The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health

leading a more healthy lifestyle.

本書の内容は「自閉症、アルツハイマー病、パーキンソン病、統合失調症（いわゆる精神分裂症）、喘息その他の自己免疫疾患、うつ病、肥満、ある種の糖尿病は、実は腸の病気？」という驚くべきものであるが、記載は非常に中立かつ慎重で、「胎教」、「内臓病は心の病気」等の民間知見を丁寧に科学的に跡付けたものである。著者は、精神と身体の関係を追求すべく、スイスの田舎の老舗菓子店の息子という安定した地位を捨てて、当時、当該学問の聖地であったカルフォルニアに移住した高名な研究者である。 特に重要な指摘は、いわゆる「胎教」の科学的説明の部分であり、「母親の精神状態が荒廃していると、胎児は生れ出る世界は荒廃した世界で有害な病原体や油断できない競争者に満ちていると解釈し、それに備えて、体と心を鎧で包んで生まれてくるのである」すなわち、免疫系はピリピリ、精神はイガイガ、周りは全部敵ばかりという具合である。 また、パーキンソン病の初期症状は、発症の２０年も前に腸に現れるのである。 さらに、腸の細菌叢は柔軟で「数か月以内にダイエットシュガーを一般の糖に分解する能力を獲得する」という主張は、驚くべきもので、言い換えると「長期的に言うと、ダイエットシュガーは体の中で、普通の糖分よりも多くの糖分に分解される」のである。そうするとダイエットシュガーて、いったい何でしょうか？ということになりますね。

There is sure no shortage of trade books on the microbiome and the list of books is bound to proliferate given the popularity of the topic. This book separates itself from the pack in a number of ways. First, Dr Mayer is one of the select group of scientists worldwide whose work has helped fuel research into what we know about the microbiome and its importance to our health. While other scientists saw painful medical disorders like irritable bowel syndrome as a “psychiatric disorder” Dr Mayer was conducting research showing that the brain has a far more powerful and complex role in tipping the balance between health and illness than just governing our mental wellbeing. Because he knows what he is talking about, the reader can feel confident that the material is accurate, trust worthy, and backed by evidence tested in rigorous laboratory settings. This is no small feat among the growing number of books chock full of half-truths, exaggerations, and outright inaccuracies that make it hard for the reader to separate fact from fiction. Second, Dr Mayer emphasizes the importance not only of how our mood, behaviors like our activity level and what we eat and drink, and mindset can impact the collection of microbes that colonize the human body but how our microbiome can in turn impact the brain. There is no other book available that covers so much terrain with such expertise and precision. Third, the book is an easy read, written in such an engaging and non-technical manner that even the person whose last science book was in 10th grade bio class will find this book a pleasure to read, making it far and away the best microbiome book out there for general audience. Finally, as a gifted clinician, Dr Mayer concludes the book with some “nuts and bolts” strategies for how to make simple lifestyle changes that put in practice what microbiome research tells us about how to optimize our health. A+: Recommend wholeheartedly -- Dr Jeffrey Lackner, Behavioral Medicine Clinic, University at Buffalo, SUNY

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Excellent reading. Lots of interesting information, it blew me away. Highly recommended. Definitely will read a second time in the near future.