This is a book I often recommend, and I regularly hear back that it’s made a real difference. If the author’s name sounds familiar, you might recall Wheat Belly, his bestselling book from over a decade ago.
Super Gut is an engaging, easy read that manages to entertain while explaining complex science. It’s divided into four parts with cheeky titles: Bowel Blues, Frankenbelly & Friends, Gut Reaction, and Build Your Own Super Gut: A Four-Week Program. Davis draws strong connections between gut health and a range of modern ailments, then outlines practical protocols for healing the gut.
In Part 2, Davis explains how modern inventions like antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, and processed diets have contributed to what he calls the “Frankenbelly”, a microbiome so disrupted it’s nearly unrecognizable as human. He discusses the importance of mucus in gut health, the role of prebiotic fibers in feeding beneficial bacteria, and how changes in the gut environment can lead to bacterial and fungal overgrowth.
Part 3 dives into SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and SIFO (Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth). Davis explains how these imbalances occur, the symptoms they produce (like food intolerances, skin rashes, and sugar cravings), and their connection to conditions such as obesity, IBS, Parkinson’s, and depression. While the information can be sobering, he offers hope by emphasizing that healing is possible and well worth the effort.
Finally, Part 4 outlines a four-week gut-healing protocol, including recipes for homemade probiotic-rich yogurt and other microbiome-friendly foods. Davis’ protocol requires readers to eliminate factors that can disrupt the microbiome. This list includes avoiding sugar, synthetic sweeteners, and emulsifiers, to name a few.
Although I don’t agree with all of his nutritional recommendations, if you’re curious about the gut microbiome and want actionable steps to improve your health, Super Gut is a fascinating and worthwhile read.
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