Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain

PARTHA NANDI, M.D., F.A.C.P., is a gastroenterologist, clinical associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University and president and chief medical officer of Pinnacle GI Partners. He is a best-selling author, international health advocate, keynote speaker, and media expert whose no-nonsense approach to health and wellness combines Eastern and Western techniques and philosophies. He is also the host of the Emmy award–winning Dr. Nandi Show, with millions of viewers worldwide, the chief health editor at WXYZ ABC Detroit, and the best-selling author of two books. Dr. Nandi practices medicine full-time in Michigan, where he lives with his wife and children.  

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Searching for Answers
Beyond Nutrition: The Five Pillars
Living as a Health Hero
Simple and Effective Solutions
 
1 WHAT HAPPENS IN THE GUT DOES NOT NECESSARILY STAY IN THE GUT
It Takes Guts to Survive
Microbes: Earth’s First Communicators
The Gut-Brain Axis: Your Personal Fiber-Optic Cable
The Microbiome: A World unto Itself
The Gastrointestinal Barrier: The Body’s Border Control
Change Your Microbiome, Change Your Health
Chronic Inflammation: An Immune Response Gone Wrong
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Decline
Gut Attack
 
2 GUT HEALTH: A STATE OF DIS-EASE
Raising a Red Flag in Our Brain
Mechanisms and Factors of Poor Gut Health
Carbohydrates and Sugars
Not All Fats Are Created Equal
Food or Poison?
Beyond Food: Antibiotics and Other Medications
The Five Pillars That Affect Gut Health
Drawing Conclusions

3 HOW TO CHANGE YOUR GUT HEALTH
How to Make Gut Health a Priority
Stop Being So SAD
Exercise and Gut Health
You Are Not Your Genes
Aging and Change
If You Do Only One Thing to Improve Gut Health . . .
 
4 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO STROKE
What Is a Stroke?
Causes of a Stroke
Surprising Factors Contributing to Stroke (That Your Doctor Might Not Mention)
Inflammation
Microbiome Research and Stroke Recovery
Our “Second Brain”
 
5 CHANGING THE COURSE OF STROKE
Using Probiotics
Targeting Inflammatory Gut Cells to Support the Microbiome
Eating to Prevent Stroke
Magnesium and Stroke
The Future: Zonulin and More
Mind-Body Practices and Decreasing Cortisol
The Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Stroke

6 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
How Does Alzheimer’s Start?
The “Alzheimer’s Gene ”
Alzheimer’s Genes and the Gut
Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, and Obesity
Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Obesity . . . and Gut Health
Heart Disease: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You
Heart Disease and Gut Health
Microbiome Research and Alzheimer’s
 
7 CHANGING THE COURSE OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
The Alzheimer’s Gut
From India to Italy: Reversing Inflammation with Nutrition
The Mediterranean Diet
Supplements
Intermittent Fasting
Why Fasting Seems to Work: Lysosomes
The Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Alzheimer’s Disease
 
8 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO PARKINSON’S DISEASE
What Is Parkinson’s Disease?
Understanding Lewy Bodies
The Gut-First Hypothesis
People with Parkinson’s Are Prone to Constipation (and Possibly Vice Versa)
Dietary Factors
The Bidirectional Approach
 
9 CHANGING THE COURSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Lewy Bodies and Gut Integrity
What Starts in the Gut Ends Up in the Brain (and Beyond)
Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Postbiotics
Coffee, Tea, and Constipation
Meat, Dairy, and Parkinson’s Disease
The Glymphatic System and Sleeping on the Side
The Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Parkinson’s Disease
 
THE RECIPES
10 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF STROKE
Banana Ginger Smoothie
Red Cabbage and Spinach Salad
Butternut Tikka Masala
Lentil Stew with Spinach and Potatoes
 
11 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Brain-Boosting Fish Fillets
Coconut Curry Chicken
Dr. Nandi’s Berry Delicious Salad
Almond Nutmeg Cookies
 
12 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Indian Lentil Soup
Chicken and Watercress Wrap
Dr. Nandi’s No-Cook Pumpkin Oatmeal
Bean Salad
 
Afterword
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the Author