Prof Hansbro says that microbiota are the ‘distinct communities of microorganism that jostle for space in our bodies. When we talk specifically about the community of microbes and genes that they produce, we then use the term microbiome.’

This is a fascinating subject and made me really think about the microbes that are all over my body. As they say, ‘in every nook and cranny’. Of course, this includes in my gut. Hansbro tells us that historically microbiome were seen as bad. Now we view them through a new lens. We understand they are critical for our health.

The Good Gut Anti-Inflammatory Diet is a practical book, explaining the functions of inflammation and microbiome. How they influence each other and how our diet and lifestyle impacts on them. It also explores what are the best foods to eat to support a healthy gut, and why, with recipes in the back of the book that you can use as a handy meal planner.

There has been a number of books published about the gut over the last few years and this is a very welcome addition. Produced by the Centenary Institute, an Australian medical research institute located at the University of Sydney, it’s up to date and very informative. It’s also written in an accessible style which means that its aim of helping us live a longer, happier and healthy life feels quite achievable.

Reviewed by Adele Westman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Professor Phil Hansbro is an internationally recognised research leader in the study of respiratory diseases. This includes asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease (COPD, aka emphysema) and infections and is developing interests in lung cancer. His work is substantially contributing to understanding the pathogenesis and developing new therapies for these diseases.

His work has made internationally important contributions and led to the identification of novel avenues for therapy that are under further study. This is achieved through the development of novel mouse models. These recapitulate the hallmark features of human disease, including infections, asthma and COPD and now lung cancer.

He employs these models in integrated approaches to understand human diseases, and to develop new treatment strategies. Research outcomes have a translational goal and his studies are conducted in parallel with collaborative human studies with clinical researchers.