The Gut Makeover: 4 Weeks to Nourish Your Gut, Revolutionise Your Health and Lose Weight

by Jeannette Hyde

Gut Makeover

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Self Help, Nutrition, Reference, Medicine

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great practical read with lots of advice that doesn't involve forking out loads of money on specialised supplements, as is often the case in books such as this. The recipes are very simple and easy with ingredients that can be found easily.
Some of the research was pretty interesting on bacterial composition in the gut:
For some years, scientists have known that when they insert the faeces of slim mice, which are teeming with the bacteria from the colon, into obese mice, the obese mice become slim. When they insert the faeces of the obese mice into the slim mice’s guts, the slim mice become obese. This procedure is called a faecal transplant.

Horrible , right? But this has also been show to be true in humans.

Will I be doing the Gut makeover diet? In some form, yes. I've already bought some ingredients. Will I be able to give up caffeine and gluten and grains for 4 weeks. I'll give it a whirl!

[Kitten Kisser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book if your main goal is to loose weight & hopefully fix any digestive issues you may have. I like pretty much the entire book, but feel it is missing valuable information that would make understanding ones digestion & how certain foods can be problematic for some.
I have suffered from digestive issues for, I don't know 10 yrs maybe, maybe longer, possibly 15 yrs. I tried pretty much everything I could think of, read all sorts of books, I'm talking mountains of books over many years & found my situation got progressively worse. It got so bad I stressed out about making it work on time, knowing where private bathrooms were, stressing that I'd embarrass myself at work or outside of the home. I went organic. I went Vegan. I went low fat. I ate a sh*t ton of fermented foods. I made my own sourdough breads. I started growing my own food & raising my own animals, to the point where I even now run my own organic farm rather than work for someone else, yet I got worse & worse until I read 'Digestive Health with REAL Food: A Practical Guide to an Anti-Inflammatory, Nutrient Dense Diet for IBS & Other Digestive Issues'. I started to follow the most restrictive part of the plan & had instant positive results. And by instant I mean exactly that. All my suffering was gone on the first day. I followed this plan for two years. It changed my life. The biggest problem was boredom. I ate a very limited diet. I stumbled across 'The Complete Low-FODMAP Diet: A Revolutionary Plan for Managing IBS and Other Digestive Disorders' for free on Kindle. I read it & bought the hard cover. I later purchased 'The Low-FODMAP Cookbook: 100 Delicious, Gut-Friendly Recipes for IBS and other Digestive Disorders' which I think is a great follow up & has much better recipes (all of them have turned out delicious) plus is more up to date on which foods contain FODMAPs (not all foods have been tested).
Following a low FODMAP lifestyle has been wonderful. I learned a lot & was able to expand what foods I could eat. The problem is I noticed a slight regression. Nothing like my past, but not as good when I followed DHWRF. In this time I also read 'Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ'. The author is funny & informative. The information provided is enlightening to say the least. I enjoyed this book so much I ordered the Audible version as well (if you haven't figured it out by now, I am obsessed with nutrition & find the newly explored microbiome fascinating). Now most recently I came across this book 'The Gut Makeover'. You better believe I jumped at the chance to read it. Personally I think the book is great. But for first time readers into the complex world of digestion, I strongly recommend you read the other books I mentioned first (hence my 4 star rating). I know it's a lot of reading, but it is so worth it! The better you understand how your digestion works (and remember we are all different), the better able you will be to make decisions that are right for YOU. I have already started working towards trying this month long plan. I'd love to drop some weight & maybe, just maybe fix my digestive issues for good. Because I already follow a lifestyle similar to what is recommended in this book, I think I shouldn't have too big of a problem adjusting. For those of you who eat the typical American/western/developed countries type of diet, it will be tough. If you already follow a Paleo or Mediterranean style diet, you should find the plan similar to what you are used to (Note: it is neither of these, just similar). If you are Vegan, there are suggestions for you as well. It's only for a month, to let your microbiome heal & recover.
Think of it as a reset not only for your gut but for your entire body & mind.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, out of complete confusion and frustration after a life of dieting, I hired a food coach and changed the way I eat. He made it simple, at its base: I could eat ALL the fruits and vegetables. The rest we filled in together, but that was liberating, finding huge swaths of YES after a lifetime of all the NOs. I started eating all the colors, all the varieties, and supplementing with whole grains and beans and pulses, fish once a week, and good fats. I've never had digestive problems at all, nor have I even suffered occasional heartburn except when I was pregnant.

So why this book? I found it an accessible entry into a world of research I'd heard about, but didn't have much real knowledge of. There were so many fascinating things to learn; I interrupted my husband to tell him one thing after another much more often than I would've thought I'd do in a book about the gut. I suspect my own diet provides sufficient bacterial diversity (an understanding I didn't have before). Having spent a life dashing from one sure-bet diet to another, I also appreciated the way Hyde evaluates different diets -- for me, this just provided specific examples to help me understand the message of the book more clearly.

I don't need the month-long program to establish gut health, but it seemed very clearly laid out, and easy to follow. I liked the ideas for packing meals to go -- the bane of my daily existence when I worked in an office. I would immediately recommend this book to anyone who is always trying new diets, and obviously to anyone who suffers with intestinal difficulty, from top to bottom. It's a great resource and positive in focus.

[Cindy H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Gut Makeover. Below is my unbiased review.
I read this book after completing the Whole30 challenge. I was interested to see how the plans differ and the different approaches between the two. I also choose my husband as the lab rat for this plan as his gut was in desperate need of a makeover.
The plan works!!! My husband stayed on the diet, did not suffer any side effects ( like headaches or cravings) he lost some weight and definitely took a bulge out of his middle. This book is written clearly and simply making it easy to under and follow the plan. The recipes are helpful and tasty, not complicated or requiring tremendous effort or time. After 30'days, my hubby has opted to stay with the plan and not begin maintenance or reintroduction of certain foods,
I think this plan is more manageable than Whole30 and easier to sustain. The basic concepts are similar.
I highly recommend this plan for anyone who is willing and wanting to make a serious change to their poor eating habits. You will look and feel so much better after just 14 days!!!

[Teresa Rosenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this is your first foray into the genre, then it's pretty easy to understand, and doable. If you've been up to your eyeballs in paleo, AIP, FODMAPS, leaky-gut research, etc., for years, then probably don't bother with this book. It's basically paleo-lite (no pulses [legumes], dairy, or grains for the first two weeks; fermented dairy added back for the second two weeks). Case studies make up a large portion of this book, which I suppose are more fun to read than boring old epidemiological research, but not especially compelling to a data-driven gal. The meal plans weren't very exciting, and the breakfasts were terribly lacking in fat and protein; if I had tried to follow this diet, I would have been physically miserable for a month.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, clear, no fuss.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only got about halfway through the book due to the usual reason – that I had to return it to the library.

I didn’t change my diet in any way after reading the book, but this was because I’m already eating an optimal, vegetarian, 95% vegan diet.

I enjoyed reading what I managed to read of the book, since I agreed with the author’s precepts and her stressing of the importance of the microbiome. She tells us that the microbiome is now considered a whole organ in its own right. (I didn’t know that.) The gut microbiome is “the bacteria and their associated genes together”.

She informs us about dysbiosis, leaky gut, food intolerances and inflammation.

We are illuminated about the problems with our terrible Western diet, where we consume lots of refined carbohydrates, sugar, trans fats, artificial sweeteners and alcohol.

Like one of my favourite doctors, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, the author stresses the importance of eating as many different vegetables as possible and remembering to eat “a rainbow of colours”.

We need to cut down on sugar, caffeine and antibiotics.

She discusses the dangers of gluten but points out that many gluten-free products are often highly processed and loaded with sugar; they are probably better described not as food but as “food-like substances”.

Her four-week plan is separated into two separate phases: on weeks one and two we will focus on REPAIR and in weeks three and four we will REINOCULATE.

In the REPAIR phase we should aim for 20-30 different varieties of fruit and vegetables, mostly the latter, per week. We should buy the best-quality protein we can afford – meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds.

Like Dr Mercola, she advises a 12-hour fast between dinner and breakfast, which has been shown to improve the microbiome.

We should avoid snacking between meals and focus on three structured meals a day.

In the first two weeks we should avoid all dairy foods and in the second two weeks add butter, kefir and Roquefort cheese. This is the first time I’ve heard of the benefits of Roquefort, which are as follows: it’s made from ewe’s milk and fermented for a long time to create lots of bacteria; but a matchbox-size portion should be the maximum at one meal.

The second half of the plan is the reinoculation stage, though I don’t really know what she means by “reinoculation”. But here we should gradually begin to eat prebiotic foods such as bananas, apples, asparagus, bok choy, fennel, garlic, cold potatoes, etc. (The point about cold potatoes is that they form resistant starch. This starch acts as a food for our bacteria and can help with weight loss.) Also we should add probiotic fermented foods such as kefir, Roquefort, fermented miso and fermented tempeh. I thought miso and tempeh were always fermented, but I may be mistaken.

Throughout the book we’re presented with case studies of real people who have followed the plan and tell of their good results, including how much weight they have lost. Each person tells the full story of her experience with the plan, including telling us of her various ailments that were cured.

We need to gradually stop our caffeine intake to avoid withdrawal headaches. Here I have to say that I tried this years ago but the withdrawal headaches simply did not disappear so I accepted that I would just have to continue drinking a little (Guayusa) tea each day.

One of the things that bothered me in the book was that there was a lot about meat, meat, meat. She does have some suggestions for vegetarians but seems to have forgotten vegans.

Lately, I’ve been having problems with a lack of stomach acid, so I was glad to read the author’s advice about how chewing each mouthful 20 times will stimulate the production of stomach acid and enzymes to aid digestion. Undigested food can damage the intestinal lining and trigger leaky gut, inflammation and dysbiosis.

A large part of the book contains appealing recipes.

I must admit that since I eat mostly just vegetables/fruit on a daily basis together with nuts and seeds for protein, I couldn’t really see how I could much improve my diet.

But what I personally got out of the book was 1) cold potatoes give resistant starch 2) Roquefort contains lots of good bacteria (though I try to avoid eating dairy products) and 3) I could again try to eat some fermented soy products such as miso and tempeh (ordinary soy is harmful – my comment).

But, if you need inspiration for healthy eating, then this book will be valuable.

[Briana Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gut Makeover by Jeanette Hyde
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Overview: Overview or how the state of our gut is central to our weight and health; and how to give this gut the makeover it needs.

📖 Genre: Health | Well-being | Nutrition | Non- Fiction

👍Likes: This book is fascinating! I’ve heard tonnes about the gut and how much it impacts all aspects of our lives. This book gives enough info without overload. The 4 week cleanse seems very manageable too, compared with other cleanses I have heard about. I enjoyed this books simplicity!

👎Dislikes: This makeover is entirely alcohol and caffeine-free, which is turning me off attempting it!

📘Format: Hard Copy

🤓Recommend For: Someone interested in improving their health with a logical approach; someone looking for a solution to some health issues such as bloating; someone interested in nutritional science generally.

🤔Memorable Points:

💭”The highest concentration of bacteria is to be found in our gut.”

💭”The greater the diversity of the diet, the greater the diversity of bacteria, and therefore the better your health.”

💭”Try to buy food which is as close to its original state as possible and not kicked about with.”

💭”The shorter the ingredients lost the better. If you don’t understand it, don’t buy it.”

🍒Hunter-gatherers ate many vegetables, quality meats and fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, a little diary.

🍉Mediterranean diet (pre 1960s Greece) consists of plants, fish, nuts and grains, virgin olive oil, cheeses, quality meat.

🥔Eat cold potatoes after being cooked but don’t let them dominate your plate. “The Western industrialised diet looks very beige”. Try instead to “create a bright, multi-coloured diverse plate at every meal”.

The 4️⃣ week plan:

Weeks 1️⃣ and 2️⃣= REPAIR
🍐 Try 7 plants a day (2 fruit, 5 veg) each the volume of a closed fist 👊 Aim for 20-30 varieties a week. Shopping trolly and fridge should be an explosion of colours 🌈
🍗Get best quality protein affordable and include in each of the 3 meals
🫒Use virgin olive oil to cook and make dressings
🥥Chew properly and eat away from desk
🥝12 hour fasting between dinner and breakfast
🍋Avoid snacking: focus on 3 structured meals a day

Weeks 3️⃣ and 4️⃣= REINOCULATE
🍊Reintroduce prebiotics (such as banana and apples) and probiotics.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader's copy of Jeannette Hyde's book that will be released later in 2017.

Normally, I prefer hard copies to Kindle versions, but in this case I highlighted so many passages that I appreciated the simpliciy of the e-book format.

This is a two-phase, four week diet intended to help heal the digetive system. I have read it from cover-to-cover and reread many sections multiple times. There is much conflicting information on the Internet telling those with digestive problems what they need to avoid. It is frustrating to feel that the only safe thing to ingest is a glass of water. Jeannette Hyde explains the causes for the problems many suffer and recommends foods that promote a healthy digestive system.

Hyde provides recipes that are a little off-putting to those of us who have survived on the typical western diet. It is that diet that has caused so much discomfort for many of us, so if you are at the point where you are really serious about helping yourself, you need to try some of these unusual foods and recipes. I understand that Hyde has published another book of recipes to to help us help ourselves.

The book includes a number of short commentaries by persons who have undertaken the diet. One person commented that they extended the diet by a week by eliminating triggers such as caffeine a week before actually beginning the diet. I decided to remove the caffeine and sugar before starting the actual four week diet. It is surprising how many of the other trigger foods such as gluten and dairy are eliminated by avoiding sugar.

I am very optimistic that the program will reduce or eliminate some of my annoying symptoms.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book with clear and concise writing about digestion, the gut, and what we're doing to hurt it and better still, how to repair it and get back our digestive and gut health. The plan didn't look like something impossible to do, and it seemed to be something whose principles you can apply to the rest of your days without having to really go out of you way, aka sustainable to a 'normal' lifestyle.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm... food for thought but with a few mistakes! Enough to make me wonder if it is all as it should be. The use of virgin olive oil for frying has been known for a long time as a big no..no because it breaks down badly at high temperatures. Cous cous isn't a grain in its own right but made from durum wheat like pasta! I would have thought a nutritionist would have know these facts!

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a person with many responsibilities, very busy, and stress impair my sensitive digestive system. I have noticed how processed food, flour, bread, milk and meats cause problems and inflammation, too much sugar causes me headaches. Instead feed on fresh organic raw vegetables, herbs without pesticides from my garden, wild fish and nuts, intermittent fasts, invigorate me. I am constantly improving my quality of life, that of my family and the people to whom I offer my services as an alternative energy therapist, that is why I was interested in this book that I enjoyed very much, it has provided me with valuable information, clear, concise, practical guidance, based on the latest digestive health science coupled with her clinical experience based on it.
There is a growing body of research showing that processed foods may change the balance of bacteria in the gut, and key recent concepts to controlling weight, beautiful skin, improving mood, developing a strong immune system and also protect us from developing autoimmune disorders are: a diet that creates a high-performance digestive system and gut microbiome that thrives.
The author Jeannette Hyde designed a four-week restoration program that guide us to cultivate a healthy gut and microbiome with a diet which stimulates the flourishing of a wide diversity of species and to build a strong gut lining.
This eating restorative strategy seeks to imitate the hunter-gatherer's diet, where industrialization was not present, includes natural unprocessed foods, deliciously varied in vegetables and seasonal fruits (I recommend organic only), nuts, eggs and birds (I recommend farm), fish and meats (I recommend wild preferentially or organic pasture / grazing meat). And after the program also the author proposes a diet of long-term care, based on the diet from the pre-1960s.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book

[Natalie F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am impressed with this book. In a relatively small space, Jeannette Hyde managed to cover a lot of territory and backed her statements by the latest findings in the nutrition research. The first part is pretty basic and familiar - eat more vegetables, meat and eggs are fine, sugar and simple carbs are your enemy. The second part outlines the program where the first 2 weeks are basically a classic detox diet but with fruits allowed and the second two weeks reintroduce some dairy in the form or probiotic kefir and fermented cheeses, and beans. I really liked looking through practical advice and recipes - many of them were so delicious that I want to try them anyway. It did reinforce my desire to keep on what we are already doing - less carbs, more fresh produce, and my favorite guilty pleasures - pickles and sauerkraut :)

[Kathy Krauskopf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on a fairly known concept around eating lots of fruits and vegetables, the author advocates going for 20-30 different types per week, mixing in pre- and probiotics like kefir and fermented tempeh. The Makeover is taking a month away from alcohol, sugar, wheat and caffeine, and tracking the affect this has on your physical and mental health. Some good recipes, and a good discussion about the human digestive system.

[Alice Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read page turner of a nutritional nature. Encouraged me to continue with my microbiome colonization project....Though I did not need to lose weight it offered enough information that I could adjust the ideas and recipes for my life. Highly recommend her book if anyone is suffering from gut issues.

[Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing this review because I received a galley from the publisher. This completely eliminated my issues with heartburn (and admittedly gas) for the duration of the 4 weeks and set me up with a new craving: vegetables!!

[Jacqie Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book because it was easy to read, and also didn't have any hard principles (you didn't have to buy any special products or super weird foods). I'm looking forward to trying the 4 week plan in the spring.

[Richard Durrans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and concise and useful guide to essentially the Mediterranean diet. Perhaps does not tell us anything new but it does remind us of the essentials of a good diet in a sensible way that is doable to implement. Easy read with some useful and interesting recipes

[Thikra · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Jeannette Hyde has good advice for gut health, it's hard to follow some of the recipes and advice because in England where the writer is from they're not bound by US FDA laws that prohibit the sale of unpasteurized dairy products.

[Jeffrey Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

I picked this book on sale as I was interested in reading about a plan to fix your gut. This book was helpful by showing why and how to remake your gut. I haven't implemented this plan yet, but plan to do so within the next week.

[Camy An · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a practical and informative read on gut issues without going too overboard. Very readable and the plan is doable for the layperson.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically eat more vegetables and less processed food

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. I agreed with some of her suggestions, some I didn't. I will probably put some of her ideas into practice.

[Tanaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but just recycled information.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this book. Having read a few recently on the topic, this one is logical and not extreme.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read with recipes a third of the book. Something that I have been looking into over the past year. I enjoy the slight repetitive instructions but uncomplicated process.

[Carrie Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights. A bit unhealthy is certain areas or aspects.

[Shahd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with helpful tips to eat healthier and “reset” ur gut health

[Katlyn DeWerth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that you didn’t need to be in the science profession to understand how to eat and what happens to your gut! I really enjoyed the recipes, and a lot of the tips from the book stuck with me!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stil l want to try a lot of the recipes, but a great book, makes a lot of sense. I might try the 4 weeks sometime!