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.

“’You are what you eat’ is something we have all heard. But the more we learn about the connections between our diet and our health and more recently, between our gut and our brain, the more this adage is known to be true. In Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain, Dr. Partha Nandi provides a deeply personal and highly engaging “how to” book on living healthfully and the rapidly evolving science of brain health. Dr. Nandi tackles the complexity of the intersection of our mind, spirit, and body with a formula and recipes that bring his expertly informed philosophy to your daily life and straight to your dining table. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in doing more than just learning about the biological gut-brain axis, but who wants to translate the science into meaningful change in their life and for their future.” –David T. Rubin, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Chief, Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at University of Chicago“Dr. Partha Nandi's Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain articulates a notion that is becoming increasingly clear – the gut is the center of the human universe. Both disease and health emanate from our GI tract! In this book, Dr. Nandi has created a field guide for anyone interested in the bidirectional relationship between the gut and the brain in health and disease.” –William D. Chey, M.D., F.A.C.G., A.G.A.F., F.A.C.P., R.F.F., H. Marvin Pollard Professor of Gastroenterology, Professor of Nutrition Sciences, Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology at Michigan Medicine

• CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONSearching for AnswersBeyond Nutrition: The Five PillarsLiving as a Health HeroSimple and Effective Solutions  1 WHAT HAPPENS IN THE GUT DOES NOT NECESSARILY STAY IN THE GUTIt Takes Guts to SurviveMicrobes: Earth’s First CommunicatorsThe Gut-Brain Axis: Your Personal Fiber-Optic CableThe Microbiome: A World unto ItselfThe Gastrointestinal Barrier: The Body’s Border ControlChange Your Microbiome, Change Your HealthChronic Inflammation: An Immune Response Gone WrongLeaky Gut SyndromeNeurodegeneration and Cognitive DeclineGut Attack  2 GUT HEALTH: A STATE OF DIS-EASERaising a Red Flag in Our BrainMechanisms and Factors of Poor Gut HealthCarbohydrates and SugarsNot All Fats Are Created EqualFood or Poison?Beyond Food: Antibiotics and Other MedicationsThe Five Pillars That Affect Gut HealthDrawing Conclusions3 HOW TO CHANGE YOUR GUT HEALTHHow to Make Gut Health a PriorityStop Being So SADExercise and Gut HealthYou Are Not Your GenesAging and ChangeIf You Do Only One Thing to Improve Gut Health . . .  4 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO STROKEWhat Is a Stroke?Causes of a StrokeSurprising Factors Contributing to Stroke (That Your Doctor Might Not Mention)InflammationMicrobiome Research and Stroke RecoveryOur “Second Brain”  5 CHANGING THE COURSE OF STROKEUsing ProbioticsTargeting Inflammatory Gut Cells to Support the MicrobiomeEating to Prevent StrokeMagnesium and StrokeThe Future: Zonulin and MoreMind-Body Practices and Decreasing CortisolThe Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Stroke6 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASEWhat Is Alzheimer’s Disease?How Does Alzheimer’s Start?The “Alzheimer’s Gene ”Alzheimer’s Genes and the GutDiabetes, Insulin Resistance, and ObesityDiabetes, Insulin Resistance, Obesity . . . and Gut HealthHeart Disease: What Your Doctor May Not Tell YouHeart Disease and Gut HealthMicrobiome Research and Alzheimer’s  7 CHANGING THE COURSE OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASEThe Alzheimer’s GutFrom India to Italy: Reversing Inflammation with NutritionThe Mediterranean DietSupplementsIntermittent FastingWhy Fasting Seems to Work: LysosomesThe Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Alzheimer’s Disease  8 HOW GUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTES TO PARKINSON’S DISEASEWhat Is Parkinson’s Disease?Understanding Lewy BodiesThe Gut-First HypothesisPeople with Parkinson’s Are Prone to Constipation (and Possibly Vice Versa)Dietary FactorsThe Bidirectional Approach  9 CHANGING THE COURSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASELewy Bodies and Gut IntegrityWhat Starts in the Gut Ends Up in the Brain (and Beyond)Prebiotics, Probiotics, and PostbioticsCoffee, Tea, and ConstipationMeat, Dairy, and Parkinson’s DiseaseThe Glymphatic System and Sleeping on the SideThe Five Pillars and Changing the Course of Parkinson’s Disease  THE RECIPES 10 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF STROKEBanana Ginger SmoothieRed Cabbage and Spinach SaladButternut Tikka MasalaLentil Stew with Spinach and Potatoes  11 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASEBrain-Boosting Fish FilletsCoconut Curry ChickenDr. Nandi’s Berry Delicious SaladAlmond Nutmeg Cookies  12 RECIPES TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASEIndian Lentil SoupChicken and Watercress WrapDr. Nandi’s No-Cook Pumpkin OatmealBean Salad  AfterwordGlossaryAcknowledgmentsNotesIndexAbout the Author