout the week, may be signals that all is not well in your microbiome. Eliminating my SAD GAS foods (soy, artificial sweeteners, dairy, gluten, alcohol, and sugar) is helpful, but some forms of bloating require serious dietary changes as well as repopulation with healthy microbes."
Best trick for balancing your gut: Avoid antibiotics if and whenever possible; they kill off gut bacteria that don't always come back. Between 2000 and 2010, global antibiotic use increased by 35 percent. Also, believe in the concept that food is medicine and do the work (you "cannot hack" your microbiome) to change your microbial family by eating a diet that feeds your microbes. She calls her diet "veleo"—a mix of Paleo and vegan with an emphasis on vegetables, especially high fiber ones.
Extra Credit:
Probiotics, while potentially useful, are not a cure-all. "Destroying your gut bacteria and then trying to replenish them with a probiotic is like draining a full bathtub and replacing the contents with a single cup of water—it's literally a drop in the bucket."
The Book: Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ (Greystone Books)
About the author: Giulia Enders, a young German medical student who knows first hand that most doctors learn very little about the microbiome in their training. She won a prize at a Science Slam in Freiburg that went viral on YouTube. Her book, based on this presentation, is an international bestseller.
In a nutshell: This primer is everything you ever wanted to know about the gut (and then some), chattily and accessibly written in a uniquely Millennial and matter of fact way. An unexpected page turner. Expect sentences like, "Our internal sphincter is a no-nonsense little guy. His motto is "If it's gotta come out, it's gotta come out!" And if she titles a section "Why We Vomit and What We Can Do to Prevent It," you know exactly what you're about to read. Her excitement about the subject matter is infectious. The fun yet informative black and white drawings throughout are her sister's handiwork. Refreshingly devoid of recipes, or any self help-y language.
Coolest idea: "In total, the surface area of our digestive system is about one hundred times greater than the area of our skin."
Ickiest part: "In the final three feet or so of the large intestine, our water and salt levels are finely tuned. Not that I'm recommending a taste test, but the saltiness of our feces always remains the same."
Best trick for balancing your gut: No tricks here; this is the story of how it all works because we all collectively underestimate our gut, not how to balance it. She does thread some thoughts and even advice as she spills out everything she has learned about the microbiome, so you can figure it out yourself.
Extra Credit: An illuminating statistic for college students, frat boys, and people who generally like their liquor: "Alcohol can multiply the number of gas-producing bacteria by a factor of up to a thousand."
Photo Credit: Courtesy
Original article and pictures take www.self.com site
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