Book review: Gut by Giulia Enders

This is more a brief take than a  review of the book. 

Gut by microbiologist Giulia Enders (Speaking Tiger Books) turned out to be not a run of the mill pick but a very informative read. The style is most reader-friendly, almost light and chatty but the gravitas of the contents is unmissable.

The presentation of the book went viral on Youtube, won the first prize at the Science Slam in Berlin, and has sold over two million copies and counting.

The book which could also be called The Toilet Book, is packed with info. Some of the topics taken up are:

• What is the psychological connect to a diseased gut?
• What is the link between the gut and the brain?
• Are you sitting on the pot properly?
• Why does your mouth go dry in the night?
• What is the psoriasis and sore throat connect?
• How is digestion an intuitive affair?
• Why you should always refrigerate olive oil.
• Why it`s not too good for use on your hair.
• Why milk is really not the best news for an adult gut.
• Why a good look at your poo can be beneficial to you.
• Why you shouldn`t thump the back of someone who is choking on a piece of food.
• What that rumbling in your SI not your tummy actually means.
• What chewing gum or sipping tea can do for your acid reflux.
• How to do the toilet rock!
• The three-day rule of laxatives.
• Dracula`s guts.
• The magic of yogurt.
• How bacteria makes us fat.
• Why antibiotics are terrible in the long run.
• Why India is a bacterial-problem country.

Basically, the gut is two-thirds of our immune system and people with certain digestive problems often suffer from nervous disorders of the gut. Our gut contains hundred trillion bacteria and more than 95% of gut bacteria is harmless but it pays to keep your gut healthy. The large intestine  takes 16 hours to process a meal, the jaw is our body`s most powerful muscle and alas, sugar turns quickly into fat in the body.

For more such vital nuggets, you`ll need to read the book yourself!

 

Hear the good doctor speak….