Gut

I have to redress the balance

I have just completed my listening to this book, and am amazed by how much I learned. Not only is the alimentary canal looked at from a wide variety of perspectives but also a lot of general biology is covered and how the gut links in to the rest of the body. Some of the discoveries of recent science you can learn about in this book are really exciting and we can easily see how research into bacterial flora and enterotypes could improve medicine in the decades to follow.

I would like to redress the balance a little - not only of the good and bad bacteria in my own intestines but to express how surprised I am by the number of fellow reviewers critical of Katey Sobey's reading. I myself liked her voice and performance, if there are any mispronounced words I don't know which ones they were and would like to challenge that reviewer to state some examples and give time stamps. If there is any stiltedness then it is in the translation from the German which is on the whole good but you can really sense the underlying original coming through, especially in the bit about the threadworms, the term "arse-crawler" is not something you'll hear in English with anything like the frequency of Arschkriecher in German - and if anything you'd hear "licker" in English, but that wouldn't really apply to the threadworm and so what was the translator to do? Humour abounds - often a bit too anthropomorphic maybe for purists but it brings the subject to life. Katey's cut-glass accent sounds in terms of timbre quite like Giulia's reading of her own book in German although Katey's diction is superior in English to Giulia's in German in my own opinion. I look forward to more read by the same narrator. The idea that she spoiled the text is really far from my own view, but these things are subjective. You get a five minute preview, so use that and decide if you like the voice or not, rather than buy it blind (deaf??) and then moan.

I have some outstanding questions for Giulia from the book. These are the questions I had which have not been answered by the book although I was hoping to know the answers. Also included. If anyone knows and wants to answer in response I'll be happy.

1. I don't feel that enough attention was given to the gall bladder and also what the options are about gall bladder surgery and also what happens after a gall bladder removal. Given that this is the most frequent surgical procedure I can imagine a lot of people would like to hear insights about what to look out for in a world without the GB and how this affects everything else that was spoken about.

2. Fasting is a discipline practised by cultures all around the world and people make all manner of claims in favour of it, from spiritual claims to the 5:2 diet. It would have been good to have had some input about fasting. In particular joining back to my first question, can fasting cause gallstones and should a person continue to fast who has had his GB out?

And now a question which arose from the listening itself:

3. Toxoplasma gondii - what can we do to find out if we have this parasite and how to get rid of it, or is that simply impossible. If this is behind some people's mental health issues, then what can be done to help them?

That's not exhaustive but were my biggest questions unanswered.I am still going to give 5 stars because it is impossible to foresee every reader's queries and it would be churlish to mark down an informative and enjoyable book just because it still leaves some things unsaid.

99 of 101 people found this review helpful

The book of the decade!

What made the experience of listening to Gut the most enjoyable?

Wonderful narration of a fascinating subject

Any additional comments?

I bought this as an audio book and loved it - really beautifully narrated and incredibly interesting. The only problem I had was that I wanted to remember much of the contents, so I now need to buy it again as a hard copy or Kindle version, so that I can refer to it often. The subject matter is fascinating and perhaps all people should be taught this at school, perhaps when about 15, so that they know how to look after their health better.

31 of 31 people found this review helpful

Fantastic!

This book is amazing, although I am going to have to buy a paper version so I can go back, highlight, bookmark etc as there is so much useful info to take in.

The first part is a general overview of the gut from mouth to butt describing its clever function. The next part highlights very recent and ground breaking research, linking gut bacteria (or lack of) and depression, removal of tonsils and curing of psoriasis, and many other fascinating things. Unfortunately they are all too new for your GP to be recommending yet.

Highly recommended for everyone. Although this is medical/factual, it is extremely well written (and translated) and easy to read and understand if you have no medical background.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Brilliant and so interesting!

I strongly recommend this book to everyone, even people who are only remotely interested in healthy lifestyle. This brilliant little book offers a glimpse into the hidden world inside us, with up to date scientific knowledge, but told in a simple and entertaining way! Giulia Enders I could not thank you enough for writing this book! I learned a lot! My personal favourite bacteria - L. Bacillus bulgaricus was also mentioned as one of the superstars.
The essence is that alongside better understanding of the processes in your digestive system, this book also gives you practical advice on easy to implement small changes, but with huge benefits for your health.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

An education

Brilliant book full of a tonne of useful information which you can put into practise immediately to improve your health

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Brilliant!!!

If anyone wants to understand their inner body, secrets to know how to fix things like- why we cannot lose weight, why night we be Depressed! , what the shape and color of our poop means, probiotics & antibiotics- Dr Enders has provided the BEST book possible!!! And Easiest format EVER.

LOVED LOVED LOVED HER INSIGHTS!

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Do not Poo Poo - This is Guttingly Good!

Brilliant! This book was so, so interesting. I listened to most of it in one go. It was like a thriller. This is more than a book about guts. It was enthralling. I learned about the relation between the gut and depression, arthritic conditions, and realised how little I knew about the digestive system.

The narration is so, so good. I do not think that I would have read this book, as frankly there were some long and technical terms, but the narrator never stumbles and delivers the humour in this book without missing a beat. Believe it or not the book was really funny.

Loved it!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fascinating!

Thanks for such a great insight to this often ignored or avoided part of our body! Will read this again, as there's lots of information to absorb.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

Fascinating listening

Just been diagnosed with a gut condition and this has been really interesting and enlightening. Brilliantly written in easy to understand laymans terms, although would love for her to go into more detail. If you ever wondered what goes on once your food disappears from consciousness then this is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fascinating, and potentially life changing.

This is one of the only books I have enthusiastically recommended to other people in real life. the information is presented in a fantastic manner, well written in an engaging style that helps you to really understand the subject without bombarding you with academic over-verbosity. It is quite frankly life changing information that I strongly encourage all to read.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful