Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome

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Kinross specialises in the detection of colon cancer and benign conditions of the gut. In his 18-year career, he has researched gut microbiome extensively and is the author of Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome. He has learned that “lifestyle is overwhelmingly important for the gut”. As someone with a PhD in Biotechnology, I can confidently say that "Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome" by James Kinross is a fantastic read that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in health and well-being. Everything we’re doing now is scratching the surface,” says Spector. “We are maybe 10% of the way there, because every week, we’re discovering something new. Humans want an easy answer [to improve our gut health], but you shouldn’t take anyone seriously who doesn’t say it’s complicated,” he says. “There’s a massive industry that needs a simple message to sell its products. They want to say all you’ve got to do is eat this bar, this yoghurt or this protein drink.” Spector’s 30-year-long study of 15,000 twins, TwinsUK, and his PREDICT studies have shown that even genetically identical people respond to the same foods very differently (our microbiomes are so variable that twins share only 30% of the same gut microbes). By feeding participants the same meals on different days, he was able to show that responses to the same meals also vary hugely between individuals, influenced by both the microbiome and genetics. This matters, says the ZOE team, because our response to food is linked to our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, but also because it blows apart the tired and useless mantra “calories in, calories out”, which doesn’t make sense in a world where two people’s blood glucose levels can be hugely different after eating the same slice of cake.

Dark Matter: 9780241543979 - AbeBooks Dark Matter: 9780241543979 - AbeBooks

A very small Italian study using a similar commercial probiotic, Sivomixx, piqued his interest after it suggested acute Covid patients treated with it might be less likely to end up in ICU or to die, and eight times less likely to suffer respiratory failure. Bjarnason is hoping to start a larger study in the next few months. Tumeric, ginger, and other species are recommended but they’re not a panacea for a healthy gut,” says Dr Kinross. “We have to be quite careful when we’re talking about this. If you’re putting turmeric on fatty sausages, it’s not going to make any difference. Spices have to be part of a bigger nutritional strategy.” Don’t overuse antibiotics 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 What I particularly loved about this book is its strong scientific foundation. Kinross, a world-leading microbiome scientist and surgeon, offers a wealth of relevant insights drawn from his personal experience and over two decades in the field. The book serves as a much-needed, up-to-date summary of what is going on in this rapidly developing area of study.

Myths about antibiotics debunked - from how long to take them for to impact on your gut health

The “gut microbiome” is the name we have used to describe not only the wildly diverse collection of microbes that live there, but also what happens when they interact with each other and with our bodies. In other words, it’s an ecosystem made up of trillions of microbial life forms going about their business inside us, as we go about ours. Yet it is only now, as we are beginning to discover the microbiome's enormous potential, that we are realising it is in grave danger, being irrevocably destroyed through the globalisation of our diets, the war on bugs and the industrialised world. In this mindblowing book, scientist and surgeon James Kinross explains how the organisms that live within us have helped us evolve, shaped our biology and defined the success of our species. But just as we have discovered this delicate and complex ecosystem within us, it is being irrevocably destroyed through antibiotic addition, industrial food production, the globalisation of our diets and lifestyles, and the destruction of our environment.

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A spellbinding explanation of microbiology that will help you get to the bottom of health and happiness John Vincent, Co-Founder of Leon If you're a young parent, this book is particularly crucial for you. The gut microbiome plays a significant role in the health of young children, and Kinross provides actionable insights on what can be done to ensure better health for our children in the future. While an FMT might be a new idea to many of us today, the medical practice of faecal transplant is ancient, and it has been drunk as “yellow soup” since the 4th century AD for the treatment of infective diarrhoea. In 1958 an innovative surgeon, Dr Ben Eiseman, administered faecal enemas to his patients in Denver, Colorado, with severe and recurrent C diff infections. It was remarkably effective, but like all important medical discoveries, this intervention was largely ignored at the time of its first report. Engaging ... [ Dark Matter] stands out in revealing the microbiome through the eyes of a clinician who sees each patient not just as a human, but as a human entwined with a complex, dynamic ecosystem New Scientist 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.If you want to learn more about what’s going on in your gut, the first step is to turn your poo blue. How long it takes for a muffin dyed with blue food colouring to pass through your system is a measure of your gut health: the median is 28.7 hours; longer transit times suggest your gut isn’t as healthy as it could be. We are only now beginning to understand the importance of the gut microbiome: could this be the start of a golden age for gut-health science? In 2023, looking after the gut has become a popular pastime for the health-conscious. And for good reason. According to Cancer Research, Bowel cancer is now the fourth most common cancer in the UK, yet 54 per cent of cases are preventable. Eat fermented foods Tim Spector favours kombucha, kefir and kimchi, as well as unpasteurised cheeses