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

Dr. Chutkan has shared important information with us that should have been common knowledge long ago. It's not new, and others have been saying much the same, but Chutkan follows it up with a plan that might work for the people who haven't digested the importance of how digestion influences one's life but need to find a solution.

This book is quite interesting - and quite different. There are dozens if not hundreds of books on friendly gut bacteria. But this one takes it further and gives some real food for thought about how we live our lives and the role of bacteria in the real world.

A very informative book that everyone should read. I am more educated now about how to ask questions of the doctor pertaining to prescriptions--whether I really need them or if I'm being prescribed because the doctor thinks that's what I want.

I just finished reading "The Good Gut," by Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, and "Brain Maker," by David Perlmutter, which deal with the same subject of the loss of microbial diversity in the human gut and the resulting deleterious effects on our health. This book is an excellent addition to the growing list of books on this subject, although I have to admit I didn't learn much of anything new that I hadn't learned from its predecessors.

The only thing I take issue with is (some of) her dietary advice. Dr. Chutkan rightfully recommends eating lots of vegetables and other foods that feed the gut microbiota. But she takes a broad swipe at dairy, stating that it's mostly processed, is damaging to the gut and that many people can't digest it. While it's true that some people can't digest lactose, there is a big difference between real cheese and the modern processed stuff we like to call "cheese." Same goes for commercially sweetened yogurts v. whole milk plain yogurt or real kefir, which are highly probiotic. And there have been several studies as of late that have shown that the consumption of traditionally-fermented aged cheeses actually confers many health benefits. There is no reason to avoid raw or fermented dairy if it's well tolerated -- doing so may do more harm than good.

She also recommends a mostly vegetarian diet based on questionable studies. The main one she mentions compares a low-fat, high-fiber study to a low-fiber, high meat study. But eating meat (or anything else) in abundance in the absence of fiber is clearly deleterious, but more due to the absence of fiber than to the presence of anything else. There is yet a study that proves that eating non-processed meat is bad for us. Actually, good quality animal products, especially organ meats, are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.

Finally, she recommends eating foods that are high in resistant starch but omits potatoes and white rice, which are actually very rich in resistant starch (especially cooked and cooled), from that list. Real potatoes (not fried or processed) are very rich in nutrients and protein and definitely deserve a place at the table. White rice, especially cooled, is good for the microbiota and innocuous at its worst.

There is plenty of information in this book that will be useful to readers who are unfamiliar with the importance of the microbiome. But I doubt that they will even pick this up to read. More likely the reader will be someone who already knows what the microbiome is, and most likely they already know much of what Dr. Chutkan explains here. The main idea is that many digestive problems are caused by killing off necessary bacteria in the gut or (in the case of babies) being born by C-section.

It's pretty well established that antibiotics and antiseptics kill off bacteria both good and bad. And advertisers have done a convincing job of selling the benefits of probiotics. Robynne Chutkan makes a valid point that we need to do more than take probiotic supplements. We also need to eat plenty of vegetables and get exercise.

I have read a couple of her earlier books and have followed news about the microbiome on the internet, so I found little here that was news. There is a section of recipes but I don't tolerate many of the ingredients since I have so many food sensitivities. So there just wasn't much of value to me personally.

And I disagree with the idea that body odors are something we should get used to. Instead we should bathe without antibacterial chemicals; just use the kind of products our grandparents grew up with. You can avoid harsh chemicals but still be pleasantly clean. I don't think we have to "live dirty;" we just need to discard the idea that we must be as sterile as an operating room.

I do think Chutkan is on the right track as far as emphasizing a healthy diet. However, I did not find a solution for my long-standing digestive problems here. Most of this stuff I tried for years and it only helped a little bit, and in some cases it made me feel worse. For example, I do better by avoiding fermented foods (which make me itch) and complex carbohydrates (which give me heartburn). I suspect that once your gut is really damaged, you need more than the basic advice found here.

I feel Dr. Chutkan is a good writer and I will continue to follow her on the internet. She does keep abreast of current research on digestive health.

human microbial ecology is one of my favorite science topics- I guess I expected a lot from this book but I got very little. I was expecting reviews of current research and a little more than "eat fiber and lay off sugar, stupid." This book feels like it was written by a marketing team, not a doctor :/

I started this book with a positive attitude towards microbiome research, and finished with a more negative attitude. The author put me off by relying too much on anecdotal evidence instead of research evidence, and presenting her micorbiome solutions as if they could solve everything from myopia to cancer. I still want to research the microbiome more, I just don't fell this author does it any justice.

I have been learning about leaky gut and the resulting food intolerances and medical problems caused for the last 16 years. This book taught me some of the new research as well as explaining some things that I had not fully understood. I really appreciate this book. The author is a gastroenterologist MD who used to be "old school western medicine" until her daughter had medical problems and she sought answers. My own experience has been learning through three medical doctors and two homeopaths. I also have heard lectures at conferences about allergies and gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease and read books.

To summarize the book, I feel it is a fast easy read. However I have been reading it slowly over a month as sometimes when realizing the reality of a situation in my life when the book speaks to my situation, it hits me and shocks me and I need time to digest and process before moving onto the next chapter. This book explains in simple terms what our microbiome is and how the gut is the center of our immune system. It explains what dysbiosis is (candida overgrowth being just one type of dysbiosis). It explains things that lead us to mess up our microbiome to start us down the road to having dysbiosis. The things that cause it are very typical things in modern American living ranging from c-section birth to not breastfeeding to use of antibiotics for Strep B in pregnancy or in infants, children or adults. It explains things like the use of antacids or steroids can hurt us more than helping us. Clean water, washing our bodies, using hand sanitizer, using SLS in personal care products like soap, toothpaste and shampoo, all these things can cause dysbiosis.

The book then discusses how eating certain typical American Standard Diet can mess up the microbiome. So Dr. Chutkan outlines a more ideal eating plan for all people to use for their whole life. Probiotics are discussed but she said they are a drop in the bucket when you are really a dysbiotic mess. So here is where some people may draw the line: she recommends fecal transplant. I'll cut to the chase to explain you mix somebody's fresh stool with a sterile solution in a blender and strain it then give yourself an enema with it. Fecal transplants are only approved i the USA right now for use in treating infection with c. diff. bacteria. So if you want to try one she explains how to do it in your own home! She recommends pre-screening for infectious disease and tells who the ideal candidate is. Another option is to go to Canada to have a health care professional do the treatment. I was a bit let down when she admits this is all so new there are no studies yet and she feels that some people will need regular repeating fecal transplants and that some people may be so damaged they will never have a normal microbiome again.

Dr. Chutkan gives advice for how to live more in line with our microbiome such as not using antiperspirant and getting used to the smell of our unique body odor. I can't say I like that suggestion.

There are about 100 pages of recipes for foods to eat. For the basic plan she recommends only one animal protein serving size a day and six vegetable servings, no dairy, and one serving of alcohol a day max. She explains fermented foods and gives other good reccommendations. Oh and another interesting section was how dysbiosis can cause obesity or can cause a malnutrition that makes a person thin (in a bad way). Also the role of dysbiosis in mood is explained, such as how serotonin is produced in the gut and if you have dysbiosis you basically can be clinically depressed but if you fix your gut you are cured of the depression.

I read an advance copy of this book which is an uncorrected proof and is unfinished. My copy does not have a bibliography or studies cited. I tried double checking some facts that I questioned and found conflicting info (ex. other sources said that serotonin is produced in the brain but stored in the gut). Some of these ideas are cutting edge and I would like to see the studies cited. Without those people and other medical doctors will question the content of the book and she may be called a quack.

This is really important info even if you have no desire for a fecal transplant you can use the info in the book to learn and to try to see if you can get improvement using the diet changes and probiotis and other advice. If you are looking for directions on a DIY fecal transplant it is all in this book. I rate this 5 stars = I Love It. I also predict that in 20 years this topic of dysbiosis and its role in food allergy, autoimmune disorder, Alzheimers, Autism, obesity, and mood disorders will be accepted as legitimate mainstream medicine. Or I hope it will. I was doing these things for my son with food intolerances back in 1999 when it was considered "really weird" and pure snake oil treatments by the pediatric allergist we consulted once.

My husband has had stomach issues for many years and it happens to coincide with antibiotic use. So, this book was a interesting read for me. I don't know whether I buy into everything she is saying, but some of it I definitely agree. We have learned that fermenting our own foods and creating natural probiotics has helped the most. So, I agree with her approach that not all bacteria is bad. I really appreciated her Live Dirty Lifestyle Dos and Don'ts. This makes a lot of sense. We have so many diseases and new problems popping up with our bodies and yet we are more clean and germ phobic than we have ever been. So, I like the useful ways she provides for taking in a certain amount of germs that help build our bodies natural immunity... such as showering with just water and no soap. Overall, I found her book to be full of some fluff, but for the most part, it has some very beneficial information. The two recipes we have tried have been very good. We love the Broiled Miso Orange Glazed Salmon and the Artichoke and Spinach Dip.

The following is the Table of Contents for the book.

Introduction: Live Dirty, Eat Clean
Part I - Getting to Know Your Gut Bacteria
Chapter 1: The Zoo Inside You
Chapter 2: Microbes: Your Worker Bees
Part II - Messing Up the Microbiome
Chapter 3: The Hygiene Hypothesis and Our Modern Plagues
Chapter 4: Pharmageddon and the Antibiotic Paradox
Chapter 5: Dybiosis - Do You Have It?
Chapter 6: Are Our Bacteria Making Us Fat?
Chapter 7: Modern Microbial Disruptors
Part III - Rewilding Ourselves
Chapter 8: Introduction to the Live Dirty, Eat Clean Plan
Chapter 9: The Live Dirty, Eat Clean Diet
Chapter 10: The Live Dirty Lifestyle
Chapter 11: A Rewilding Approach to Illness
Chapter 12: Bugs over Drugs: Probiotics and Other Supplements
Chapter 13: Everything You Wanted to Know About Stool Transplants but Were Afraid to Ask
Part IV - Recipes
Chapter 14: Microbiome Solution Recipes

In recent years, we have learned that our colons are more than just waste processors, but contain an incredibly large and diverse collection of micro-organisms (primarily bacteria) that not only assist in digestion but really help our overall health, in part by what they produce (e.g., most of the body's serotonin, the lack of which is associated with depression) or the ability to suppress "bad" bacteria .

This book really focuses on the importance of nurturing good bacteria in our guts (along with bacteria in other parts of bodies). It identifies many GI problems (e.g. Crohn's disease) that may be linked to the food and drug (especially antibiotics) choices we make. Bad food (i.e., low fiber) and broad spectrum antibiotics can ravage our microbiological partners, potentially leading to disease. The author (a gastroenterologist) gives us many case studies of patients with GI problems whose conditions are much improved by making different food choices and reducing use of drugs (primarily antibiotics).

The best part of this book is that tells at length how to encourage a healthy microbiome - high fiber foods, vegetables in the diet, and less reliance on antibiotics (and more targeted ones at that), These steps make sense. I suppose a concern I have is whether these approaches are best for treating an individual with a given disease -- the author's examples are based on only a few patients, so If I had a disease, I would read this book but really talk to my health care provider before undertaking major changes. It may all be great stuff - I just feel more evidence is needed!

A very good book - perhaps best for people in good health (along with their families) to maintain healthy gut bacteria and generally not do things (like endless washing) that kills our microscopic friends within us that help our maintain good health.

Have you ever purchased antibiotics and probiotics (some even refrigerated at the druggist's) and wondered: 1. What exactly are those "millions" of "friendly bacteria" claimed by the maker? and, 2. Why doesn't this stuff appear to be working--am I short a few million? If so, this single book may produce the desired results more certainly than those millions of amicable bacteria in a pill (who counts them, anyway?).

Despite the sub-title ("A Radical New Way"), I found Dr. Chutkan's book a practical, even common-sensical, approach to selecting, preparing and eating the foods that can heal the body's ailments and ensure optimal health. The author explains the basis of her approach and then gives a comprehensive overview of the conditions that it addresses--not simply intestinal-digestive issues (IBS, Crohn's, constipation, etc.) but metabolic syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, yeast infection, and various skin conditions.

Even though the book is 340 pp., it's reader-friendly and easily manageable. The author doesn't waste words, limiting her discussion of each topic to a page or two. Her writing is personal and user-friendly, with frequent use of anecdotal material. (Parents who find themselves over-fussy about dirty children and exposure to germs should be especially relieved after reading the "Microbiome Solution.") The last 100 pages are devoted to recipes enabling the reader to put the book's diagnoses and solutions to the test.

The book will seem radical only to readers who have entrusted their lives to prescriptions, pills, and an obsession with germs and sterilization. By contrast, the author trusts the lessons she's learned from nature. I had planned to read the trendy book, "Wheat Belly," and may still do so. But as someone who's had to "wing" the business of eating for the past year--grabbing pizzas, frozen Chinese, and usually a Coke--I''m now sufficiently informed and ready to make the change. Moreover, "The Microbiome Solution" so closely corresponds with my own doctor's warnings (about my pre-diabetic numbers) and advice (about the benefits of exercise and dark, leafy vegetables like kale) that putting into action the recommendations by Dr. Chutken has become the higher priority.

This is a book well worth reading. As someone interested in the human microbiome, I already knew some of the things in the early part of the book, but it is informative. For most people, the idea that we might need more bacteria in out diets seems odd, but it is perfectly rational. There are bacteria to which the baby is introduce in the birth canal. Nursing the infant feeds the bacteria that the baby needs. When we are given an antibiotic, our valuable bacteria are wiped out, and we need to replace them with probiotics. Certain plants are valuable prebiotics which feed our probiotics.

Because the author is a bit repetitive at the start of the book, I took off a star.

The last part of the book has recipes. It is very seldom I see a book where there are so many recipes that sound absolutely delicious, and the book is worth buying for those alone. Trying out the recipes is next on my list.

I also recommend the reader follow up reading this book with more research. I suspect that the bacteria with which we are assaulted in an urban environment, for instance, might not be the ones to which humans are best adapted. Digging in the dirt while gardening probably gives us more of the bacteria humans evolved to use.

Eat your vegetables, avoid sugar and all the other bad stuff. The only thing different about this book is it has instructions for doing a Fecal Transplant, otherwise it follows the SCD Diet, Paleo Diet, eat-your-fermented-foods philosophy, etc, which is a good thing but I've had the Nourishing Traditions book for years, and then went to the SCD/GAPS diet.
If you know nothing about Paleo or SCD/GAPS diet, then the information in the book might be new for you.

The Microbiome Solution: a radical new way to heal your body from the inside out, Robyanne Chutkan, reviewed by Jerry Woolpy

If you’re hep, you know your intestinal microbiomes control your mood as well as your digestion, and when it’s composed of a wide variety of microbes it keeps you healthy. But when it’s not, you are subject to all kinds of diseases: autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory. This book will provide you with essential details to stay healthy or recover your health from disease. But if you’re not hep to these recent findings, this book could provide the epiphany to a more enlightened life of nutritional knowledge. A balanced array of microbes is acquired during vaginal birth from a healthy mother not corrupted by antibiotics, NSAIDs, cancer chemo, infection, or other factors that distort the distribution of intestinal microbes. The balance varies with age and diet provided that the diet is real food, unadulterated by processing, additives, preservatives, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. Antibiotics are especially destructive and should be used only when essential to survival and then for as short a time as possible. Long term antibiotic treatment as for acne or chronic infections can permanently damage the possibility of recovering optimum microbial balance. Avoid junk food altogether, eat meat or dairy or don’t, but emphasize vegetables and fruit and don’t add anything to your diet that displaces vegetables and fruit complete with natural, living fiber. As an added feature the book ends with numerous flavorful recipes for all of the usual courses.

From my wife Sarah: This book is very informative, well written, easy to understand, and it has actionable steps. It's appropriate for anyone with almost any kind of illness, and anyone wanting to maintain good health for life.

Lately I've been hearing about the massive impact of your gut microbiome on your term health, and how any imbalance can be the root cause of a large number of illnesses. I've known for decades that after having taken antibiotics you needed to take replenish your good gut bacteria, but I thought it was enough to take one acidophilus pill a day for a couple weeks. It turns out that it's far more complicated than that.

Dr. Robynne does an excellent job of describing the problem. I was really surprised to see how many illnesses could have this imbalance as the root cause. This book should bring a lot of hope to many people - turn around your microbiome and you may be able to improve your health. The book is packed with the information that you need to do it.

Dr. Robynne shared actionable steps that you can take to reverse the problem. It turns out that restoring the microbiome throughout your body requires a number of steps including the intake of much greater quantity and a much wider variety of good bugs than I had thought. It's also done through a variety of other means including the addition of fermented foods, and pre-biotics (foods that feed the good bugs), etc. She suggests dietary changes, lifestyle changes and time to heal.

The book is well organized, very easy to understand, and eye opening. I'd say pretty much everyone should read it.

This book’s subtitle is “A radical new way to heal your body from the inside out”. The author, a gastroenterologist, is a faculty member at Georgetown University Hospital. Her first book Gut Bliss introduced the belief that our gut controls our health. She looks at “ bacteria as friend rather than foe”, focusing on “microbiome”, all the organisms that live in or on our body. The imbalance of organisms are responsible for a long list of illnesses, and this imbalance is caused by the processed food we eat, the over-use of antibiotics, and our lifestyle. She states that it’s actually the lack of germs that is making us sick. She often is very explicit (and graphic) in her suggestions of how to restore this balance. As the subtitle indicates, this is a “radical” approach. The book is easy to read, unencumbered by medical jargon and terms. It provides recipe and hygiene suggestions. For people (fortunately, I’m not one) who are truly suffering from chronic gastrointestinal problems and auto-immune diseases, this approach may provide relief and is worth reading.

I generally liked this book, as it encompassed & validated many things I have researched and learned over the past 4 plus years since my little girl got SIBO (she is fine now, though it took a year of serious effort, tests, meds, trial & error). We shouldn't try to be so antiseptic, a little dirt is good for us, etc.
I also agree with another reviewer that is a bit much to tell certain societies to be all right with being somewhat smelly. I use a homemade coconut deodorant that works just fine, no odor problems at all. It doesn't control sweating, which is make-or-break for some, esp in a professional setting. Or a teenager. I work from home in New England so I don't have to manage a hot climate & damp pits. When I go home to Texas, you can bet I am using an antiperspirant/deo.

I am on board with her eating suggestions, she is clearly trying to cover all the bases.

HOWEVER - WARNING!
On pages 177-178 of the hardcover version, there is a table: "Supplements That Are Useful in Treating Dysbiosis". Many good suggestions to try but no guideline as to how much or how to space them out with other foods/supplements/RX meds. Many people have the "more is better" attitude towards supplements & should research further into dosing. The biggest error I see in this table is the suggestion of "TEA TREE OIL - has natural antifungal properties". People with serious internal GI yeast infections might take this as a directive to ingest tea tree oil. DO NOT INGEST TEA TREE OIL! It is classified as a poison. Tea Tree oil is toxic if swallowed. Google it. Do not use in or around the mouth. I have successfully used it on superficial cuts & scrapes, warts, etc. though not in too large amounts. It is a good disinfectant for those types of things, just not internally. I would be worried that someone would ingest it out of desperation (which, trust me, I HAVE KNOWN having had a child with SIBO!) and end up in the hospital even worse off.

I am surprised she didn't address that at all. It's like a lawsuit waiting to happen. "I was just doing what Dr. Robynne Chutkan told me to do!"

You should also do your due diligence/research with any of these supplements to make sure their is no interaction with other things you are taking. Example - turmeric/curcumin is healthy, but can act like a blood thinner. You need to know this if you are on RX blood thinners.

Do not just run out to Whole Foods & buy all these supplements, popping them willy nilly. Just a bit of advice from a mom that's been there!

Microbiome is the name given to the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut. It’s become popular today to rethink not only our lifestyle and what we eat, but how clean we are in our personal lives. In this age of over-dependence on vaccines and antibiotics for every little ailment, and the need to sanitize everything we touch, we are actually depriving our bodies of the balance of good germs to bad that actually build our immune systems and keep us healthy.

Gastroenterologist and author Robynne Chutkan explains why we need to “eat a peck of dirt before we die” and much much more. She explains why using hand sanitizers may be counter-productive and why we need to eat more natural, fermented foods.

I’ve been treating hormonal and gut imbalance and found Robynne’s book helpful and very readable. In addition to explaining the how and why, Robynne offers a number of recipes for simple gut-healing foods as well as cleaning products. She ascribes to the “live dirty, eat clean” life and suggests we do the same. I found her writing style both refreshing and informative.

She also shares practical advice I’ve never seen elsewhere. For example why it’s so much better to have a natural childbirth than a Cesarean section, because the fluids a baby gathers as it comes down the birth canal provide essential bacteria to build the baby’s immune system and which helps to prevent allergies.

The diet in Robynne’s book is mostly a low sugar, high fiber one—the ingredients we need for a healthy gut.

Very well done, and kudos to Dr. Chutkan.

Robynne makes an effort to be accessible to those of us not in the medical field, but the result is an overly wordy and sometimes tedious read. The book would likely be helpful for someone suffering from intestinal issues. I'm healthy and I read it because it was recommended by a friend and I was looking forward to the recipes for body care products since I am vegan and if I make my own then I know what is in them. Sadly all the recipes I was interested in had honey in them. I already live dirty to an extent as I've noticed a little dirt is better than being hyper clean and I don't use antibacterial soaps except when camping; the rest of the time it's regular soap on my hands. I was my hair a few times a week, I stopped using cream rinse and hair mousse and no body wash just a rinse. It took a few weeks for my hair to adapt and secrete less oil but now my curly hair looks better than it did before.

There are many, many books out there on health, fitness, and nutrition. This one gets to the point.

It's well written, easy to understand and written simply. It was informative with information regarding the overuse of antibiotics and the effect they are likely having on us. As someone who has suffered from stomach problems I found this helpful. I would recommend to anyone who is concerned about the overprescribing of of antibiotics that doctors continue to engage in.

I did change my eating habits with good results before reading this book but had I not this book was well written and would have informed me of useful information that could have aided me sooner.

Great book. Probably a book that everyone should at least skim in their lifetimes, but a must for anyone with real or perceived GI issues.

Interestingly, a lot of the food stuff she mentions is stuff I already believed, and it makes me sick how so many modern day "nutritionists" are unaware of reality. Like, they have also been brainwashed by the food processing companies. There should be no one like that in a medical setting.

But then there is a lot of stuff I hadn't yet pieced together about medications (particularly antibiotics) ruining our health. I've heard about drug resistant strains, but this author explains why this is ruining our bodies. (It really scares me so bad because I can learn and do anything for myself, trust nothing of mine to anyone...except my body. God help me, I'll always be at the mercy of a doctor at one point or another in life...)

This is not a hippie book. You may think some of the ends sound a little bit like that, but the doctor does a good job of explaining the "why" to us.

Great book full of useful and thought-shaping information.

Honestly this book did not serve my needs at all. Dr. Chutkan does not go more than two or three sentences deep on any given topic, and so if you already have anything close to a basic understanding of the gut microbiome, you will probably not learn anything useful from this book. Also the book does not mention kombucha once, which I found to be weird as it is probably the most popular probiotic drink in the US.

This is an easy to read and understand overview of the "microbiome," the world of the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut and has profound effects on our health and well-being. The author is a renowned gastroenterologist who is passionate about educating people on how to use simple steps to heal long-standing and serious problems as well as maintain good healthy they enjoy. Dr. Chutkan describes some of the important functions of the gut bacteria -- how an imbalance in the gut can effect your overall health and even emotional wellness -- how to avoid destroying it with too many antibiotics, and sanitizing, and how to bring back balance via live, clean foods. There are plenty of recipes and ideas for things like healthier skincare products. It's 70's hippie meets cutting edge science! I think there is something for everyone to learn from this book, and I heartily recommend it. For my part, I would like to have seen a bit more detail in terms of research but for the general reader, it is probably perfect. A lot of this is not news to me, but I still had my cage rattled: for instance, her 1-2-3 rule. "Eat at least one vegetable at breakfast, two at lunch, and three at dinner." Her dietary advice is great -- not cultish in the least, but focusing on simple principles and including meat if desired. I don't think you can go wrong with this book, and the challenge for me will be to put more of it into practice (I do not eat six servings of veggies per day)!

As an Elementary school teacher, I'm healthy as a horse during the summer, but as soon as school resumes, my health absolutely plummets. I've tried just about every remedy that's been suggested to me - to no avail, gotten my blood tested to determine if something more sinister might be going on - with no equivocal results, tried rinsing my sinuses each morning with saline solution, taken Airborne daily, tried vitamins and other natural herbs and plant/fish compounds - none of it has made a difference. At this point, I'm willing to try almost anything (ALMOST, although fecal transplants are beyond what I can handle), and this book presents some innovative new ideas that're worth checking out.

The book leads the reader through motivation for deeper research, initial studies, then on to the path that just may lead the reader through to improving one's inner workings to the point that, more than just the common cold, life-compromising and life-threatening illnesses just might be prevented. All that you need to know to get on that path is included here, including recipes that actually sound quite tasty while being very healthy, as well as the aforementioned fecal transplants (which, yes, I'll admit the description of the process thoroughly grossed me out). Regardless of the more hardcore ideas here, there's plenty of food for thought to lead you through the process of making your gut a much healthier place, and improvement of your chances to stave off life-threatening chronic illnesses.

While this book's ideas may all not be for everyone, there's plenty here to consider working into your health routine, and the science behind the ideas align with some very progressive thinking. If you're struggling with health issues and are willing to investigate the next step, this book is definitely worth checking out.

I compared this to books describing the FODMAP diet and there are conflicting recommendations. I guess the FODMAP may work for some but with my experience studying the miocrobiome I am voting for the recommendations in this book. Well done.

Perhaps the first question anyone reading this review will ask is: What is a microbiome? The answer: "Microbiome is the vast population of microbes that live within all of us and play a vital role in our health and wellbeing." Cutting edge research is currently being done on this most important subject and Dr. Robynne Chutkan's new, not yet published book, shares some of the information she has learned about this subject from her research and medical practice as a gastroenterologist.

From beginning to end of her book Dr. Chutkan warns us about the dangers of modern medicine and doctors that over prescribe things like antibiotics and corticosteroids like the popular drug prednisone. These medicines play havoc with the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut and that are essential to our health and well-being.

In addition to medications like antibiotics, Dr. Chutkan warns us about the assault to our autoimmune system from the vast amount of chemicals in our food and household products like antibacterial soaps and antiperspirants. Add to this the chlorine in our water, genetically modified food we eat, hand sanitizers, and so on. Here is a list of some diseases that result from a weakened autoimmune system: alopecia areata, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune hepatitis, dermatomyositis, diabetes (type 1), some forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, glomerulonephritis, Graves' disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, myasthenia gravis, some forms of myocarditis, multiple sclerosis, pemphigus/pemphigoid, pernicious anemia, polyarteritis nodosa, polymyositis, primary biliary cirrhosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma/systemic sclerosis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus, erythematosus, some forms of thyroiditis, some forms of uveitis, vitiligo, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's).
This list makes a good start, but is not all inclusive.

Some readers of this review may have some disease resulting from a weekend autoimmune system. Dr. Chutkan's book is for them, but also for those who would like to avoid contracting these illnesses.

Throughout her book Dr. Chutkan gives us many case studies from her extensive practice to describe in detail various diseases of the immune system and what we can do to start the healing process. She provides detailed lists of foods to strengthen and protect our immune system and then, at the end of the book, many recipes for meals that support our health and well-being.

The Microbiome Solution is likely to be used as a reference work for readers who first want to learn what Dr. Chutkan has to say about a specific illness and what specifically she recommends for treatment. Her goal is the overall health and well-being of her readers and to this end she provides much help and guidance. Her book is well organized and written - a good addition to a home library of medical literature.

A really eye-opening primer, written in laymen's terms, about the importance of our microbiome in maintaining physical and emotional health. The author explains just how we get ourselves in the fix of having too much of the wrong gut flora and not enough of the helpful ones, and offers a plan for getting our bodies back in balance. This kind of knowledge (culinary medicine and cultivating a healthy microbiome) has not been addressed by my health care providers, so I am trying to empower myself. This book is a great place to start. Highly recommended.