GUT DRIVEN

Gut health is good health in integrative health coach and chef Postolowski’s nutritional wellness guide.

The author’s nutritional plan, spelled out in this book, seeks to get at the root cause of all sorts of common symptoms, from weight gain to mood swings to trouble sleeping: “You are only as healthy as the food you can digest,” says the author in her introduction, further asserting that gut health is related to balanced hormones, improved brain function, and better immune response; she offers citations to back up her statements from the National Institutes of Health and scientific journals, among other sources. Postolowski’s solution is a three-week program she calls “Reset 90/10,” which takes its name from the idea that consistent progress can be made in an area by doing it perfectly 90% of the time and imperfectly the remaining 10%. The author expounds on her theories that certain foods cause inflammation in the gut and that this can have a negative effect on all other parts of the body; she then outlines her three-week regimen for eliminating inflammatory foods, followed by a multiweek “maintenance” period of reintroducing items into the diet. By the end of the process, the gut should be “reset” and healing, she says, and readers should have valuable information regarding what to eat or avoid. Postolowski’s prose is precise and accessible, with familiar elements from the mindfulness movement sprinkled throughout: “Aim to be in a restorative parasympathetic state when you eat. This means eating while calm and stress-free. Emphasizing how vital the parasympathetic state is at mealtime means you’ll become more conscious as well.” The text is accompanied by several grayscale illustrations by Hart, mostly of foods, and most of the second half is made up of healthy recipes to try during the program. The author effectively explains her reasoning each step of the way, offering tips, warnings, and encouragement for the apprehensive reader.

A highly structured and well-presented dietary manual.