Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome

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A fountain of knowledge and sense in an overwhelming world of science Rhiannon Lambert, Registered Nutritionist and Sunday Times Bestselling Author

Dark Matter by James Kinross | Goodreads Dark Matter by James Kinross | Goodreads

We eat a lot of fermented foods in our house,” says Dr Kinross, who lives in London with his wife and two children. “We have a lot of kimchi and sourdough. We try to have a meal every day with some form of fermented food. Again, this is the whole microbiome argument. It improves the richness and diversity of the gut. We really like to do that.” Do eat 30 different fruits and vegetables a week Ray was readmitted to St Mary’s critically unwell and was soon diagnosed with Clostridium difficile (C diff) infection (officially, this bacteria has now been renamed Clostridiodes). A “hospital-acquired infection”, this disease is a complication of 20th-century medicine and an unintended consequence of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, the first effective mass-produced antibiotic, in 1928. It is a global problem that afflicts 500,000 people in the United States each year and it kills 29,000 of them.It’s also becoming clear that samples from some donors are much more effective than those from others. These are known as “super donors” and their faeces seems to contain a magical ingredient that makes it particularly effective. But we don’t understand why this happens, or whose poo will be most effective.

Dark Matter by James Kinross | Waterstones

Lifestyle First Person I bought a house on a flood plain - don't make the same mistake as me Read More Don’t eat and drink alone There are lots of confusing pieces of dietary advice for people as to what to eat,” says Dr Kinross. “Of course, it needs to be tailored a little bit depending on your health and your goal but generally, you’ve got to put more fibre into the gut. That’s the key message from me.” A fountain of knowledge and sense in an overwhelming world of science. * Rhiannon Lambert, Registered Nutritionist and Sunday Times Bestselling Author * I've long been interested in the microbiome, and have been eagerly awaiting a book that might uncover some of its mysteries. This is that book Heston Blumenthal We are a nation that is essentially drunk all the time,” says Dr Kinross. “We consume way too much alcohol. The consumption of alcohol over a chronic period of time is so bad for gut function.”

The logistics of preparing an FMT should not be underestimated. Faecal donors have to be found – harder than you might think. Most of us are squeamish about pooing in pots, and we struggle to do it on demand. Some studies use friends and families, others use members of staff, volunteers or “pooled” samples taken from lots of donors mixed together. The human microbiome has a big influence on our health and yet, rather like dark matter in cosmology, its story is still unfolding, says a tantalising book covering the future of medicine from James Kinross