Meet Your Bacteria: The Hidden Communities that Live in Your Gut and Other Organs

by Catherine Whitlock, Nicola Temple, Glenn Gibson (Foreword by)

Overview

A fascinating examination of the three pounds of bacteria living in a typical human being.

We are a society obsessed with cleanliness — but is this a healthy obsession? Do we use antibacterial products correctly? Should my child wash her hands after playing in the park? Why does my doctor insist that I finish the bottle of antibiotics even though I feel better? What is Lactobacillus? And superbugs?

The human body plays host to trillions of bugs — living microorganisms too tiny to see — including our own personal, unique set of bacteria. We're only just beginning to understand the important role these bacteria play in human health.

This highly topical and accessible book covers bacteria from all angles and includes:

• The different bacteria that live on and in various parts of your body (not just in the gut)
• What these bacteria do, and why some are beneficial and some harmful
• Practical advice for promoting the good and inhibiting the bad bacteria
• The latest thinking on "clean" environments and the links between bacteria and disease
• Bacteria in pregnancy and birth and how children's bacteria set them up for life
• The causes of an unhealthy gut, including travel, eating a different diet, prolonged stress, intestinal parasites and improper use or overuse of antibiotics
• The current research, including fecal transplantation from a healthy person's gut flora to that of an unhealthy gut
• The difference between prebiotics and probiotics and their health benefits, and much more.

Advertisers insist that bacteria are bad. Are they? Meet Your Bacteria has the answers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780228101260
Publisher:	Firefly Books, Limited
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	652,469
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Catherine Whitlock is a science writer with a BSc in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Immunology. She writes on science, medicine and nature and is based in Kent, England. She is the co-author of Meet Your Hormones with Nicola Temple.

Nicola Temple worked as a conservation biologist before becoming a full-time writer specializing in science and the environment. She has an MSc in Biological Sciences and lives in Bristol, England.

Professor John Wass is the Professor of Endocrinology at Oxford University and was the head of the Department of Endocrinology at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Churchill Hospital Oxford, UK, until 2011. He is currently the Clinical Reference Group Chair for Endocrinology in the UK.

Editorial Reviews

Exceptionally well written, illustrated, organized and presented... An extraordinary and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Health and Medicine collections for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.

Midwest Book Review

An accessible, colorful discussion of bacteria that presumes no prior medical or health knowledge, and adopts a lively format to impart the basics of microorganisms. High school students to adult audiences receive a basic primer that discusses bacteria, physiological environments for microbes, and profiles the many important families of bacteria in the human body. Even more revealing is the latest research and discoveries in vaccines, antibiotics, and resistant forms of bacteria which provide tips to improving personal health through a better understanding of microbes and how they work. This colorful primer lends to easy understanding using a lively format that reviews the latest scientific and health discoveries surrounding bacteria and bodily functions.

Donovan's Literary Services - Diane Donovan

An excellent and easy-to-digest (pun intended) introduction to all things bacteria and health!

Twitter - Rebecca M

(review of UK edition) Meet Your Bacteria falls somewhere between a textbook and a general reading book, containing a good depth of information along with lots of illustrations and surprising facts... I would recommend this book for the general reader who wishes to know more about the human biome and how to keep healthy. While aimed at adults, the layout and illustrations will make the book appealing to teenagers and it would make useful background reading for those studying GCSE and A-level biology to stimulate an interest in this important area.

School Science Review - Sarah Wood

This straightforward and accessible book starts with a general introduction to bacteria and the human immune system. This is followed by a section that offers a more in-depth look at the interaction of the human microbiome and various human organs and systems (skin, eye, mouth, lungs, gut, urogenital system, and a section on pregnancy). This part of the book also profiles specific bacteria, covering what the bacteria is, where it resides, how it functions, its history, and case notes. The final chapter offers suggestions for readers on how they might encourage the good bacteria and discourage the bad. Concluding with a glossary, an index, and a list of suggestions for further reading, this title offers a sound introduction to the human microbiome.

Booklist - Maren Ostergard