‘Gut’ by Giulia Enders

I love learning about the human body and the field of medicine. The human body is amazing. As I was reading this book, the phrase “fearfully and wonderfully made” kept cropping up in my mind. Enders has written a fascinating guide to the lowly digestive system–an undervalued miracle of an organ that may be hidden from view and kept from polite dinner conversation, but hugely affects our health and well-being.

Every morning just before we run for the bus/metro or hop into our cars, we gobble down our toast and tea, breakfast cereal, or coffee and croissant, and never give another thought to the fact that our insides have gone to work as well. Enders presents a lively look at the gut for the layperson. She tackles the topic with good humour and sound medical knowledge–always a winning combination when discussing things like bacteria, stool formation, and passing gas. Whimsical illustrations by her sister Jill, are instructive for ‘digesting’ the information. In addition to describing how the system all works, she also presents a case for close links between the gut and the brain which I found particularly interesting. The phrase ‘gut reaction’ may be more accurate than we ever realized!