Chances are, at some point in your life you’ve noticed the connection between your brain and your gut. If you’ve ever felt queasy as you walked into an uncomfortable situation or based a life decision based on a “gut feeling,” then you know that sometimes our bodies react faster than our minds. Most of us have also experienced the same phenomenon in reverse, where our mental state has affected our digestive system—like the butterflies in our stomach before an important meeting or a first date. But while the dialogue between the mind and the gut has been recognized for centuries, scientists today are just starting to understand how powerful that connection is.

In The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emeran Mayer, executive director of the UCLA Oppenheimer Center for the Neurobiology of Stress, offers a cutting-edge view into this developing science, showing us the full impact of how the brain, gut, and microbiome—the community of microorganisms that live inside the digestive tract—communicate. As Dr. Mayer explains, when this communication channel is out of whack, major health problems can crop up, including food sensitivities and allergies, digestive disorders, obesity, depression, anxiety, and fatigue.

The Mind-Gut Connection teaches us how, with a few simple changes to our diet and lifestyle, we can enjoy a happier mindset, enhanced immunity, a decreased risk of developing neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and even lose weight. With a simple, practical regimen drawn from the latest research, Dr. Mayer shows us that paying attention to the mind-gut balance is the key to unlocking vibrant health.

Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome, a practical guide in the tradition of The Second Brain, and The Good Gut that conclusively demonstrates the inextricable, biological link between mind and the digestive system. We have all experienced the connection between our mind and our gut-the decision we made because it "felt right"; the butterflies in our stomach before a big meeting; the anxious stomach rumbling we get when we're stressed out. While the dialogue between the gut and the brain has been recognized by ancient healing traditions, including Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, Western medicine has by and large failed to appreciate the complexity of how the brain, gut, and more recently, the gut microbiota-the microorganisms that live inside our digestive tract-communicate with one another. In The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emeran Mayer, professor of medicine and executive director of the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress, offers a revolutionary and provocative look at this developing science, teaching us how to harness the power of the mind-gut connection to take charge of our health and listen to the innate wisdom of our bodies. The Mind-Gut Connection describes: * Why consuming a predominantly plant-based diet is key for gut and brain health * The importance of early childhood in gut-brain development, and what parents can do to help their children thrive The role of excessive stress and anxiety in GI ailments and cognitive disorders How to "listen to your gut" and pay attention to the signals your body is sending you * and much more.