Informative and Interesting

Going through what happens in the gut, gut health, definitions of what a stroke/Alzheimer’s disease/Parkinson’s disease are; how they start/ foods that have been found to be an issue for these diseases; helpful foods to avoid in order to hopefully avoid getting these diagnosis and ways to change your gut health to again, hopefully get a healthier outlook or potentially improve your recent diagnosis. Complete with, examples of patients who’s been helped; recipes’ to help change the course of these diseases; personal experience with Dr Nandi’s father.

An interesting and informative reader friendly book on the second brain, a book where I feel you’d need to refer back to whilst endeavouring to get that right food balance to aid a good and healthy lifestyle. A definite should read.

This was a very informative and reader friendly book in terms of discussing the brain and gut discussion (especially related to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and strokes).

The author is clear that these links are complex but at times it felt a little bit oversimplified (eat these foods, do these things).

Overall, worth reading and trying the recommended whole colorful foods.

Thank you NetGalley and Mayo Clinic Press for my advanced copy.

Heal Your Gut, Save your Brain does a fantastic job of explaining why a healthy gut is so important, but it also gives you the tools to make changes to your health. The Parkinson chapters were really illuminating as someone with a family history of the disease. I can’t wait to try the recipes!

I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out in print.

Incredibly approachable, I found the book to provide a bunch of great context around the most common gaps in health as people tend to age. I really loved the inclusion of the recipes and the interspersed stories about the author’s late father.

I really enjoyed this book. It provides lots of great tips, especially for people new to eating healthy. If you are familiar with books on health, diet and lifestyle, there are still some interesting points. The author is a doctor, and shares his experiences with patients, as well as observations on his own parent's decline in health and subsequent uptick after a lifestyle change.

The book focuses on Five Pillars, here's a mini summary:
1 nutrition -- eat healthy and mindfully, not too much of anything
2 movement -- make it part of your life, a daily walk is often enough
3 purpose -- having a purposeful life helps the brain
4 community -- wider networks when young and old, and a few deep and meaningful bonds when middle-aged
5 spirituality -- it can be religion or even nature

The author goes into details such as how we can still change despite our genes; how medications that slow GI motility cause disease; how working ten-hour days increases the risk of stroke tremendously. He gives suggestions of types of foods to eat, and which exercises could help with certain conditions.

I found some recommendations hard to follow, such as "Do not eat out more than once a week" and "Consume organic, non-GMO foods as often as possible". The reader needs to be fortunate to have enough time, good health, or the money to have a helper to cook meals at home, or afford the exorbitant prices of organic food.

Now, if only it were easier to convince friends and family of adopting a healthy lifestyle (:

As a sufferer of various gastro afflictions including Barretts Oesophagus and GERD etc, I found this book to be very interesting, particularly in areas regarding leaky gut. Although a lifelong member of the PPI club, I am trying to help myself naturally too. Having a gastroenterologist as the author is particularly beneficial to me. There are a lot of ideas in here and I will reread the book to get the best out of it and apply to my own life and illness.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. It has good info on how the brain and gut go hand in hand. Also great tips on how to stave off Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. I like that there are recipes included in the book. There are several I’m wanting to try.

Heal your Gut, Save your Brain by Dr Partha Nandi

What I found most interesting about the premise of this gut health book was that it is written by a gastroenterologist. While most gastroenterologists I have seen, have mentioned nutrition in passing and are interested in the research going on. Few are putting it into practice which is a sentiment highlighted by Dr Nandi.

Dr Nandi pulls the research and his experience and divides it into 5 pillars of health. Nutrition, Movement, Purpose Community and Spirituality. The holistic approach taken is music to the health psychologist in me.

Bit of background context I do have a PhD in Health Psychology and have spent over 10 years reading academic journals and even I will say the advice and science can be overwhelming and conflicting at times. So I can’t imagine how hard it is for the everyday person who isn’t used to academic journals. Enter Dr Partha Nandi, gastroenterologist for the people, to help explain current research and how to look at making positive changes to your gut-brain axis everyday, in an easily digestible format (pun intended). Basic science understanding is probably helpful as Dr Nandi does go into the why and how of cell communication for example but always trying to help the reader understand what this means. With a focus on trying to prevent 3 major neurological disorders stroke, parkinson’s and alzheimer’s as well as just general holistic views to good health and improvements to gut health. This really was a fascinating read that I will have to reflect on what changes I can make.

Thank you @netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review

"Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain" by Dr. Partha Nandi is a very interesting and informative guide that focuses on the biology of the gut, the understanding of the gut/brain axis, and how they communicate and influence each other. Its main highlight is the role that the microbiome in the gut plays in the health of your gut and how this can influence diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and stroke.

What makes this book unique is its practical, holistic approach. Dr. Nandi stresses the importance of factors such as pre and post biotics, and includes a practical guide to improve your food quality intake in order to improve your gut microbiome. This book doesn't just inform, it equips you with the tools to make a real difference in your health.

Dr. Nandi's book is a wake-up call to the damage that processed flour, dairy, sugars, salts and fats can do to your microbiome. It's a reminder of the urgent need to take control of your health and make positive changes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mayo Clinic Press for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Everybody needs to read this book! It covers the current research about how your gut micro biome and the state of your gut can influence chronic illness such as stroke and heart disease.

It was mind blowing to find out how huge of a role it is suspected that the gut plays and the links between poor gut health and higher incidences of disease across the board.

This felt like such a personal read whilst still being factual and incredibly digestible. It felt like such a thorough walk through the research with patient based examples to help root the research in real life.

With every shocking and eye opening piece of research, this book cleverly countered it with practical ways to improve your intake of pre and post biotics which leaves the reader feeling informed but still empowered.

I wish this book was a bit longer and explored the five pillars a little bit more because the main focus was diet. However, such an important read and wonderfully written, so I can’t fault it!

I almost gave up on this when it started talking about "The Dr Nandi Plan" from the Mayo Clinic: I immediately got red flags about fad diets and hokey wellness programs aimed at people who get their medical advice from WebMD. But I persevered, and was glad I did.

Nandi explains how gut health affects your brain, in just enough detail to satisfy my scientific curiosity. He never gets overly complex, but at the same, he avoids making it feel like he's dumbing down the complexities of gastroenterology. (Obviously, he simplifies a lot, but it doesn't feel that way - an important distinction.) He shows how your gut affects your risk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, and other serious conditions, and then dives into the specific dietary issues that can affect it. He also explains how aging affects your digestive system, and why you need to change your diet as you get older.

He doesn't just talk about diet, though. He stresses the importance of factors such as community, spirituality, exercise and purpose. The science is sound: our state of mind plays a huge part in our physical health as well as our mental health. If you're isolated, sedentary, cynical and bored, you're likely to be in poor health, even if you eat well.

Nandi doesn't come across as preachy, which is a relief. Yes, he'll tell you in no uncertain terms about the damage that processed flour, dairy, sugars, salts and fats can do to you (which hit hard, as I was eating a cream doughnut at the time), and he recommends healthy foods, but he doesn't make you feel bad for not eating a good diet. He also stresses that everyone's microbiome is different, so there's no such thing as a perfect diet that suits everyone. It almost felt ayurvedic in its approach, especially as it stresses traditional Indian ingredients like turmeric.

Overall, it's quite an uplifting book. Nandi points out that his techniques - the aforesaid Nandi Plan - can have a significant effect on not only minimizing the risks but also reducing the effects of neurodegenerative diseases. Simply by changing the way you eat and making lifestyle changes, you can massively improve your long-term quality of life.

My one negative comment is that the recipes at the end felt a little out of place. They're all relevant, but there weren't enough of them to build a proper eating plan around. I would have preferred it if this book had focused on the science behind the gut/brain relationship, and the recipes had gone into a companion volume.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance review copy from the publisher.

I found the book Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain to be full of really interesting information. The topic of how gut health affects your whole body is gaining a lot of momentum, but this was the first book I read connecting it directly to brain health. The information was presented in an easy to read format, with many good ideas of what the average person can do to enhance gut health.

Dr. Partha Nandi centers her book around five pillars of health: nutrition, movement,, community, spirituality, and purpose align with many of the ideas we've heard about living a long and healthy life. It seems involvement with life is as important as what you eat, or at least to some degree. My husband and I are both in our upper sixties so we do worry about mental decline and want to do whatever we can to prevent it. We notice how healthy eating makes up physically feel better, and it's not surprising that this is also good for the brain.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in their overall health, especially as they age.

Thank you to NetGalley, Partha Nandi, MD, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked how this book gave practical advice on how to improve your health, whilst combining it with clear scientific studies. Some of the information has no doubt been read before if you're into health/wellbeing books, however, it's always good to have information presented in different ways so that you can continually learn.

The book is very good for my patients' Alzhaimer because it shows the importance of a good gut to get a good brain. In this book, there are little steps to change the way of the disease. This book shows how to change the course of the stroke and Parkinson disease. As a psychiatrist I can recommend to my patients to read this magnificent title. Thanks a lot to Netgalley for the opportunity I'd have read this magnificent book.

This was a comprehensive and accessible book that gave simple and actionable advice for healing your gut!

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to become healthier and reverse the effects of bad diet but don't know where to start!

I can wait to put what I learnt into practise.

This is a great book with accessible information about how to use nutrition and other health changes to prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and stroke. The focus is on a healthy gut but I was surprised at all the ways to keep the gut (and therefore brain) healthy besides just fermented foods, such as movement, fresh produce, avoiding pesticides and chemicals, spirituality, intermittent fasting, and even sleeping on your left side. Everything is backed up with studies and also case histories of patients the author helped.

I read a digital copy of this book for review.

I love how the author breaks down cognitive and gut health information in this book, because it made it easy to read and understand and also offered daily things I could do to improve my gut health and who knew that it was also connected to my brain?
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

This is a fantastic read that delves into the fascinating connection between our gut and brain. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because it offers a wealth of information in an easy-to-understand way, making it accessible for both beginners and those more familiar with gut health. The book provides practical steps to improve brain function and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases through better gut health. I especially appreciated the sections on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as the recipes included.

Cognitive decline is not your destiny. You can improve your brain function through small steps taken every day. Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain, by gastroenterologist and health advocate Dr. Partha Nandi, highlights the latest research on the gut-brain connection and gives you a clear protocol for maintaining brain health and slowing or reducing the effects of neurodegenerative diseases as you age.

I found Heal Your Gut, Save your Brain to be a full-spectrum, comprehensive resource around basic gut health and its relationship with the whole body. I feel this book would be accessible to those just starting out along with those further down the road researching gut health. Being of the latter, I especially appreciated the sections on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. I also really enjoyed the recipes! This book is a solid resource for those wanting to improve their overall health by focusing on the gut biome.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.