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

Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome, a practical guide in the tradition of Wheat Belly and Grain Brain that conclusively demonstrates the inextricable, biological link between mind and body. We have all experienced the connection between our mind and our gut—the decision we made because it “felt right”; the butterflies in our stomach before a big meeting; the anxious stomach rumbling when we’re stressed out. While the dialogue between the gut and the brain has been recognized by ancient healing traditions, including Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, Western medicine has failed to appreciate the complexity of how the brain, gut, and more recently, the microbiome—the microorganisms that live inside us—communicate with one another. In The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emeran Mayer, executive director of the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress, offers a revolutionary look at this developing science, teaching us how to harness the power of the mind-gut connection to take charge of our health. The Mind-Gut Connection shows how to keep the brain-gut communication clear and balanced to: • heal the gut by focusing on a plant-based diet • balance the microbiome by consuming fermented foods and probiotics, fasting, and cutting out sugar and processed foods • promote weight loss by detoxifying and creating healthy digestion and maximum nutrient absorption • boost immunity and prevent the onset of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s • generate a happier mindset and reduce fatigue, moodiness, anxiety, and depression • prevent and heal GI disorders such as leaky gut syndrome, food sensitivities and allergies, and IBS, as well as digestive discomfort such as heartburn and bloating EMERAN A. MAYER, MD, has studied brain body interactions for the last forty years, with a particular emphasis on brain-gut interactions. He is the executive director of the Oppenheimer Center for Stress and Resilience and the codirector of the Digestive Diseases Research Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health for the past twenty-five years, and he is considered a pioneer and world leader in the areas of brain-gut microbiome interactions and chronic visceral pain. He has appeared on National Public Radio (NPR), on PBS, and in the documentary In Search of Balance. His work has been written about in the Atlantic, Scientific American, the New York Times, the Guardian, among other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.