Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

William Davis

Feb 2022 · Sold by Hachette Go

About this ebook

The bestselling author of the Wheat Belly books brings his next big, game-changing idea—how the human microbiome is evolving, and potentially wrecking, our health, and how we can fix it.

Because of our highly processed diet, pesticides, and overuse of antibiotics, our guts are now missing so many of the good bacteria that we require to be healthy. As a result, many of us have lost control over our health, weight, mood, and even behavior.

The ancient bacteria that keep our digestion moving have been dying, replaced by harmful microbes that don’t keep us physically and mentally fit. With cutting-edge research, Dr. Davis connects the dots between gut health and modern ailments. There are entire species of microbes that have disappeared, which creates health issues that were uncommon one hundred, or even fifty, years ago. The result is SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), a silent and profound epidemic, which affects one out of three people and is responsible for an astounding range of human health conditions.

Super Gut shows us how to eliminate bad bacteria and bring back the “good” bacteria with a four-week plan to reprogram your microbiome. This not only gets to the root of many diseases, but also improves levels of oxytocin (the bonding/happy hormone), brain health, anti-aging, weight loss, mental clarity, and restful sleep. Also included are more than forty recipes, a diet plan, and resources so you can pinpoint your gut issues, correct them, and maintain your long-term health and well-being.

Ratings and reviews

In Super Gut, Dr. William Davis (of Wheat Belly fame) offers an interesting discussion of gut dysbiosis, including small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and small intestinal fungal overgrowth (SIFO). He writes in a lively manner that is easy to understand, although I thought the text was needlessly repetitive. I appreciated all of the peer-reviewed studies he cites, although I think he overstates his case at times. He presents a four-week plan to heal your gut, as well as protocols to eliminate SIBO, SIFO, and H. pylori. He recommends a low-carb/high-fat (ketogenic) diet, which I don’t think is safe for everyone, so you should probably check with your personal doctor before attempting this program. The book includes over 40 recipes, including yogurts made from specific strains of bacteria chosen for specific health benefits, other ferments, beverages, main dishes, and desserts. I haven’t had the chance to try any of his yogurts yet, but I am very curious to try them. I did try the Clove Green Tea, Matcha Strawberry Key Lime Smoothie, Yakisoba Noodles, and One-Minute Strawberry Ice Cream, which were all delicious. There are no photographs accompanying the recipes (at least not in the ARC I received), and no nutrition information is provided, which is frustrating if you are trying to track your carbs. TIP: I use a nutrition tracking app called Cronometer that gives me good estimates of carbohydrates and other nutritional content of my meals and beverages—it makes life much easier! The back matter includes resources, healing protocols, and references. While I’m not sold on all of Dr. Davis’s recommendations, I do think this book is a valuable contribution to the literature on gut health, and it’s worth checking out if you would like to improve your health. I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

About the author

William Davis, M.D. is a renowned preventive cardiologist and author of the groundbreaking #1 New York Times bestseller Wheat Belly, three other New York Times bestsellers: Wheat Belly Cookbook, Wheat Belly 30-Minutes (or Less!) Cookbook, and Wheat Belly Total Health, and several other books including Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox and Undoctored.

​He is a graduate of the St. Louis University School of Medicine, with training in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, and advanced training in angioplasty at the Case Western Reserve University Hospitals where he also served as Director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship and Assistant Professor of Medicine. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.