Brain Maker by David Perlmutter

You may know this book by its better known sibling - Grain Brain. The subtitle of the book pretty much says it: "The power of gut microbes to heal and protect your brain - for life".

While the book is a good tour of all the benefits of fermented foods and why we need them, it also touches on the sensitive topic of FMT - fecal matter transplants. The author brings us quickly up to speed on the state of the art in this science, as well as how far behind we are in the USA as compared to Europe and Australia. The FDA is working on it, he assures us, and there are new methodologies coming quickly such as pills that can have similar effects as the more manual transfusions. The book is definitely worth reading if you are having chronic illnesses. I leave it to the book to explain which illnesses.

Some of my favorite parts/quotes from the book:

- The Germ Theory of Disease. That our diseases are the result of being infected with a specific species of germ, which should then be eliminated. This approach was soundly criticized back in 1923 for its lack of awareness about the system. A repeat of the linear/reductionist thinking (simpler) versus holistic or systems thinking (harder).

- Dr. David Topping (CSIRO - Australia): "The Interaction between microflora, particularly their products and their substrate, holds immense potential for the management and prevention of serious diseases, colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, perhaps even conditions like Alzheimers, autism, and Parkinson's.

- Belgian Nobel laureate Maurice Maeterlinck: "At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men assigned to guard the past.