The Mind-Gut-Immune Connection: Understanding How Food Impacts Our Mind, Our Microbiome, and Our Immunity

by Emeran Mayer

From one of today’s leading experts on the emerging science of the microbiome comes a ground-breaking book that offers, for the first time, evidence that the gut-microbiome plays a pivotal role in the health crises of the twenty-first century.

In his acclaimed book, The Mind-Gut Connection, physician, UCLA professor, and researcher Dr. Emeran Mayer offered groundbreaking evidence of the critical role of the microbiome in neurological and cognitive health, proving once and for all the power and legitimacy of the “mind-body connection.” Now, in The Gut-Immune Connection, Dr. Mayer proposes an even more radical paradigm that the gut microbiome is at the center of virtually every disease that defines our 21st-century public health crisis. Cutting-edge research continues to advance our understanding of the function and impact of the billions of organisms that live in the GI tract, and in Dr. Mayer’s own research, he has amassed evidence that the “conversation” that takes place between these microbes and our various organs and bodily systems is critical to human health. When that conversation goes awry, we suffer, often becoming seriously ill. Combining clinical experience with up-to-the-minute science, The Gut-Immune Connection offers a comprehensive look at the link between alterations to the gut microbiome and the development chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, as well as susceptibility to infectious diseases like Covid-19. Dr. Mayer argues that it’s essential we understand the profound and far-reaching effects of gut health and offers clear-cut strategies to reverse the steady upward rise of these illnesses, including a model for nutrition to support the microbiome.  But time is running a plague of antimicrobial resistance is only a few decades away if we don’t make critical changes to our food supply, including returning to sustainable practices that maintain the microbial diversity of the soil. To turn the tide of chronic and infectious disease tomorrow, we must shift the way we live today.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Science, Psychology, Self Help, Diets, Cooking

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2023

About the author

Emeran Mayer was born in a small town in Bavaria where his family ran a Confectionary business since 1873. After an agonizing decision against taking over the family business, he finished Medical School at the Ludwig Maximilian’s University in Munich, completed his residency training at the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada before moving to Los Angeles.

There he worked under the late John H. Walsh to study the role of gut brain interactions and with James Meyer on the role of stomach emptying at the prestigious Center for Ulcer Research and Education and completed his specialty training in Gastroenterology at UCLA.

Mayer has had a passion for adventures, moutaineering and documentary film making throughout his life starting in high school. During his college years, he participated in several professional film expeditions, including stays with the Yanomamis in Venezuela, and the Asmat and Dani people in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. He climbed some of the highest mountains in the US (Denali), South America (Aconcagua in Argentina, Cimborazzo in Ecuador, Pico de Orizaba in Mexico), and Mont Blanc in Europe. In 2015, he was an associated producer in a documentary film about a new ecological view of health and disease, In Search of Balance.

Throughout his career – both in his research and clinical practice, Mayer has pursued a Buddhist philosophy of interconnectedness, balance and compassion. He has explored ancient healing practices of primal people around the world, of Native Americans and those in the Traditional Chinese and Aryuvedic tradition and has always strived to integrate the wisdom of these traditions with the discoveries of modern science.

Reviews

[kacpermikolaj27 · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 20/25%

bardzo ciekawe.
na szczescie mam polecone lepsze ksiazki w tej tematyce.

[Viviana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I valued the holistic view in this book, it made a lot of sense. It connects human health to planet health and climate change but it also looks at the body as a network of connected systems.
From an evolutionary point of view the first elements that developed in our complex organisms were the gut (to allow for more energy & growth), the microorganisms associated with it and the brain (originally largely responsible for gut movements). It makes sense that these 3 elements ar still deeply impacting each other today.
I admit the writing is sometimes a little technical but I enjoyed learning some of the pathways that the brain, the gut and the microbiome influence each other.
For the the basic take aways from this book were
- what you eat matters a lot to your holistic health and it should be plant based
- what you eat should be enjoyable (so go ahead and experiment with what you should eat until you find recipes that are appealing)
- excercise moderately & regularly - it makes things communicate in your body and it also may help your microbiome
- when you eat also matters and a 12 hour fasting period is essential for health (if you want to lose weight a 16 hr fasting period at least 5 days a week can help)

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating follow up to his first book, seeing the explosion of research from 2016 to 2023 was so interesting and I loved how he was able to expand and delve into certain aspects of the mind-gut-immune connection that previously just didn’t have the data available. He did a great job of making complex scientific concepts / names readable for a non-science-y reader, and I’m excited to try some of his recipes! Definitely a lot to reflect on.

[Haillie Lower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good perspective about health, the human condition, and how to holistically take care of yourself.

My #1 take away is that fiber is your friend and the western diet doesn’t get enough

[Elysee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting, but the middle felt a bit repetitive. Overall, I learned a ton about my microbes and medicine, and I have changed some of my own habits.

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Любопытная идея - микробиом очень важен. Тем не менее советы достаточно прозаические - ешьте больше волокон и клетчатки.

[WiseB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book definitely provides a lot of information for one to understand how the interactions among our gut, brain and immunity systems are depending on the microbiome playing a key role along with our diet. These all point to the need of macro and micronutrients on fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals for health benefits based on a variety of plant based diet (riche in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates) including polyphenols and others like green tea, red wine, olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids. The author included in the last chapter different recipes for dishes with a high healthy food index.

Apart from just human microbiome network, the book has a chapter revealing the One-Health Concept - "... microbial population that communicate using myriad molecules in a universal biological language along the various pathways of this global network - from the soil to plants, from plants to humans and other animals, from the gut to the microbiome and brain, and from animals back into the environment." This concept points to the benefits of evolving from "organic agriculture" to "regenerative organic agriculture" that also address the problem of soil degradation.

[Mark Stidham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's title should be 'Everything affects Everything: how your mind is a system that includes immunity and the microbiome, but we have no real clue how.' The 'science' in the book is largely anecdotal and hypothetical. Wherever there is a malady, whether it is addiction, autism, or dementia, he can find a way to connect it to the mind-gut-immune connection. But 'finding a way' does not equate to scientific explanation. Moreover, even if a connection can be made plausibly, the next step (i.e., addressing the 'imbalance') is even less certain. An inconvenient but key element of science is falsifiability. Virtually all of the research presented in this book refuses to look at controlled conditions that contradict the hypothesis. Without question, the science is difficult, precisely because of the complexities. But this book's title is almost the antithesis of 'understanding.' Skip it.

[Emory Kole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this really interesting and approachable, easy to follow. Did it tell me that much that I didn’t already know or suspect? No. But it was interesting learning the science behind concepts was already familiar with and I enjoyed the patient anecdotes.

I also appreciated the recipes at the end and that this book didn’t feel fearmonger-y and still encouraged occasional enjoying of things like whole grain pasta and wine.

I finished this book feeling calmed that anyone can change their gut microbiome and overall health pretty quickly with our own healthy choices, which I knew, but enjoyed having it reinforced scientifically by a doctor.

This book doesn’t touch as much as I thought it would on autoimmune conditions or inflammation (rather focusing on depression, Parkinson’s, heart disease, etc) which was surprising but I still found the learnings valuable.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A small dose of advice you get everywhere (get good sleep, exercise, stop eating after 7pm, eat mostly plant based) with a big dose of his political leanings. I don’t mind political leanings if it goes with the topic of the book but this is supposed to be about gut bacteria. Plus he kept touting how healthy wine is for you. I don’t think there’s one credible study (not paid for by a wine company) anymore that disputes that ANY alcohol causes cancer. He seems very led by his feelings which doesn’t really make for a good scientist. To be fair, it was interesting hearing why gut bacteria scientists think sleep, exercise, etc improve your gut bacteria and health. I feel like that could have been condensed into one chapter though.

[Hyena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very insightful book on how the mind and the gut go together. While i believe that many of the topics discussed in this book had a lot of depth to them, and a lot of interesting scientific studies were noted on how the gut microbiome is affecting our mental state. I believe that there was a lot of repetition in In the chapters. This is not bad because a lot of the studies were interesting, but i felt that the variety explained in this book was not expansive. Overall, this really made me want to change my diet into a more plant based type of diet, and i can thank this book for it.

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong contentions for the biologic basis for change. The chronic metabolic dysfunction requires fundamental change - at least that is what is claimed here. Perhaps this is correct, perhaps there is no more nutritional content in the Western food. Perhaps only something with a faux governmental approved Orgain sticker will save your life. But then again, maybe, just maybe you could be bothered to move and be quiet long enough to listen to your mind-gut to give structure to a life worth living.

[Deep Dhillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It discusses more of a technical side of our digestive system. I expected a guide to solve the digestive issues but it just explains the connection between our gut and brain .
some good points to work on
1. eat organic - fruits , veggies ,pulses , minimal use of animal meat and dairy products
2. do regular moderate exercise
3. practice mindfulness
4. stay away from packaged foods salt and sugar
overall it's a decent book but doesn't offer much for an avid reader . Apart from the scientific process you know the basics do and don'ts for a good health 🌸

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presented research studies and patient anecdotes in order to emphasize the importance of feeding our gut bacteria for overall health. It also provided several recipes in the back to encourage eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fermented food. I appreciated the practical tips but overall found it a slow read that didn't hold my attention. (Exciting to win a Goodreads Giveaway though!)

[M Soltis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting follow up to Mayer's first book "The Mind Gut Connection" since this book moves to newer science around how the human immune system is closely connected to the small and large intestines. This is a very dense read because Mayer is a gastroenterologist and is writing based on many scientific studies. The author also provides a wide selection of recipes at the end of this volume to illustrate the main points he outlines throughout the book.

[Wiktor Toporek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughtful analysis of mind <-> gut <-> immune system. I liked half of this book, but then, author seems to slowly participate in spreading unscientific mainstream lies about the fats and alleged long-term benefits of vegetarian diet. I felt like author wanted to share some important facts but had to put some nutrition political correctness.

[Josh Roeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that dives into the way humanity eats and the way it’s destroying our futures eating a western diet. Many recipes also in the book for more a plant based diet. Highly recommend this book looking to change the way you eat and the impacts our eating have on our bodies.

[Armen Shirvanian]

My interview with Dr. Emeran Mayer on "The Mind-Gut-Immune Connection", co-hosted with Dr. Amanda Doubleday, for The Armen Show:

http://www.armenshirvanian.com/podcas...

[Connie]

#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Nicki Jo Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally an informative read that includes the whole body-mind, body, and spirit.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Quite informative.

[MsKonstantynopolitan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Cheri Tompkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too scientific

[Katherine Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much information! Really really good. Teaches about how the food we eat affects every aspect of our bodies. Researched, with footnotes, and clinical trials.

[Monika C Krauze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obszerne podejście do tematu naszego drugiego mózgu polecam wszystkim , którzy lubią tematy zdrowia