Review: “Brain Maker” by David Perlmutter

Thumbs up for Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain– – for Life by David Perlmutter. Health.

Building on Blaser’s Missing Microbes (my review) with the newest research plus what that book was missing—practical steps to build up and support your microbiome. The kind of important book that I want to beg every one of my friends to read, because it explains so much, so lucidly, and is backed with such well-documented science. It is also readable for the layman (this statement was tested on my mother).

One of the overarching themes you’ll read throughout this book is the importance of maintaining the integrity of that delicate intestinal wall, which is only one cell thick. It must remain intact while acting as a conduit for signals between the gut bacteria and the immune system’s cells right on the other side. In the words of Dr. Alessio Fasano of Harvard – who lectured on the topic at a 2014 conference, which I attended, that was dedicated solely to the science of the microbiome – these immune cells that receive signals from the gut bacteria are the body’s “first responders.” In turn, the gut bacteria help keep the immune system vigilant but not in full defense mode. They monitor and “educate” the immune system. This ultimately helps prevent your gut’s immune system from inappropriately reacting to goods and triggering autoimmune responses. We’ll see in upcoming chapters just how critical the gut-associated lymphatic tissue is in preserving your body’s overall health. It’s your body’s military, on the lookout for any threats coming down the intestinal pipeline that can adversely impact the body all the way up to the brain.