A Gut Feeling: Conquer Your Sweet Tooth by Tuning Into Your Microbiome

(Hardback)

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We all know sugar is bad for us, so why cant we stop eating it A Gut Feeling gives a personal and scientific look into the world of microbes that live within our bodies and how they can explain our relationship to and cravings for certain foods. Heather Wise takes the reader through a hidden inner world of microflora that shapes our mood, physical health, sweet cravings, and even genes. She makes us question whether a diet high in sugary, processed, dead foodsdevoid of any microscopic lifemay be causing us to feel sick, tired and depressed. The microbiome is emerging as the answer to many of our most sought after questions. Using her own story and the science currently available, Wise provides a window into the latest research on the vast world of microbes in our bodies. She explains in simple terms how what we eat can change the expression of our genes and how this symbiotic relationship between microbes and human cells can determine our health. This understanding sheds light on the fact that the genetic makeup of our bodies is more malleable than we could have ever imagined. Wises book gives us the opportunity to transform our health for the better by mindfully eating foods, herbs, and teas that improve the health of our microbiome, and cutting down on the foods, medications, and chemicals in our environment that are diminishing beneficial microbes in our delicate inner ecosystem. A Gut Feeling offers practical steps to rebalancing and healing our gut microbiome to relieve stress, digestive upsets, inflammation, bloat, excess belly fat, and improve mood. Wise offers a needed alternative to the complex world of fad diets and calorie counting in this easy, evidence-based guide for wellbeing. Rooted in scientific research and providing a number of healthy sweet fixes high in prebiotic and probiotic foods that support the growth of healthy gut flora, this book is a practical guide to help heal our relationship with food and tune into what our gut has been trying to tell us.

Reviews

Inspired by her own problems with bloat, tiredness, and sugar cravings, certified health-coach Wise investigated her maladies and now shares her findings about how the stomach and intestines are home to millions of microbes, good and bad, and how what we eat determines which microbes survive.... Though some of the research she shares is technical, Wise connects it to real-life examples and ends each chapter with a short list of Takeaways, which reinforce key concepts. With the rise of autoimmune diseases and diabetes, this informative book will find a ready audience. * Booklist *
An inspiring account of the enormous power that diet has to change the trajectory of our health. Heather takes you on her journey to better health and shares her insightful strategies along the way. -- Erica D. Sonnenburg, senior research scientist, Stanford University School of Medicine
One of Heather's great talents is that she can translate the latest research on health and nutrition to practical, real world advice that is easy to digest (literally and figuratively!). It is evident not only in the pages of this book, but also in the healthy lifestyle choices she and her family have cultivated together. Readers will better understand how their food cravings mirror the conditions of their gut, and will confidently walk away with the tools they need for making a daily commitment to healthier choices and a better life. -- Heather Mumford, Archivist for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Countway Library, Harvard Medical School
Many self-help books provide a simple, one-step approach to solving complex health problems. While easy to follow, these approaches tend not to work because they focus narrowly on only one aspect of the problem. Heather Wise offers a broad but in-depth, evidence-based look at the ways sugar and other foods play out in our gut flora and provides a comprehensive but feasible approach to tackling these issues. Nutrition, diet, mindset, eating habits, and stress control are all part of a holistic strategy that is necessary to successfully tackle the problem of imbalanced gut flora and Wise shows how this can be done in a seamless way. -- Michael Siegel, American tobacco control expert and public health researcher, Professor Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health

Author Bio

Heather Anne Wise, MPH is a certified holistic health coach, wellness consultant, herbalist and avid food fermenter. Founder of Smart Palate wellness coaching, she has given a number of workshops and talks on gut health and well-being, including at Harvard Medical School. Heather lives with her family in the Boston area.