Book Review By Kendy Anderson, Director TCCU and pain coach

TCCU Book Review: The Mind-Gut Connection

The Mind-Gut Connection in Paperback – June 5, 2018  by Emeran Mayer  (Author)

The Mind-Gut Connection: Conversations within our bodies; how can it impact our mood, our choices, and our overall health?

This book intrigued me as a person who has gone through prolonged antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease and the ensuing gut issues, like SIBO. Unless you live in a remote area of the world, you are no doubt aware of the exploding science around the human microbiome, it’s connection to serotonin, the immune system, and how the gut is being referred to as the second brain. I hope you enjoy my book review: The Mind-Gut Connection. 

The author briefly lost me when he went into the weeds on research with animals, saying the comparison wasn’t completely interchangeable. Conclusions were drawn based on animal studies. He does have some interesting research into people with “open wounds” and how their digestion could be watched and tracked! But maybe that’s TMI. 

Dr. Mayer spends two chapters proving the mind-body connection and communication between the mind and gut. Those familiar with the vagus nerve, and the gut-brain axis will not need to be convinced of these connections. 

There are some pretty cool quotes like this one: 

 "By interacting with her child, a mother modifies the salience system in her infant’s brain so that the baby’s gut feelings are biased in a way to be prepared for the potentially dangerous work when he or she has grown up."  That is amazing!

He emphasized the importance of having a mindfulness practice in place. This includes being aware of your digestive system state. Our culture is definitely seeing the connection between stress and mindfulness. We are finally discovering that diet and exercise alone are incomplete pathways to health and it's natural conclusion to reduce chronic pain. 

The Mind-Gut Connection: 8 Tips on How and What to Feed Your Gut

1. Eat naturally fermented food and probiotics.

2. Consume organic whenever possible.

3. Aim for smaller servings as meals.

4. Be mindful of prenatal nutrition.

5. Reduce stress and practice mindfulness.

6. Avoid eating when you are stressed, angry or sad.

7. Enjoy the secret pleasures and social aspects of food.

8. Become an expert in listening to your gut feelings. 

Overall, I really liked this book. I have an interest in nutrition as it has helped me along with my chronic pain journey. If you have an interest in the Mind-Gut Connection, it is about communication within our bodies, the author is passionate about his work and it shows in his writing.  

Here the author, Emeran Mayer, provides his own conclusion: 

“The brain-gut-microbiome axis links our brain health closely to what we eat, how we grow and process our food, what medications we take, how we come into the world, and how we interact with the microbes in our environment throughout life.” 

Interested in purchasing the book? Visit Amazon: The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health

We appreciate you reading our book review: The Mind-Gut Connection (8 Tips on How and What to Feed Your Gut).

Want to read more about the brain-gut connection? Read Johns Hopkins article called "Brain-Gut Connection" with information on the second brain. Learn how what's going on in your gut can impact your mood, anxiety and more.

Learn more about diet and reduce chronic pain by using a diet to reduce inflammation. Diet and Chronic pain has a good-guy/bad-guy role in your health. Our bodies are amazing but sometimes they get stuck. Read Harvard Men's Health Watch article, "Can diet heal chronic pain?"

Read our blog post: 8 Tips for Sleeping With Chronic Pain