Minggu, 30 Oktober 2011

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Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, by Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths

A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind.

All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favorites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not: computers, too, face the same constraints, so computer scientists have been grappling with their version of such problems for decades. And the solutions they've found have much to teach us.

In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, acclaimed author Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths show how the simple, precise algorithms used by computers can also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to understanding the workings of human memory, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.

  • Sales Rank: #37 in Audible
  • Published on: 2016-04-19
  • Released on: 2016-04-19
  • Format: Unabridged
  • Original language: English
  • Running time: 710 minutes

Most helpful customer reviews

227 of 238 people found the following review helpful.
Great book, disagreed with a few points, overall awesome
By Shiri Dori-Hacohen
[The original title of this review was: "Great book, though a few inaccuracies & bold claims". See below for two updates on the review and why I changed the title.]

I'm a little over halfway with this recently published book, which I'm really enjoying so far - and I expect to enjoy it all the way to the end. A lot of great and unexpected insights here, and it seems that the authors did a good job explaining extremely complex algorithms and showing their applicability to real life (though it's hard for me to tell how good their explanations are to a novice, since I'm an expert in the field - I have two masters in Computer Science and working on my PhD, and was familiar with 90% of the algorithms described before opening the book).

My biggest quibble with this book (and the reason they lost a star) is that I noticed a few annoying/sloppy inaccuracies, which makes [made! - see below for updates] me ever so slightly doubt the accuracy and veracity of other areas of the book that I'm less familiar with. The other issue is the boldness of their (otherwise very interesting) conjectures.

For example, the authors misunderstand and misquote the 2-minute rule from David Allen's Getting Things Done, claiming the rule tells you to perform any less than 2-min task immediately when it occurs to you - and essentially simplifying the entire GTD system into the 2-min rule, which is in fact a tiny part of GTD (pg. 105-106). In fact, however, Allen does not suggest that at all - that would distract you from whatever you're currently engaged with, i.e. require a context switch (the costs of which the authors discuss at length). Instead, you should write that task down and add it to your intray, just like any other task. The 2-minute rule is applied later, while clearing your intray (which can be anytime in the next 48 hours). The point of the 2-minute rule is that the time spent on adding this task into your otherwise-extremely-flexible GTD system, and then tracking it in said system, would take longer than two minutes. This type of tracking is akin to what the authors refer to as "meta-work", and thus performing the 2-min task at inbox clearing time saves you an equal or greater amount of meta-work later. This is completely in line with the type of scheduling suggestions that the authors discuss. I'm not familiar with the other popular advice books the authors quote in the scheduling chapter or in the others chapters (e.g. the empty-your-closet type books they discuss in chapter 4), so I don't know if there are other such mischaracterizations, but it makes me suspect there might be. And I get that they're trying to differentiate their own advice from "all the other pop books out there", but if they're going to explicitly cite other books, they should try not to misrepresent them.

Also, when discussing the Gittins rule and the multi-armed bandit problem, they say that a machine with a 0-0 record has "a Gittins index of 0.7029. In other words, something you have no experience with whatsoever is more attractive than a machine that you know pays out seven times out of ten!" (pg. 40). However, their own table on the same page clearly shows that a machine with a 7-3 record has a Gittins index of 0.7187, making such a machine ever so slightly superior to a 0-0 one. After some more reading I realized that what they meant was that a machine with a 0-0 record and *uncertainty* is better than a *certain payout* of 70% (i.e. guaranteed to payout 7 out of 10), but that was not what the text implied.

To be clear, these inaccuracies in and of themselves aren't huge - but they planted a seed of doubt in my mind [which is not as big anymore - see below] as to whether there were other such misrepresentations or inaccuracies in the book that I simply hadn't caught, and detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

The other concern I have with this book is that several chapters end with provocative suggestions that aren't actually empirically-backed. These conjectures are cool, but I'd have liked to see scientists be more careful about making such bold claims, or at least couching them in the need for more research to establish whether they were entirely true. One example here was the discussion about the decline of aging supposedly being a result of simply having a larger history to remember (pgs 103-104). This is a fascinating conjecture, and one that deserves to be studied properly, but they are basing it on some research work that was not age-related. I suspect the authors may be on to something, at least in the context of "normal aging" cognitive decline as opposed to, say, alzheimer-related decline. However, as stated in the text, the conjectures are stated a bit too strongly for my tastes ("But as you age, and begin to experience these sporadic latencies, take heart: the length of the delay is partly an indicator of the extent of your experience.", pg 104). I'd hate to see anyone making decisions based on them - potentially missing an earlier diagnosis, say, of alzheimer's, because the authors claimed that cognitive decline is totally normal.

Quibbles and concerns notwithstanding, I'm definitely enjoying the book and I think it's a great addition to the new genre of what's being called by some "science-help". It's also a good read for people who are tired of the same-old, and thirsty for some advice that's off the beaten path.

UPDATE:
The rest of the book was as good as I expected.
Additionally, I sent this review to the lead author (Brian Christian) in case he wanted to address these issues. I was delighted to receive a very thoughtful response from him! They will be fixing the Gittens rule description in the paperback edition, to make it clearer to the reader. The author respectfully disagreed with me on the other two issues (GTD 2 minute rule & cognitive decline).
Given what I saw in the email, I'd say the intentions behind the book definitely merit 5 stars (even though I still disagree on their presentation of those two topics). However, I'll leave the original title & rating of 4 stars as it stands for the original hardcover edition, and for consistency's sake. As I originally said, the book stands as an excellent addition to the genre, and also likely as a great first exposure into Computer Science if you've never had any.

2nd update:
Apparently, this review is now listed as the top most helpful review on Amazon (cool!). The book has been so successful that the first author (Brian Christian) recently informed me that the book is now on its third printing, which means that the Gittins index issue mentioned above is now fixed in the current and future editions. As for the other issues I had, they are more subjective in nature, and not large enough in and of themselves to merit the original (harsher) title of the review. Again, for completeness' sake and to avoid rewriting history, I leave the original review as its stands and the original title is listed below the new title, with only a few comments in brackets leading readers to these updates in the bottom.

88 of 94 people found the following review helpful.
A superior guide to the science of living well
By Ed R
The most thoughtful and meaningful book I have read since Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow”. It extends that work by detailing the extensive computer science research that has been done which illuminates those techniques (i.e., algorithms) that support our brain’s natural capabilities in order to make the best possible life decisions. It shows when it pays to be precise and rigorous and when the best choices can be made by less stringent analyses. And where “winging it” or ‘using gut feelings’ may indeed produce the best results. The authors accomplish these valuable lessons through clear explanatory writing, pertinent examples drawn from both computer design and the real (human) world and a fine sense of humor.
In addition to wonderfully fulfilling its stated goal the book also provides the reader with a solid overview of the current state of computer design and architecture and some strong validations of the received wisdom that has come to us from philosophy and religion.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this book
By Amazon Customer
Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As an engineer with some programming experience I am drawn to algorithms and mathematics, and not only did this book put various algorithms in historical context, but it demonstrated how they can be applied to life while adding a philosophical twist. The authors are skilled at explaining difficult subjects using easy to understand language that builds from simple to complex at just the right pace, all the while using real world examples. Not only did I enjoy the read, but I learned new things that often prompted tangent explorations to learn more. The book left me with a hunger to delve deeper into many of the subjects discussed, and made me challenge, and sometimes affirm, many of my own philosophical beliefs. Well done!

See all 74 customer reviews...

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Sabtu, 29 Oktober 2011

[R391.Ebook] Download PDF The Microbiome Solution: A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out, by Dr. Robynne Chutkan M.D.

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The Microbiome Solution: A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out, by Dr. Robynne Chutkan M.D.

Live Dirty, Eat Clean—because every serious disease or chronic ailment begins in our gut. The author of Gutbliss and one of today’s preeminent gastroenterologists distills the latest research on the microbiome into a practical program for boosting overall health.

The microbiome—the collective name for the trillions of bacteria that live in our digestive tract—is today’s hottest medical news topic. Dr. Robynne Chutkan explains how the standard Western diet and our super-sanitized lifestyle are starving our microbes, depleting the “good bugs” that are crucial for keeping us healthy, and encouraging overgrowth of exactly the wrong types of bacteria.
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But, as Dr. Chutkan explains, there are effective lifestyle and diet changes we can make to reverse this damage. Dr. Chutkan has helped thousands of patients suffering from a disordered microbiome with her comprehensive Live Dirty, Eat Clean Plan, designed to remove damaging medications and foods, replace important bacteria that have been lost, and restore health. The Microbiome Solution offers: a microbiome overview, nourishing recipes, questions for your doctor, preventative and recovery health tips, and the next frontier for a severely troubled microbiome—the stool transplant.

This is the first book to provide a practical, effective plan for replenishing and optimizing the vital ecosystem in our gut. Start living dirty and eating clean today to ward off disease and begin the path toward lifelong, vibrant health.

  • Sales Rank: #8448 in Books
  • Brand: Avery Pub Group
  • Published on: 2016-08-09
  • Released on: 2016-08-09
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 8.99" h x .82" w x 6.00" l, .85 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 304 pages
Features
  • Avery Pub Group

Review
Praise for The Microbiome Solution

“Gastroenterologist Chutkan (Gutbliss) makes a strongly argued proposal that people should 'live dirty' and 'eat clean'...A�thoughtful approach to health and wellness that’s well worth the time of readers.”
—Publishers Weekly

“We are truly in the middle of an epidemic—through our diet and our lifestyle we are unwittingly destroying the good bacteria in our bodies, the crucial allies we need to arm us against disease. �In this life-changing book, Robynne Chutkan gives you simple, foolproof guidance to repair this vital ecosystem and bring you optimal health every day. Read this important book and discover the small changes that can make a huge impact.”
– Frank Lipman, M.D., founder of Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center and author of�the New York Times bestseller The New Health Rules

“The exciting research on the microbiome has the promise to help many take charge of their health and reverse chronic ailments� But what is so groundbreaking about this book is that it shows you how to put these scientific breakthroughs into practice, step-by-step. �With Dr. Robynne Chutkan as your guide, you’ll understand how overuse of antibiotics, the standard Western diet and a super-clean lifestyle starve your microbiome, and learn the essential tools to attain sustainable good health. This book is empowering, and indispensable for anyone trying to get or stay well.”
–Terry Wahls, M.D., author of�The Wahls Protocol

“I whole-heartedly agree with Dr. Chutkan that there is a rising epidemic of vague symptoms often attributable to a damaged microbiome, from bloating and food intolerances to brain fog and weight-loss resistance. Her mantra 'Live dirty, eat clean!'� is a scientifically-sound solution. Try her simple program – and get ready to feel the changes immediately.� It’s the proven way to build up our 'good bugs' and keep your body strong and vibrant, ready to fight illness and disease.� It’s something we can all do, each and every day.� You will truly transform your health!”
–Sara Gottfried, M.D., author of the New York Times bestsellers The Hormone Cure and The Hormone Reset Diet� � � � � ��

“The Microbiome Solution is the medicine we all need to truly flourish.”
–Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of the New York Times bestsellers Goddesses Never Age, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, and The Wisdom of Menopause

“We live in symbiosis with trillions of bacteria that play a crucial role in determining our health and vitality. The Microbiome Solution is an eye-opening account of how supersanitation, antibiotic overuse and the Western diet collaborate to promote chronic disease by disrupting the gut microbiome’s ecological harmony and balance.� Dr. Chutkan, a leading integrative gastroenterologist, presents a trailblazing program to heal your body from the inside-out by getting dirty and eating clean.� Read this marvelous book and transform your health..one gut microbe at a time.”
-Gerard E. Mullin MD, Associate Professor of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Author of The Gut Balance Revolution

Praise for Gutbliss
"I read it cover to cover.”
– Natalie Morales, Today Show

“Dr. Chutkan candidly explores how digestive snafus can wreak havoc with professional, social and sexual relationships, using anecdotes about patients who suffered terribly before finding relief by changing their habits, conquering crummy diets and identifying medical conditions that exacerbated their misery. Her plan may be worth trying—even if it means giving up some bubbly.”
–The Wall Street Journal

“Packed with no-nonsense explanations, real- life patient stories, and remedies, this guide will empower women to recognize their particular digestive health issues and work proactively with their medical professionals to prevent, treat, and solve them.”
– Publishers Weekly

“Gutbliss is loaded with helpful, leading edge information that all women need to know for optimal bowel health. I highly recommend this book!”
– Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE

“Dr Chutkan blasts away the bloat as she tastefully explains the guts of our problems.”
– Mehmet Oz, M.D.

“Millions of Americans suffer needlessly from digestive problems. Gut issues are at the core of many health problems including autoimmune disease and even obesity and diabetes. �Dr. Robynne Chutkan maps out a clear strategy for gut health and restoring optimal health. If you have digestive problems, look no further, and buy this book!”
–Mark Hyman, M.D., author of THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION

“If you’re tired of dreaded bloat or muffintop, Dr. Chutkan offers a novel prescription for making your gut work for you, not against you—and her 10-day plan is scientifically robust yet transformative. Get the book, and give her 10 days. You’ll discover the small hinge that swings big doors.”
– Sara Gottfried, M.D., author of THE HORMONE CURE


From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author
Robynne Chutkan, M.D., is one of the most recognizable gastroenterologists working in the United States today. The author of Gutbliss, Dr. Chutkan has a B.S. from Yale and an M.D. from Columbia, and is a faculty member at Georgetown University Hospital. An avid snowboarder, marathon runner, and Vinyasa yoga practitioner, she is dedicated to helping her patients live not just longer but better lives.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgments

Introduction:
Live Dirty, Eat Clean

MY HUSBAND ISN’T completely on board with my plan to sell our house in the city, move to a farm, raise animals, and grow our own food. But since much of what’s available in the supermarket is full of chemicals and devoid of any real nutrients, taking control of what we eat and making sure it comes from nature, not a factory, strikes me as a good idea. I’m fortunate to live in Washington, D.C., where farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) shares are plentiful, so moving to an actual farm may seem a little extreme. My real motivation is that I want my daughter to grow up dirty, literally—as in easy on the soap and shampoo, heavy on the mucky animal chores. I shared her saga of antibiotic misadventure in my first book, Gutbliss. Since then, I’ve seen hundreds of patients with stories similar to hers, and I’ve become even more convinced that damage to the microbiome—the trillions of organisms that call our digestive tract home—is at the root of many of our current health problems. Figuring out how to undo that damage and “rewild” ourselves has become a focus of my medical practice and a personal journey in our household. Living a little dirtier and eating a little cleaner is definitely part of the fix.

Unwilding Ourselves

Our ancestors had a symbiotic relationship with their microbes that evolved over millions of years and served them well. They were benevolent hosts to a dense jungle of microscopic creatures, including worms and other parasites that actually contributed to their health. Large predators and the absence of food were their main threats, not the hundreds of diseases that afflict us today. The irony is that as we’ve “unwilded” our bodies and our environment in an effort to become healthier, we’ve actually become a lot sicker in some important ways.

Urbanization and modern medicine have undoubtedly improved our lives, but they’ve also introduced practices—overuse of antibiotics, chlorination of the water supply, processed foods full of chemicals and hormones, microbe-depleting pesticides, increasing rates of Cesarean sections—that have ravaged our microbiome, diminishing the total number of organisms as well as the diversity of species. The result is an increase in a wide range of modern plagues, including asthma, allergies, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and heart disease. The rise of these diseases is inextricably intertwined with the full-on assault on our microbiome resulting from our super-sanitized lifestyle.

A decade ago, who knew that every antibiotic dispensed during cold and flu season was potentially bringing us one step closer to a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, or making us fatter? None of us doing the prescribing realized that we might be paving the way to real illness in our well-meaning attempts to cure the sniffles. The prevailing wisdom was—and to some extent still is—that germs are bad and we should get rid of them, and antibiotics are good and we should use them. And use them we have: the average American child will receive more than a dozen courses of antibiotics before reaching college, primarily for minor illnesses that require no treatment at all. Despite the tremendous amount of research in the last few years connecting the dots, many physicians and their patients remain in the dark, blaming each manifestation of microbial discord on bad luck or bad genes, never questioning or understanding the root cause.

Less Is Often More

My own understanding came only after my daughter was treated with antibiotics at birth and throughout infancy, setting off a series of events that, a decade later, continue to affect her health. I had been trained at world-class institutions and practiced gastroenterology at a leading teaching hospital, but, like most physicians, I had no idea that the antibiotics I thought were so helpful were actually creating illness by decimating her microbiome at a time when it was most vulnerable, making her more susceptible to infection and inflammation. I wish I had known then what I know now and what I continue to learn every day: that illness is often the result of a decreased, not increased, bacterial load, and that less is sometimes more when it comes to medical intervention.

Rehab for Your Microbiome

Every day in my gastroenterology practice I see patients with the telltale signs of a disordered microbiome: bloating, leaky gut, irritable bowel, gluten intolerance, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, eczema, thyroid disorders, weight problems, fatigue, and brain fog. It’s a veritable epidemic of “missing microbes,” as infectious disease specialist Martin Blaser, MD, describes it. The symptoms vary, but the history doesn’t: overzealous use of antibiotics, often accompanied by a highly processed Western diet low in indigestible plant fiber—the preferred food of gut bacteria.

Repopulating the microbiome can be a challenging process, but the good news is that most people do get better. Your microbes are constantly changing and evolving, and even if they’ve been severely damaged by medications, infection, or diet, paying attention to what you put in and on your body can yield huge improvements. The microbiome you have today isn’t the one you were born with, nor is it the one you’ll have next year or even next week. It’s highly dynamic, constantly changing and adjusting in response to your internal and external environment.

In medical school, I was taught how to eradicate people’s germs. A quarter-century later, I’m teaching my patients how to restore theirs: which foods to eat, how to care for their bodies and their homes without stripping away their microbes, what questions to ask when their doctor recommends an antibiotic, and whether a probiotic or even a stool transplant might be of benefit. These, I believe, are the new and essential survival skills for thriving in our super-clean era. You’ll find them all in the Live Dirty, Eat Clean Plan at the end of this book.

When Dirty Children Grow into Clean Adults—My Rewilding Journey

I spent my early childhood in the tropics, eating food from my grandfather’s farm grown in rich soil fertilized by a herd of goats (which we sometimes also ate) instead of chemicals. We lived in the hilly suburbs and roamed around outside with our dog after school, exploring gullies, picking mangoes and oranges from the fruit trees in our backyard, and acquiring the occasional case of pinworm as a result of our barefoot explorations. In our household there was lots of attention paid to schoolwork and athletics, but shoes, showers, and shampoos were more or less optional. My father was an orthopedic surgeon whose great fear was that his children would grow up to be hypochondriacs, so his medical advice for whatever ailed us—from the flu to a sprained ankle—was always the same: go lie down and you’ll feel better in the morning. We were vaccinated for the big stuff (polio and smallpox) but didn’t sweat the small stuff (whooping cough and chicken pox). My daughter had more visits to the doctor before she was in preschool than I’ve had in my entire lifetime.

So, despite my dirty childhood filled with organic, homegrown food, protective parasites, lots of time outdoors, and limited contact with an overzealous medical system, how did I end up in adulthood with not one but three manifestations of microbial discord: eczema, rosacea, and yeast overgrowth? It took a while. I managed to weather potent microbial disruptors like the antibiotics prescribed in college for acne and twenty years of birth control pills (we’ll talk about this more in Chapter 5) with no ill effects. But as life got more complicated, unrelenting stress and the cookies, cakes, and candy I consumed to combat it were my ultimate undoing. A Western diet high in sugar and fat promotes growth of the wrong types of bacteria in your gut, and a lifestyle that leaves literally no time to go outside and smell the roses can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, particularly if you have additional risk factors, as I did, such as significant antibiotic use.

Disease Begins in Your Microbiome

My firsthand experience with how poor nutrition and stress can unmask the effects of a damaged microbiome and lead to a multitude of symptoms is representative of what most of the patients I see in my office have experienced: a decline in overall well-being characterized by seemingly unrelated conditions that appear out of nowhere, leaving them scratching their head and wondering what’s going on.

Microbial disruptors are everywhere—in the food we eat, the water we drink, the products we use, and the medications we take—and the clinical manifestations of a disrupted microbiome are varied and show up in people of all ages and stages. Chances are there’s someone in your family with asthma, allergies, eczema, thyroiditis, diabetes, arthritis, or any of the many disorders that we’re now discovering have the same root cause. A damaged microbiome isn’t the only reason people develop these conditions, but it’s often a major contributor that interacts with genetic and environmental factors to create a perfect storm of disease. That’s why it’s more important than ever to understand the complex and critical role bacteria play in our health, so that if and when yours is compromised, you can connect the dots and start to heal yourself.

The solutions you’ll find in this book are based on clinical trials in our own patient population at the Digestive Center for Women, data from other scientific studies, published papers, trial and error, anecdote, patient testimonials about what’s worked for them, and careful observations accrued over almost two decades of taking care of people with all kinds of bacterial imbalance—from serious autoimmune illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis to complaints of gas and bloating. They’re also based on my own journey of exploration and healing necessitated by my health challenges.

The new paradigm of bacteria as friend rather than foe is at the heart of a revolution in health care that’s forcing us to reexamine how we live, as well as our medical practices, with new microscopic eyes, and to consider how modern life and our everyday choices affect the life of our microbes—and how our microbes in turn affect us. What has become very clear is that our individual and collective health depends on it. My sincere hope is that this book will provide you with the microbiome solution that will help you reclaim your health and vitality and set you on the path to a dirtier and disease-free life.

See you on the farm!

part 1

CHAPTER 1

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OUR MICROBES ARE intimately involved in every aspect of our health—from ensuring our digestive well-being to influencing our likelihood of being obese and our risk of developing cancer or diabetes. They even play a role in our brain chemistry and mental health, affecting our moods, our emotions, and our personalities. We are, it seems, single individuals comprised of multiple living, breathing, moving parts. The more we learn about this fascinating microscopic community, the clearer it becomes that our fate is inextricably tied to theirs, making it essential that we learn more about where our microbes come from, what they do, and why we literally can’t live without them.

Meet Your Microbiome

The microbiome refers to all of the organisms that live in or on your body: all of the bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and helminths (worms, for those of us who have them), as well as all of their genes. A staggering hundred trillion microbes that include thousands of different species inhabit your nooks and crannies—with more than a billion bacteria in just one drop of fluid in your colon alone.

Your unique microbial footprint develops over your lifetime, and it reflects everything about you: your parents’ health, how and where you were born, what you’ve eaten (including whether your first sips were breast milk or formula), where you’ve lived, your occupation, personal hygiene, past infections, exposure to chemicals and toxins, medications, hormone levels, and even your emotions (stress can have a profound effect on the microbiome). The end result is a microbial mix so distinctive from person to person that yours is a more accurate identifier of you than your own DNA.

We’ve known about the microbiome since the 1600s, when Antoni van Leeuwenhoek first looked at his own dental plaque under the microscope and described “little living animalcules, very prettily a-moving.” But it’s taken us a few centuries to figure out that these fellow travelers might actually be helping rather than hindering us, with a specific purpose that’s very much aligned with our own survival. The overwhelming majority of our microbes aren’t germs that cause disease. Quite the contrary—they’re an essential part of our ecosystem and play a vital role in keeping us healthy.

How do we get from germ-free fetus to living, breathing petri dish, colonized with trillions of bacteria? Let’s start at the cradle and work our way toward the grave, to find out exactly how our microbiome evolves and the crucial role it plays at every stage in our development.

Pregnancy

Long before we enter the world, our mother’s microbiome starts to prepare for our arrival. One of the most dramatic changes happens in her vagina. During pregnancy, cells in the vaginal lining ramp up production of a carbohydrate called glycogen, sending glycogen-loving Lactobacillus bacteria into a feeding frenzy and increasing their numbers. Lactobacilli convert lactose and other sugars to lactic acid, creating an acidic, unfriendly environment that helps to protect the growing fetus from potential invaders.

Bacteria don’t just protect us from undesirable germs that can enter via the vagina; they also nurture us. In the third trimester of pregnancy, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria species increase in number and cause a corresponding rise in the mother’s blood sugar and weight gain in her breasts, with the specific goal of ensuring adequate growth and breast milk for the baby. Transplanting gut bacteria from late-trimester pregnant women into nonpregnant mice produces identical changes in the mice—confirming that the transformation is indeed mediated by gut bacteria, not hormones.

In addition to our founding species of bacteria, we also receive protective antibodies from our mother through the placenta. Armed with these antibodies and our own few but plucky microbial soldiers, we’re ready to make our entrance into the world. But exactly how we enter isn’t just a matter of convenience; it has significant microbial repercussions that continue to affect our health well into adulthood.

Birth

During a normal delivery, the baby’s head turns to face the mother’s rectum as it crowns and exits the birth canal. This turning brings the baby’s nose and mouth into direct contact with her vaginal and rectal contents. What better way to get inoculated with a good dose of bacteria than to come face-to-tush with the source? A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that babies born vaginally are colonized with Lactobacillus species and other “good bacteria,” while babies born by C-section tend to have more common hospital “bad bacteria” like Staphylococcus that are associated with illness and infection.

This brief act of swallowing a mouthful of our mother’s microbes as we enter the world confers unbelievably important benefits. It turns out that exposure to bacteria is a critical early step in the development of our immune system. C-sections bypass this crucial event and are associated with higher rates of asthma, allergies, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and other autoimmune conditions. I’ll explain the importance of early microbial exposure in detail in Chapter 3, and the modern plagues that are a result of not having enough of it.

Breast-feeding

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third-most common ingredient in breast milk, despite the fact that they’re completely indigestible by infants. HMOs are indigestible because they’re not there to feed the baby. They’re there to feed the baby’s bacteria—specifically, Bifidobacterium, present in high numbers in breast-fed infants. Bifidobacterium repels Staphylococcus and other harmful microbes on the mother’s nipple, so it’s an essential part of the baby’s microbial arsenal. While Bifidobacterium gorges on HMOs, Lactobacillus in the newborn’s gut breaks down sugars and the other digestible components of breast milk—an incredibly well-designed example of the symbiotic relationship between humans and microbes.

Breast-fed babies in the United States have an astounding 20 percent higher survival rate than their formula-fed peers. I’ll discuss the worrisome trend of formula over breast milk in Chapter 7, where we examine the microbial implications of some of our modern practices.

Infancy

When we are babies, everything eventually ends up in our mouth. It’s one of the ways we interact with our environment. It’s also one of the ways our environment interacts with our microbiome, allowing bacteria from our home, our siblings, and even our pets to gain access to our gut and help train our immune system to distinguish friend from foe. Factors like family size, early nutrition, and the quality of our water supply have a profound effect on our blossoming microbiome.

Not surprisingly, as infants our microbiome most closely resembles that of other household members, especially our mothers. But it’s a constantly changing and evolving mix, with lots of species diversity, and events like a fever, a dietary change, or a course of antibiotics can have a major ripple effect. Within a few weeks after birth, bacteria in various parts of our body start to branch out and specialize, and within a few months, the number of species starts to rise, increasing from about a hundred in infancy to a thousand or more by adulthood.

Childhood to Adulthood

By age three our microbiome is almost fully formed and is very similar to that of an adult, although major changes like puberty, the onset of menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are associated with huge microbial shifts. Some of the physical changes associated with puberty, such as increased oil production that can lead to acne, or more pungent body odor under the arms and in the groin, are actually the result of changes in bacteria, as different species become more or less dominant.

By the time we become senior citizens, we’ve lost much of our bacterial diversity, and our microbiome starts to resemble that of others in our peer group. Shifts within various microbial populations continue to occur, but as we get older, our microbiome becomes more stable, tending to revert to its previously established baseline after events like an infection or a course of antibiotics.

Renewal

We start out in the womb with no microbes at all, and we eventually acquire trillions. What happens to all of those microbes when we die? Interestingly, the microbes aren’t recycled. They die with us, and each subsequent generation goes through its own cycle of microbial rebirth, starting from scratch and working its way up to an incredibly well-stocked microbial kingdom, well adapted (let’s hope) to the requirements of that generation.

Diversity of species is a vital part of maintaining a balanced ecosystem in the outside world, and it’s also crucial in the microscopic world inside us. Unfortunately, modern life has made microbial depletion part of our legacy, with decreased diversity in each successive generation as a result of medications, our overprocessed diet, and our super-sanitized lifestyle. Americans today have only about two-thirds as many bacterial species as native tribesmen in the Amazon who haven’t been exposed to antibiotics. As we’ll learn in the second part of this book, restoring those lost microbes takes real commitment.

While there is no perfect microbiome, some are clearly healthier than others, notwithstanding the incredible variation from one to the other. The Human Microbiome Project and other research efforts like it seek to establish what the “normal” human microbiome looks like today—an important endeavor, considering the rate at which our microbial landscape is changing. Companies like uBiome allow the citizen scientist to catalogue his or her own microscopic habitat, compare it to others, and reassess it as diet and habits change.

The human microbiome may well be the next big frontier in medicine, providing answers to why we get sick and novel solutions for how to heal ourselves. In the next chapter we’ll learn more about what our gut bacteria actually do—besides make gas—and why they’re so essential to our health and well-being.

CHAPTER 2

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THINK OF YOUR BODY as a factory. Organs like your lungs, kidneys, and liver represent the machinery that keeps production moving: extracting oxygen, filtering blood, removing toxins, synthesizing hormones, and performing all of the other complicated tasks that keep us alive. Some of the tasks are automated, but most of these assembly lines require constant monitoring, maintenance, and adjustment.

We house the machinery, but who operates it? How does a complex process like, for example, digestion, actually happen? Who helps break down the food and determines what gets absorbed versus what gets excreted? How do we distinguish between real infection and colonization with harmless bacteria? Who tells our immune system when to rally the troops and when to ignore benign interlopers that pose no threat?

Our microbes do! We’ve evolved over millions of years to host an incredible army of worker bee microbes that are gainfully employed assisting in all of our bodily functions. They produce substances our bodies require but can’t make. They fight most of our battles for us. They even turn our genes on and off, activating those we need and dismantling those we don’t. In exchange, we provide room and board.

Since we’re their host and they rely on us for their survival, most of our microbes are invested in our well-being, although under certain circumstances they can turn on us and cause bad things to happen such as infection or even cancer. We can categorize our microscopic roommates into three main groups:


���•�Commensal bacteria that cohabit peacefully with us
���•�Symbiotic organisms (sometimes called mutualists) that help keep us healthy
���•�Pathogens (also known as opportunistic flora) that can do us harm

It’s a Jungle in There

Most human bacteria fall within four general phyla, or families: Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes—each one consisting of many different species. Different parts of the body have different microbial communities based on variations in things like oxygen content, moisture, and blood flow. Anaerobic species that don’t require oxygen predominate in the gut; Staphylococci thrive on the skin; and the same Streptococci used to make Swiss cheese inhabit the mouth and upper airway. There are pathogenic (i.e., harmful) forms of all of these bacteria, but the ones that reside with us on a daily basis are mostly harmless, particularly when kept in check by adequate amounts of their symbiotic cousins.

TABLE 2–1 • Predominant Bacteria Present in Humans

An enterotype is a classification based on ecosystems in the gut, and a way to stratify people based on the relative abundance of different species. In 2011, researcher Peer Bork described three specific enterotypes in humans: high levels of Bacteroides characterize type 1; type 2 has few Bacteroides and lots of Prevotella; and type 3 has high levels of Ruminococcus. Different enterotypes don’t seem to be influenced by age, gender, or nationality, but they are profoundly affected by long-term diet. A Western diet high in protein and animal fat is associated with Bacteroides (type 1), while Prevotella species (type 2) dominate in those who consume more carbohydrates, especially fiber. Different enterotypes are associated with predisposition to particular disease states, such as obesity and inflammation, confirming that what you eat is a powerful influencer of your overall health. In the future, we may be able to prescribe enterotype-specific diets and probiotics designed for maximal efficacy based on the abundance of various species.

What Do Gut Bacteria Do?

Symbiotic organisms—the quintessential good bacteria—have lots of important jobs. They help us digest food, maintain the integrity of our gut lining (part of the epithelial barrier that keeps bowel contents separate from the rest of the body), crowd out harmful bacteria, and train our immune system to distinguish between friend and foe. They also convert sugars into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that intestinal cells use for energy, and they synthesize many of the enzymes, vitamins, and hormones that we can’t make on our own. Food can’t be properly broken down and its constituent parts can’t be fully absorbed without these essential gut bacteria, which means that even if you’re eating a super-healthy diet, if you don’t have enough of them, you may not be able to absorb and assimilate all of the vitamins and nutrients in your food.

Most of the bacteria in your gut are anaerobic, meaning that they thrive in areas with little or no oxygen. As you travel from the top to the bottom of the intestines, the amount of bacteria increases, so the stomach and small intestine have a lot less than the colon. Some bacterial species set up shop in the intestinal lining, while others just pass through, sometimes reproducing while in transit before being excreted in the stool.

TABLE 2–2 • What Do Your Gut Bacteria Do?


���•�Convert sugars to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) for energy
���•�Crowd out pathogens
���•�Digest food
���•�Help your body absorb nutrients such as calcium and iron
���•�Keep pH balanced
���•�Maintain the integrity of the gut lining
���•�Metabolize drugs
���•�Modulate genes
���•�Neutralize cancer-causing compounds
���•�Produce digestive enzymes
���•�Synthesize B-complex vitamins (thiamine, folate, pyridoxine)
���•�Synthesize fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin K)
���•�Synthesize hormones
���•�Train the immune system to distinguish friend from foe

Immune Regulation

Digestion isn’t the only process that relies on the presence of gut bacteria. Exposure to lots of different microbes—both good and bad—is essential for priming and training your immune system, so that later on it’s able to distinguish between harmless organisms that it should ignore and dangerous pathogens that it needs to respond to. In Chapter 7 we’ll find out what happens when we super-sanitize our environment and miss out on that crucial early microbial exposure.

Gene Modulation

We have about twenty-three thousand human genes and eight million microbial ones. Results from large-scale human microbiome studies suggest that genes from gut bacteria play an important role. They provide instructions for essential functions like carbohydrate metabolism and enzymatic detoxification—instructions that are missing from our own human genome. Bacteria also help determine which diseases are expressed, turning various human genes on and off in response to the body’s internal milieu, which can influence whether or not a disease that you’re genetically predisposed to actually develops. Modulation of our genes by bacteria may explain why inherited diseases don’t always afflict family members equally—even in identical twins, who have the same genes but different microbes.

You’re Only as Healthy as Your Gut Bacteria

Ever notice how some people never get sick when everyone else has the flu? They were probably exposed to the same virulent virus, but because they have a healthier microbiome populated with more essential microbes, they’re able to crowd out the pathogens and stay healthy. Antibiotics can actually make you more susceptible to infection because they deplete essential bacterial species that can fight off viruses and dangerous bacteria. A recent study injected a bacterial protein into mice suffering from Rotavirus—a diarrheal illness that kills half a million children each year—and successfully halted the infection. The same protein also showed efficacy against other viruses, including influenza, demonstrating the important role bacteria play in protecting against viral infection.

Microbial health is one of the factors that determines who survives potentially deadly viruses. The very young, whose microbiome is still developing, and the very old, who have fewer microbial species and less diversity, tend to be the most vulnerable. Overzealous antibiotic use also puts you at risk by stripping out the good microbes along with the bad. Of course, additional variables like coexisting medical problems and how well nourished you are play a role, too, but those factors are also tied to the health of your microbiome, so having enough good bacteria looms large as a way to protect yourself from acute as well as chronic illness.

Allison is a patient I see for chronic constipation and bloating. While her gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms have improved a lot with adding more fiber to her diet, she continues to be plagued by chronic sinus infections. Every time I see her she’s either on an antibiotic or just finished taking one. The more antibiotics she takes, the more sinus infections she seems to get. We’ll take an in-depth look at how heavy antibiotic use can compromise your microbiome in Chapter 4, “Pharmageddon and the Antibiotic Paradox.”

Recognizing that infection is frequently a result of bacterial imbalance as opposed to infestation with any one particular bad bug helps us to be more judicious in our approach to treatment. We all have organisms within us whose growth, if left unchecked, can reach problematic proportions. The solution isn’t to embark on a search-and-destroy antimicrobial mission, devastating our essential bacteria along with the bad guys, but rather to repopulate and rebalance, adding good bacteria through dietary changes, microbe-friendly practices, prebiotic foods, and a well-chosen probiotic supplement. My Live Dirty, Eat Clean Plan will tell you exactly how to accomplish that, improving any health issues you have now and helping to safeguard against future illness.

The Nose Knows

Our different anatomical microbial communities have their own distinctive signature odors, based on what the various bacteria consume and the waste products they make. Morning breath is a great example of how shifting microbial populations are associated with a distinct change in odor. Most of us sleep with our mouth closed, breathing mostly through our nose. That leads to lower levels of oxygen in the mouth and an overnight increase in anaerobic bacteria, whose by-products give our breath a sour smell. People who have inflammation in their colon from Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or acute infection also have significant shifts in the composition of their gut bacteria—changes that I can smell even before seeing when I insert the colonoscope to examine the colon.

Most animals can detect variations in the microbiome. They sniff each other for recognition, to tell whether females are in heat, and to detect fear in their prey. If we deigned to take a whiff, we’d notice lots of identifying features, too—who has smelly feet, eats a lot of meat, or is stressed out—it’s all reflected in our microbiome. I smell my daughter all the time (much to her dismay), and as she approaches puberty, I’m noticing lots of changes. But mostly I just know what she smells like, the specific aroma that is unique to her and that I like to think I could recognize anywhere.

Growing a Good Gut Garden

As I’ve mentioned, there’s incredible microbial variation from person to person, which makes it difficult to define exactly what the ideal microbiome looks (or smells) like. Our health depends on having the right balance, without any one species becoming unnaturally dominant or submissive, and with essential bacteria sufficiently represented.

Gut bacteria are influenced by all the factors I’ve already mentioned, like whether you were breast-fed, your age, your gender, your occupation, and where you live. But what you eat is emerging as the most influential factor, since bacteria follow the food. So rather than focusing on what you should be eating to lose weight, or to lower your cholesterol, or to avoid diabetes, you should really be asking yourself what you should be eating to grow a good gut garden, because disease is rare when gut bacteria are balanced, bountiful, and diverse.

The other essential step is recognizing what threatens your gut garden’s growth. Being aware of the interlopers and inclement conditions that will reduce your victory garden to an overgrown or blighted plot is key. In the next part of this book we’ll explore in detail how the microbiome gets messed up, and what you can do to preserve yours.

part 2

CHAPTER 3

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MANY OF US were brought up to believe that it’s better to be clean than dirty. But evidence is mounting to show that if you start from that premise, you will arrive at the wrong destination as far as human health is concerned. The microbial communities established in our bodies at birth, during infancy, and in early childhood mold our health as we grow and help determine whether or not we develop illness. The unwilding of our internal landscape has created health challenges we never anticipated and led to the emergence of a new breed of disease.

Microbes and Our Modern Plagues

In 1932, gastroenterologist Burrill Crohn, MD, and his colleagues at Mount Sinai Hospital published a paper describing fourteen patients who had peculiar findings in the small intestine at surgery that were unlike anything that had previously been seen. The abnormalities were in the end of the small intestine—an area known as the ileum—so they called the new disease terminal ileitis, although it would eventually come to be known as Crohn’s disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and its sister condition, ulcerative colitis, are examples of autoimmune diseases. They represent a new breed of malady, sometimes referred to as modern plagues, which has emerged in the last century and includes conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, and eczema. Their hallmark, regardless of what organ they affect, is that the immune system wages war against the body’s own healthy tissues, leading to chronic inflammation.

There are almost a hundred different types of autoimmune diseases. Chances are you or someone in your family suffers from one, since they affect about fifty million people in the United States alone. Different autoimmune diseases frequently affect the same person, suggesting a common cause with varied manifestations rather than multiple distinct ailments. The million-dollar question is whether that common cause is an abnormal immune system overreacting to normal stimuli in the environment, or a normal immune system responding to an abnormal trigger.

TABLE 3–1 • Common Autoimmune Diseases


���•�Addison’s disease
���•�Alopecia areata
���•�Ankylosing spondylitis
���•�Celiac disease
���•�Crohn’s disease
���•�Dermatomyositis
���•�Diabetes (type 1)
���•�Eczema
���•�Eosinophilic esophagitis
���•�Graves’ disease
���•�Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
���•�Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
���•�Interstitial cystitis
���•�Juvenile arthritis
���•�Lupus (SLE)
���•�Multiple sclerosis (MS)
���•�Myasthenia gravis
���•�Polymyositis
���•�Primary biliary cirrhosis
���•�Primary sclerosing cholangitis
���•�Psoriasis
���•�Psoriatic arthritis
���•�Raynaud’s phenomenon
���•�Rheumatoid arthritis
���•�Sarcoidosis
���•�Scleroderma
���•�Sj�gren’s syndrome
���•�Ulcerative colitis
���•�Urticaria
���•�Vasculitis
���•�Vitiligo

Understanding the relationship between our immune system, our microbial environment, and our genes is critical to figuring out why people suffer from these diseases and how to heal them. Since most of our germs and more than half of our immune system are located in our gut, taking a closer look at Crohn’s disease in the context of the microbiome may yield some valuable answers.

Guts, Germs, and Genes

Dr. Crohn was convinced that this new disease, which caused inflammation, weight loss, and diarrhea, was the result of a bacterial infection, although not everyone shared his view. At that time, Crohn’s disease was most often diagnosed in people of Jewish heritage, and the prevailing wisdom was that Crohn’s was a genetic rather than an infectious disease. The bacterium in question was Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). It was known to infect the same area of the ileum in cows and other ruminants, causing a Crohn’s-like wasting diarrheal illness in these animals called Johne’s disease (after the German veterinarian who described it in 1905).

In addition to the similarities in location and symptoms, there were two other compelling pieces of evidence in support of Dr. Crohn’s theory that bacterial infection caused Crohn’s disease. The first was that MAP had been isolated from the intestines of Crohn’s patients at much higher rates than in the general public. The second was that because of its ability to survive pasteurization, MAP was detectable in various milk products, providing a plausible way for it to get from cows to humans. But what kept this from all fitting together nicely was that not everyone who had Crohn’s disease had MAP. In fact, most Crohn’s sufferers tested negative for MAP. So, after additional studies were unable to prove clear cause and effect, the idea that Crohn’s was the result of a bacterial infection was mostly abandoned.

Almost a century later, we still don’t know what causes autoimmune illnesses such as Crohn’s, although there’s been lots of speculation—from infections like measles, E. coli, and enterovirus to lifestyle factors like smoking and stress to common and seemingly benign practices like the use of toothpaste and refrigeration. In keeping with Dr. Crohn’s initial theory, emerging evidence suggests that bacteria do indeed play a major role, but it may be their absence rather than their presence that leads to the diagnosis.

The Hygiene Hypothesis

In the late 1950s, Professor David Strachan, a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, embarked on an epidemiological study of hay fever and eczema in British children. These diseases had been steadily increasing since the turn of the century when large populations left the farm for the factory. The study followed seventeen thousand children from birth to adulthood, and the results revealed a startling and unexpected association: both conditions were far less common in large families with lots of early childhood infections from exposure to siblings. The highest rates of disease occurred in smaller family size with fewer runny-nosed microbial donors and in affluent households with loftier standards of personal hygiene. This finding was counter to everything we thought we knew about germs. Could exposure to more germs really be better for us? And could living a cleaner lifestyle be making us sicker?

Strachan’s initial paper, titled “Hay Fever, Hygiene and Household Size,” was published in the British Medical Journal in 1989 and laid the foundation for the “hygiene hypothesis,” which challenged the idea of germs as something to be avoided and posited the importance of early microbial exposure for preventing disease later in life. In 2003 Graham Rook, MD, emeritus professor of medical microbiology and immunology at University College London, expanded on this concept with his “Old Friends” hypothesis, suggesting that a lack of exposure to ancient organisms like parasites that coevolved with our ancestors, not just the absence of relatively new germs like influenza, was responsible for the emergence of these modern plagues.

If we look at a map of the world today, one of the striking observations is that illnesses like Crohn’s disease are common in more developed countries and rare in less developed ones. The hygiene hypothesis accounts for this uneven distribution by suggesting that less childhood exposure to bacteria and parasites in affluent societies like the United States and Europe actually increases susceptibility to disease by suppressing the natural development of the immune system.

Most helpful customer reviews

158 of 163 people found the following review helpful.
A different way to live... it's a bible of better personal care
By LC
This is my third gut book in the past year and is the most helpful. It took a while to get used to the theme which is "live dirty, eat clean" but after a while it makes sense. A few things that caught my eye as good ideas in the area of having a profound effect on your external and internal microbiome::

-Get a bidet and quit taking so many baths.
-Make your own skin and hair products using stuff like coconut oil and manuka honey

There's details on whether you need a probiotic and which one to take. A lot of probiotics are not helping.

The recipes are low sugar. high fiber. The chocolate chip cookies made with almond flour instead of wheat flour are excellent. But the author does a great job of mixing up the things you can do with kale and other high nutrition ingredients.

Makes the point that it isn't that meat is bad for us but rather that lack of plant fiber is.

190 of 198 people found the following review helpful.
How Sick Are You? Ask Your Gut, Not Your Doctor
By KC
We live in a new age of weird diseases and symptoms -- many traveling under the "auto-immune" banner. People by the droves go to their primary care doctors and complain of stomach and digestive ailments (bloating, food allergies, abdominal pain), light-headedness, fatigue, skin rashes, eczema, rosacea, and worse. Their doctors, in turn, follow the protocols of their training and order up standard tests in search of something physical. The tests come back negative. Now doc is beginning to wonder if he has a hypochondriac on his hands, and the patients either persist or resign themselves to pain and misery, becoming depressed as symptoms continue to plague them. Sometimes more tests are ordered, but seldom is a solution found. It's a bad scene all around. Welcome to the world of microbes, the artful dodgers (at least when it comes to standard medical tests).

If you fit the description above, you should be reading Dr. Chutkan's latest book. She talks about "dysbiosis," a widely prevalent but seldom diagnosed condition where the microbial community in your body is way out of whack -- low on good bacteria and high on pathogens (bad bacteria) due to a host of modern-day causes: the accumulated ravages of antibiotic treatments, alcohol consumption, stress, diet (specifically lack of enough fiber, vegetables, fruits, fermented foods and too much sugar, carbs, processed "food," genetically-modified food), antacid use, NSAID use, birth-control pill regimes, chemotherapy, and artificial sweeteners.

As patients feel sicker, doctors unknowingly feed the flames by prescribing more pain medication, antibiotics, etc., to try to alleviate symptoms and show their patients that they are "doing something." Vicious, meet circle. The misery continues.

Well, if all politics are local, all health is in the gut. That's right. We are the microbial profile we feed on a daily basis. And while "feed" mostly means the mouth, it also includes the skin. Dr. Chutkan sees it as a twin mission: living dirty and eating clean. That means we do ourselves no favors by constantly cleaning our hands with hand sanitizers, applying skin products and soaps with anti-bacterial elements and good-bacteria killing chemicals (go ahead, read the ingredients, see if you have the slightest idea about what you are slathering to your skin and scalp on a daily basis... didn't think so).

The best part: Chutkan offers practical tips on turning it around -- what you should eat and what you should not eat. Watch out for corn, soy products, and sugar especially. They kill the Good Army and arm the Terrorist in your gut flora. They are almost all GMO-made monstrosities by now, thanks to companies like Monsanto, which have their profits (and yes, Big Pharma's, too, because sick people drive profits) to watch after. Certain bacteria (bad) thrive on sugar and artificial sweeteners and will hijack your body's eating preferences. What we call a "sweet tooth" is actually a type of bad bacteria clamoring from your gut for more of what they need to survive (that it makes you sick means little to them, they are out for themselves and haven't a clue that they will die with you).

Chutkan also offers some basic day-to-day living advice, too. A little dirt is a good thing, as is being outside (or opening windows and letting the outside in). Remember when you were a kid? Always outside, barefoot and dirty, exercising through play and interaction with others? Compare to the present, where we spend so much time in our antiseptic, air-conditioned houses, take showers every day, shellack our skin with mysterious products, clean our homes with even more mysterious, bacteria-killing products. Recipe, meet disaster. Patient, meet doctor (yet again): "Doc, I feel miserable and I don't know why." Doc and Conventional Medicine don't know why, either.

As to the book itself, yes, it is somewhat repetitive at times and not a narrative wonder or anything, but I 4-star it for its contents and importance. Chutkan even devotes a chapter to the hardcore cases. Here she discusses fecal transplants, the latest frontier for people who cannot turn around their severe conditions through diet and lifestyle changes alone. Feces from healthy patients with the correct microbial profiles are transplanted into the intestines of the sick patient with miraculous results (just look the other way and get over your aversion, I guess). It's been a life-changer for people with relentless conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, pouchitis, infectious diarrhea, etc. Animals don't eat other animals' feces for nothing. Nature is often instructive (and gross). It's squeamish patients who often choose not to heed such lessons.

Finally, and not least importantly, the book ends with 95 pages of "microbiome solution" recipes, mostly for dishes that will feed the good and suppress the bad bacteria that live within you -- food for stomach, skin, and soul.

Yep. Brave New World (which looks suspiciously like our grandparents' Brave OLD World, before the corporations and chemicals started to hijack our willingly sheep-like lives). Advice: Buy or check out of the library. Then fight back against bad bacteria and bad businesses that will shed no tears over your slow and protracted demise.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent health guide with some really tasty recipes
By kadydid
This book has become my new go-to reference for keeping my gut in line. Robynne has given me a new appreciation for my gut bacteria. I read this about 3 months ago and have been practicing much of what she recommends, and my health has improved considerably. My frequent gas is all but gone, energy levels are up, and I am generally feeling happier and more positive about life.

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Jumat, 28 Oktober 2011

[K998.Ebook] Ebook Free Mad Princes of Renaissance Germany (Studies in Early Modern German History), by H. C. Erik Midelfort

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Mad Princes of Renaissance Germany (Studies in Early Modern German History), by H. C. Erik Midelfort

During the sixteenth century close to thirty German dukes, landgraves, and counts, plus one Holy Roman emperor, were known as mad- so mentally disordered that serious steps had to be taken to remove them from office or to obtain medical care for them. This book is the first study these princes, and a few princesses, as a group in context. The result is a flood of new light on the history of Renaissance medicine and of psychiatry, on German politics and in the century of Reformation, and on the shifting Renaissance definitions of madness.

  • Sales Rank: #1406929 in Books
  • Brand: Brand: University of Virginia Press
  • Published on: 1996-01-29
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 9.00" h x 6.00" w x .50" l, .83 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 216 pages
Features
  • Used Book in Good Condition

From Publishers Weekly
With Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization in 1961, the study of madness became an ever more popular lens through which to view societal norms. In his short but well-researched and entertaining book, Midelfort, a professor of history at the University of Virginia, focuses on princes because they are better documented than other folk; Germany because it had many princes; and the Renaissance because new, more centralized governments were increasingly dependent on the person of the hereditary ruler for legitimacy. At the beginning of the 16th century, a mad prince like Landgrave Wilhelm I of Hesse might simply be locked away in a castle with little or no treatment. But by the mid-16th century, treatment was becoming common--not that it seemed likely to help. Most medical practitioners treated madness by trying to balance the proportion of black bile associated with melancholy. The initial protocol was fairly benign--sleep, fresh air, sunlight, exercise, cheerful servants--but thereafter livelier measures could include applying the entrails of a freshly killed snow-white dog to the head or administering a drink of powdered pearls. Reluctantly, a follower of Paracelsus (1493-1541) might be allowed to try his hand with various chemicals, or, very rarely, an exorcist called in. In anecdote and analysis, Midelfort cunningly cooks up a heady brew of medicine, religion, psychiatry, power, sex and pathos. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Midelfort ( The Great Cat Massacre , Random, 1985) writes about "mad princes" with the aim of answering three questions: How did courtly medicine change in the 16th century, particularly in reference to the treatment of mental illness? How did madness cause state crises? How can we document madness among German princes of the 16th century? On questions one and three he does admirably, but the answer to question two is a bit contrived, i.e., he sees madness as a cause of the Thirty Years' War. Well documented from primary sources, this work features interesting historical research, though the sampling is a bit small and generalizations a bit large. Recommended for academic libraries.
- Harry Willems, Kansas Lib. System, Iola
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A history of insanity among German royals from about 1450 to 1630, by the author of Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany, 1562-1684 (not reviewed). During the Renaissance, madness was a catchall term that made little differentiation among melancholy, mania, furor, and all types of mental maladjustment. Nor were doctors eager to displease relatives of mad royals by defining mental illness so acutely as to upset the family. ``In an effort to use state records to shed light on the history of courtly medicine, state crises, and madness in early modern Europe,'' Midelfort analyzes documents handed down by Renaissance historians and diagnoses many demented princes--and a handful of princesses. The question of whether suicidal, despairing, sexually voracious Anna of Saxony was basically sinful or sick makes clear the split between medical and moral discourse in treating the insane. Doctors then thought madness stemmed from a blow to the head, brain fever, congenital deficiencies, humoral imbalances, even demonic possession. Their diagnoses could be quite specific in describing needed changes of diet (``abstain from the flesh of stags, wild boar, hare, swine, swamp birds, starlings, quail, and fish that [have] no scales''). Often, the afflicted royals were less likely to be treated than removed from power and put in dehumanizing confinement, thus avoiding a constitutional or dynastic crisis. Many striking figures foam over the page and inveigh against shadows, while Midelfort charts the rational human mind attempting to weigh the darkness. Even so, more academic than popular. -- Copyright �1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Frivolous title; scholarly data
By Virginia E. Demarce
The piece de resistance of this book has to be the theological memorandum concerning the mental condition of the Duke of Prussia which begins with the unfortunate Osiandrian sympathies displayed by his parents prior to his birth and their possible contribution to the current situation. The majority of the recommendations, however, came from physicians and were medical rather than theological.
It's solidly researched -- if anything, one would have wished more detail on some of the episodes, such as that of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in the bath house.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Unusual and thought-provoking
By A Customer
Although the title initially almost seems like a parody of historical research on incredibly arcane topics (and, as Midelfort points out, there is no particular reasons to believe that Renaissance German royalty were more prone to insanity than anyone else, inbreeding not withstanding), the book in fact uses the unusually high levels of documentation available on these individuals to create a fascinating and detailed study, not only of the medical and religious treatment of insanity during this period, but also of the political implications when a monarch or his heir became "unfit" to rule.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
A detailed book about an hitherto unexplored subject
By J. N. W. Bos
This is the book that inspired me for starting my Mad Monarchs Series ([...] Before I found this book, I had often seen references to "the last mad Duke of Cleves, married to a sister of the last mad Duke of Prussia". This book has finally shed some light on that odd pair of Dukes.
The first part of the book focuses on the early 16th century, when mental problems was not regarded as an illness and melancholic Princes were locked up and often neglected. Sometimes they were exorcised. The cases described are, among others, Princes of Hesse, Saxony and Baden. William the Younger of Brunswick is the 1st Prince whose mental state is described in more detail, because unique reports have survived: "He ran out into the streets of Celle half-dressed, [..] spoke unintelligibly and gestured weirdly". He was actually treated by doctors.
The second part of the book describes Albrecht Friedrich of Prussia, Rudolf II of Austria and the last Dukes of Cleves in more detail. Midelfort describes detailed accounts of their mental and medical conditions and the doctor's crude attempts to cure them.
The book is a serious and detailed study of 16th century Princes that were described by their contemporaries as "melancholic" or locked up as being "mad". Black and white images of most of the described mad Princes and Princesses are included. An unique book about an unique subject!

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[P754.Ebook] Free Ebook Essentials of Physician Practice ManagementFrom Brand: Jossey-Bass

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Essentials of Physician Practice ManagementFrom Brand: Jossey-Bass

Essentials of Physician Practice Management offers a practical reference for administrators and medical directors and provides a comprehensive text for those preparing for a career in medical administration, practice management, and health plan administration. Essentials of Physician Practice Management is filled with valuable insights into every aspect of medical practice management including operations, financial management, strategic planning, regulation and risk management, human resources, and community relations.

  • Sales Rank: #1302916 in Books
  • Brand: Brand: Jossey-Bass
  • Published on: 2004-08-19
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 9.50" h x 1.50" w x 7.00" l, 2.44 pounds
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 592 pages
Features
  • Used Book in Good Condition

Review
“Physicians everywhere, especially those in leadership and management positions, will benefit from Essentials of Physician Practice Management. It combines clarity with a broad sweep that deals with all the key topics of interest. It is a real contribution to the field of health care management.”
--William L. Roper, M.D., M.P,H., dean, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and CEO, The University of North Carolina Health Care System

“The authors have focused on an area critical to working toward solutions to the problems we face in health care. Part of that solution is the development of leaders and managers in ambulatory care, and the authors have done an outstanding job detailing the competencies needed for that purpose.”
--Frederick J. Wenzel, M.B.A., F.A.C.M.P.E., Distinguished Service Professor, College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis

"Integrated and comprehensive...practical road map to the challenges and opportunities of physician practice management.”
--Arnold D. Kaluzny, Ph.D., School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“To any physician serious about preparing for leadership, I recommend reading this book. If a medical group manager is going to keep one book close at hand, I recommend that it be this one. This book provides the clearest, most comprehensive picture of managing physician practices that I have seen.”
--Keith Moore, Chairman and CEO, McManis Consulting

From the Back Cover

ESSENTIALS OF PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Essentials of Physician Practice Management offers a practical reference for administrators and medical directors and provides a comprehensive text for those preparing for a career in medical administration, practice management, and health plan administration. Essentials of Physician Practice Management is filled with valuable insights into every aspect of medical practice management including operations, financial management, strategic planning, regulation and risk management, human resources, and community relations.

"Physicians everywhere, especially those in leadership and management positions, will benefit from Essentials of Physician Practice Management. It combines clarity with a broad sweep that deals with all the key topics of interest. It is a real contribution to the field of health care management." —William L. Roper, M.D., M.P.H., dean, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and CEO, The University of North Carolina Health Care System

"The authors have focused on an area critical to working toward solutions to the problems we face in health care. Part of those solutions is the development of leaders and managers in ambulatory care, and the authors have done an outstanding job detailing the competencies needed for that purpose." —Frederick J. Wenzel, M.B.A., F.A.C.M.P.E., Distinguished Service Professor, College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis

"Integrated and comprehensive … practical road map to the challenges and opportunities of physician practice management." —Arnold D. Kaluzny, Ph.D., School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"To any physician serious about preparing for leadership, I recommend reading this book. If a edical group manager is going to keep one book close at hand, I recommend that it be this one. This book provides the clearest, most comprehensive picture of managing physician practices that I have seen." —Keith Moore, Chairman and CEO, McManis Consulting

About the Author

THE AUTHORS

Blair A. Keagy is the George Johnson Distinguished Professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of North Carolina.

Marci S. Thomas is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Most helpful customer reviews

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
I am trying to set up my own practice and I find that this book is useless. I bought it especially because I wanted to ...
By Stephen P Gibert
This book has nothing in it but common sense in most of it and completely impenetrable jargon in the rest. I am trying to set up my own practice and I find that this book is useless. I bought it especially because I wanted to get some information on the Stark laws and found that the chapter was nothing but vague generalities and jargon. After reading it I wondered if even a lawyer would find it informative. I doubt it. Save your money, don't buy this book. If you are some kind of MBA type, please be sure to inform prospective employers that you learned your craft from this book, so they can NOT hire you. Not really worth even one star.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
The most comprehensive and academically solid practice management guide
By Dr. Yuval Lirov
A team composed of an MD (Blair A. Keagy) and a CPA (Marci S. Thomas) created this comprehensive guidance resource covering the widest spectrum of mission-critical practice management topics and including contributions by multiple specialists:

1) Budgeting for Physician Practices (Marci S. Thomas).
2) Revenue Cycle (Lou Porn, Polly Minugh).
3) Understanding the Cost of Providing Services (Suriya H. Grima, John A. Grima).
4) Taxation and Physician Practices (Anne M. McGeorge).
5) Capital Investment Decisions (Marci S. Thomas, Elisabeth Fowlie Mock).
6) Monitoring Financial Performance (Teresa L. Edwards).
7) Negotiating Managed Care Contracts and Contract Management (Beacham Wray).
8) Federal and State Regulations (Bruce A. Johnson).
9) Corporate Compliance in a Medical Practice Setting (Bruce A. Johnson).
10) Risk Management (Kathryn Johnson).
11) Governance and Leadership in a Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
12) Human Resource Management (Bruce J. Fried, Marci S. Thomas, Lisa L. Goodrich).
13) Physician Compensation (Lou Porn).
14) The Role of Nonphysician Clinicians in Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
15) Impact of Nursing Workforce Issues on the Physician and Practice Manager (Elizabeth A. Arsenault).
16) Developing a Business Plan (Lou Porn).
17) Adding a New Service or Program to a Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
18) Marketing a Practice (Karen McCall, Dan Dunlop).
19) Integrating a Clinical Research Program into a Medical Practice (William A. Marston).
20) Relationships Between Medical Practices and Community Hospitals (Blair A. Keagy).
21) Academic Medical Centers (Mary Jane Kagarise, Anthony A. Meyer).
22) Information Systems (David D. Potenziani).
23) Performance Improvement, Teamwork, and Monitoring Outcomes (Bette G. Brotherton, Larry Mandelkehr).
24) The Twenty-First-Century Medical Environment (George F. Sheldon).

It is the most comprehensive and academically solid practice management guide.

Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Essentials of physician MGMT
By happy customer
Since I just started using this book for olny a couple of days I cannot give it a 5 stars because that would be like putting the cart before the horse, in other words I cannot say its great when I am barely familar with the book...... but so far it helpful.

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