The Probiotic Promise: Simple Steps to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out

by Michelle Schoffro Cook

While probiotics are known to be essential for digestive health, new research reveals that they can also improve a host of other conditions, from allergies to arthritis, depression to obesity. Probiotics have even been shown to inhibit cancer. By taking the right strains of live probiotic bacteria in the right quantities at the right time, you can transform your health and increase your body’s resistance to ailments and disease.

Unfortunately, there’s little knowledge of how best to use these micro-miracle workers. In this new book, Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook demonstrates the link between gastrointestinal health and overall well-being and explains how probiotics can be used to address a range of medical issues, including antibiotic-resistant superbugs. With tips on finding the best probiotics and recipes for naturally fermented foods, The Probiotic Miracle is a cutting-edge prescription for overall wellness.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

292 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2015

Reviews

[Am Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overview:

1) Most useful for me - a list of different probiotic strains (lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, etc) that tells you what functions they perform in your body. E.g. some of them actually help increase white blood cell production, some help digest lactose, some break down gluten, some alleviate allergy-related sinus/nasal issues and so on. I summarised the list here: https://allthis.info/post/18682046948...

2) The chapter on recipes, which makes up quite a chunky part of the book, was rather useless and a lot of them contained tons of sugar (in the form of fruit mainly, or nectars). The author also likes using dates as sweeteners, which I hate.

3) Tells you how to ferment your own foods. Not very useful or practical for busy working professionals who will never find the time/space to do that or the means to obtain the bacteria required for fermentation.

4) Explains what different fermented foods do. E.g. how miso can help with cancer, what sauerkraut does, etc.

5) Explains how probiotics can help with various ailments and diseases.

I abstained from giving this book a higher rating because the author's understanding of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is not complete. IBS most recently has been deemed to not be a "real" medical condition; instead, most IBS cases are actually caused by SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). So IBS sufferers might actually be suffering from SIBO.

Also, probiotic use in infants has led to deaths, but the author fails to mention this and deems probiotic use safe for infants. This is dangerous. I would suggest you google and do your own research before believing everything said in this book about infant probiotic application.

[Corinne Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Cook has mastered the art of explaining complex scientific terms in simple, easy-to-understand words. She does it in her articles and she has shown this skill again with The Probiotic Promise.

Detailing how our bodies can be so badly damaged by our choices of food and lifestyle and what role probiotic food can play in healing and prevention, the book proves the old adage ‘we are what we eat’. Using success stories, Dr Cook has shown how Probiotics—the good bacteria—can help us in our battle against harmful bacteria and viruses, even antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and superbugs. She talks about various ‘natural antibiotics’ and also different conditions from traveler’s diarrhea to heart disease.

The Probiotic Promise also details the various probiotic strains that are found to be effective. The book goes on to discuss various probiotic foods including seemingly faddish ones like soy, kefir and miso. There’s a bonus of some great, easy to make probiotic-rich food and I’m certainly going to be trying out those recipes soon.

This is one book, I would certainly recommend to those of us who are looking to live a healthier and more holistic lifestyle.

Read more here: http://everydaygyaan.com/the-probioti...

[Kenya Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made tons of notes!

[Anna Mosca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A precious, super valuable book, really motivating!!! I listened to the audio version and unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the Attached PDF she, so often, mentions. That’s a pity, I wrote to my audiobooks provider Scribd to find out where is the PDF because I can’t wait to start practicing all I have learned here. The site mentioned in the book seems to sell only products so I could not find extra info there or be further inspired. In spite of its wonderful content I will rate this book 4,50 not because of the missing (to me) pdf but because the reader is pretty flat in her delivery of such an enthusiastic text. For a few chapters I was convinced it was a computer generated voice, such as the reader for Word... no good, I then went to read the credits because this voice really put me off and realized it was a person. Sorry but I would have preferred a bit more enthusiasm and participation! The parts where the author make lists become deadly if read with no pause, breath or such and become so difficult to focus on or to follow.
I ordered the paper copy from Amazon.com and in 5 WEEKS it should be delivered to Italy. Oh, well better later than never, eh. I can’t wait to start producing my own fermented food.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dra. Michelle Schoffro Cook, especialista em nutrição, resume neste livro os resultados mais importantes das investigações sobre os probióticos e o seu poder curativo e apresenta ainda como podemos utilizá-los no dia a dia, através de uma lista de receitas que ajudam a incorporar probióticos na nossa alimentação.
A única coisa de que tenho pena é de não ter tido conhecimento deste livro há mais tempo: é excelente - a bíblia dos probióticos! Terminei hoje de o ler e estou muito entusiasmada para colocar as receitas em prática e, desta forma incluir os benéficos probióticos na minha alimentação.

[CassandraG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative and a very interesting read. You actually learn a about something you can benefit from. It's told in a way that's not boring. You can even see, if using Probiotics will be beneficial to you in the long run. The stories that were told about the patients and their results were really good and heartfelt. So if you want a good book about Probiotics, it'll be this one and you just might find out about a thing or two you might not have known about. So pick up a copy and be intrigued.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains helpful information and dozens of tasty recipes using probiotic, fermented foods. The book provides extensive coverage on what probiotic organisms do, which ones are most helpful, and how to grow them safely and effectively. This is a book I will turn to repeatedly.

[Jennifer koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so happy to have discovered this book. Dr Michelle has put it in a simple explaination how probiotics will benefits our health. A healthy gut means a healthy body. Now I know how important it is to have probiotics as part of our diet.

[Zee Monodee]

***read but going to hold off on review until I've tried out what the book extolls - review coming next month***

[Grumpus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've heard much but knew nothing about probiotics. This was a good primer. Filled with recipes at the end for the truly dedicated.

[Mauricio Calderon · Rating 3 out of 5]

En ocasiones me dejo con más dudas!

[Patrick Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very good

[Arun Narayanaswamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gets into so much details of probiotics that it’s hard to digest (well I mean to understand ! ). But, that’s the intent of reading any such book. Loved the examples, options and choices that we can leverage in regular foods to get healthier and better. Would recommend this for everyone.

[L.C. Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book much earlier when it came out in 2015. This is a very informative, organized and easy read. I particularly appreciated the breakdown of the probiotic family and the clear explanations on page 109. The author provides food sources of prebiotics, discusses allergies and allergy-related conditions, and explains how anxiety and depression play a factor. Moreover, the author provides the rationale for building a better biome and how to stay regular for greater health. The recipes include many ingredients, such as seeds, that many people cannot ingest, and the recipes are resourceful. There are a total of 181 pages organized into 7 chapters and a whole chapter, 6, is dedicated to fermented foods. I must say that the fermented taste is definitely an acquired taste and takes getting used to. Book includes metric conversion tables, which are helpful; an appendix; resources; notes; and a helpful index for cross-reference checks. Overall, in my opinion, this is a must-read for a holistic approach to health and well-being.