Physician, UCLA professor, and researcher Dr. Emeran Mayer proposes a radical paradigm shift: that the gut microbiome is at the center of virtually every disease that defines our 21st-century public health crisis. Cutting-edge research continues to advance our understanding of the function and impact of the billions of organisms that live in the GI tract, and in Dr. Mayer’s own research, he has amassed evidence that the “conversation” that takes place between these microbes and our various organs and bodily systems is critical to human health. When that conversation goes awry, we suffer, often becoming seriously ill. Combining clinical experience with up-to-the-minute science, The Gut-Immune Connection offers a comprehensive look at the link between alterations to the gut microbiome and the development of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, as well as susceptibility to infectious diseases like Covid-19. Dr. Mayer argues that it’s essential we understand the profound and far-reaching effects of gut health and offers clear-cut strategies to reverse the steady upward rise of these illnesses, including a model for nutrition to support the microbiome.--Adapted from jacket.