Preface xi
Part 1 We Are More Microbe Than Human
1. Children Are Microbe Magnets 3
Microbes: Kill Them All! 3
Revenge of the Microbes 5
Kids Will Be Kids 10
Microbes to the Rescue 13
2. A Newly Discovered Organ: The Human Microbiome IS
Invisible Life 16
Avoiding Contagion at Any Cost 18
Microbes: Partners in Evolution 19
Bugs "R" Us 22
Immune Cell School 25
Feeding Our Microbes So They Can Feed Us 28
Part 2 Raising Babies and Their Microbes
3. Pregnancy: Eating for Two? Try Eating for Trillions 35
The Pregnant Microbiota: Another Reason to Eat Well 35
The Vaginal Microbiota 38
Stress, Your Baby, and Your Microbes 40
Infections and Antibiotics: Can We Avoid Them? 42
Getting Smart About Antibiotics 45
Heading Off Group B Strep 47
Can Bacteria Influence Us Before Birth? 48
4. Birth: Welcome to the World of Microbes 52
The Best Laid Plans 52
Cesarean Epidemic 54
A Dirty Birth Is a Good Birth 59
Seeding Hope for the Future 61
Antibiotics During Birth 63
Premature Babies 66
5. Breast Milk: Liquid Gold 70
Born Too Young 70
Feeding Trillions 72
Breastfeeding: Not as Easy as It Sounds 76
When Breast Milk Is Not an Option 79
Breastfeeding After a C-section 81
6. Solid Foods: A Growing Diet for Microbes 87
New Food Means New Microbes to Eat It 87
The Boon of Diversity 88
When, What, and How Much? 91
Dangerous Eats 94
7. Antibiotics: Carpet Bombing the Microbiota 101
The Antibiotic Paradox 101
Wonder Drugs of the Twentieth Century 102
Resistance Is Futile 105
"Mommy, My Ear Hurts!" 106
Wonder Drugs That Aren't So Wonderful 109
Probiotics with Antibiotics-an Oxymoron? 112
8. Pets: A Microbe's Best Friend 116
Love at First Lick 116
From the Wild to Our Couches 118
Bring on the Slobberfest 120
9. Lifestyle: Microbe Deficit Disorder 125
Starved for Nature 125
Such a Thing as Too Clean 127
Cleanliness Q&A 130
Part 3 Collateral Damage
10. Obesity: The World Is Getting Heavier 147
Body Weight and the Microbiome 147
Fat Mice 149
Of Mice and Men 150
A Microbiota Diet 152
Antibiotics and Childhood Weight 154
Malnutrition 156
Anorexia Nervosa 157
11. Diabetes: Microbes Have a Sweet Tooth 162
A Disease on the Rise 162
A Sugarcoated Pregnancy 163
Finger Pricks and Insulin Pumps 164
The Western Diet: A Life Too Sweet 167
12. Intestinal Diseases: Fire in the Gut! 171
The Gut: A Thirty-Foot Tube, but Mind the Gap 171
For Crying Out Loud 174
Chewing on Gluten: Microbes and Celiac Disease 178
Irritable Bowel Syndrome 181
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 183
13. Asthma and Allergies: Microbes Keep Us Breathing Easy 189
The Burden of Asthma 189
Searching for the Culprits 192
From the Gut to the Lung 195
Allergies and Eczema, Too? 198
14. Gut Feelings: Microbiota and the Brain 203
Bottom-Up Thinking 203
The Microbes Made Me Do It! 206
Microbes and Moods 209
Stress, Depression, and Anxiety 211
Autism Spectrum Disorders 212
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 219
The Road to a Better Brain 220
15. Vaccines Work! 224
The Not-So-Magical Kingdom 224
A Parent's Nightmare-What Do I Do? 227
Vaccines and Microbiota-Is There a Connection? 231
16. Bugs As Drugs 238
The Future 238
Understanding the Microbiome 240
Analysis of Your Microbiome 243
Beyond Genes: Microbial Metabolites 244
Second Generation Probiotics 246
Prebiotics 248
Back to the Future: Fecal Transfers 249
RePOOPulating Our Gut 251
Crystal Ball Time 252
Personalized Diets 254
Acknowledgments 259
Selected References 263
Index 275