A spellbinding explanation of microbiology that will help you get to the bottom of health and happiness John Vincent, Co-Founder of Leon But what if I told you that faeces was not toxic waste and that it contained the secret to human health? Would you eat it, if your life depended on it? What if it was rebranded as a faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) or, more accurately, a faecal milkshake given through a tube that passes through the nose into the stomach? You could even take it in the form of a capsule – or “crapsule” – if you wanted. In this mindblowing book, scientist and surgeon James Kinross explains how the organisms that live within us have helped us evolve, shaped our biology and defined the success of our species. But just as we have discovered this delicate and complex ecosystem within us, it is being irrevocably destroyed through antibiotic addition, industrial food production, the globalisation of our diets and lifestyles, and the destruction of our environment. This is a really nuanced and difficult thing to talk about, because of course, sometimes we have to take medicines,” says Dr Kinross. “I don’t want people to think that if your GP recommends antibiotics you shouldn’t take them.”

Dark Matter By James Kinross | Used | 9780241543979 | World Dark Matter By James Kinross | Used | 9780241543979 | World

I try to reduce the amount of meat that I eat. In fact, I almost never eat meat unless someone else is cooking,” he says. Instead, Dr Kinross focuses on eating a range of vegetables. “I try to have at least 30 different fruits and vegetables a week and I try to make sure that every meal I have is vegetable-based. We have a lot of salads in my house, and we love our polyphenols.” Ray’s response to his FMT treatment was just like that in the reported literature. Within three days of receiving the microbiota transplant he was out of bed. Heather described it as a miracle. If I’ve spent longer than is entirely comfortable talking about faeces, that’s because FMT is a starting point for understanding the importance of the gut microbiome to human health. The extraordinary benefit of FMT in some patients has opened the clinical world to the idea that our microbes may have an important role in the causation and treatment of diseases where their involvement runs contrary to medical science.In this ground-breaking book, surgeon and expert on the microbiome, James Kinross, takes us on a guided tour of our extraordinary inner universe, showing how our relationship with microbes may hold the key to why we are increasingly succumbing to diseases and conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's, autoimmune conditions and allergies. He highlights how hyperglobalization and our addiction to antibiotics has transformed our internal ecosystems and why this matters so much to our future health and happiness. He is also a practicing colorectal surgeon in the NHS with a clinical interest in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer. He leads a team of amazing researchers working to better define how the microbiome causes cancer and other chronic diseases of the gut.

Gut health: The common mistakes everyone makes, and the

The scale of the task is immense. The bacteria in the gut alone weigh close to 1.5 kg, they’re made up of about 100,000,000,000,000 bacterial cells (that’s 100 trillion) – equivalent in number to the total number of cells that make up the human body – and they speak millions of different molecular languages. Another major challenge in studying the microbiome is its physical distribution. The micro- biome is dispersed across our bodies in different niches, each with varying total abundances of microbes. Being clear about our anatomical definitions is important.Some of these studies are extremely encouraging and offer treatments where few effective medical therapies exist. For example, FMT appears to be a promising treatment for irritable bowel syndrome and a recent study suggests that its benefit can last for many years: 125 patients were randomly assigned to receive either 30g or 60g of faeces from the same donor or a placebo transplant containing their own faeces. Researchers not only found that the FMT improved the symptoms, but there was a lasting benefit three years after it was given. Ray was readmitted to St Mary’s critically unwell and was soon diagnosed with Clostridium difficile (C diff) infection (officially, this bacteria has now been renamed Clostridiodes). A “hospital-acquired infection”, this disease is a complication of 20th-century medicine and an unintended consequence of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, the first effective mass-produced antibiotic, in 1928. It is a global problem that afflicts 500,000 people in the United States each year and it kills 29,000 of them.

Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome : Kinross Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome : Kinross

A totally addictive and illuminating read. Compelling from beginning to end, presenting crystal clear insight into the hidden microbial world that lives within us all. * Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, gastroenterologist and bestselling author of The Kitchen Prescription *More and more we are learning about the importance of our gut, Kinross takes the even more complex science of microbiome and explains in a way that is easy to understand. Even if I can't pronounce half the medical terms. In summary, "Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome" is an enlightening and invaluable resource that I would highly recommend. Whether you're a health professional, a young parent, or simply someone interested in the future of healthcare, this book is a must-read. This book is really, really interesting ... Nothing more important in your life than your microbiome .... this will change your life Chris Evans In the future, we might actually prescribe certain types of fibres for certain mental health conditions’: Kimberley Wilson. Photograph: Kimberley Wilson

James Kinross - Penguin Books UK

The scale of the task is huge: there is 1.5kg of bacteria in our guts.’ Illustration: Lisa Sheehan/The Observer Lifestyle Myths about antibiotics debunked - from how long to take them for to impact on your gut health Read More Don’t underestimate the link between gut health and mental health A fountain of knowledge and sense in an overwhelming world of science. * Rhiannon Lambert, Registered Nutritionist and Sunday Times Bestselling Author * In his new book Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome, Dr James Kinross lays bare the mind-boggling world of what lies in our guts: the delicate ecosystem of trillions of microbial life forms that live within us all. Without us even realising, our gut’s unique ecosystem is the missing link in modern medicine and what’s more, is heavily influenced by our environment.

Making your own food is essential for exposure to microbes. “It’s very important to make your own food,” says Dr Kinross. “It’s important to get your hands dirty, especially if you are sharing plates. What happens is that you share bugs and your gut microbiome will be healthier.” Don’t assume turmeric will fix all your gut issues Polyphenols are a naturally occurring antioxidant that helps produce good bacteria in the stomach. It also helps reduce inflammation in the gut. This magic chemical can be found in blueberries and vegetables such as aubergine, tomatoes, white potatoes and peppers. “It occurs in a lot of nightshade vegetables, so we have a lot of that,” he says. He is increasingly interested in how the gut microbiome develops in newborn babies and the implications on our long-term health.