Member Discussion for “I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life” — September 2022

We want to hear from you while you’re reading this month’s book. To ask questions, ...

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  1. Avatar photo
    John Morrison

    Next book is...?

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    W James Anderson

    Well... I started the last book... Think Again and lost enough interest to finish it. Kind of like John McCain’s book way back when he ran for President. Maybe I’ll put them side by side...

    Will this book be any better?😉

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  3. Kandie Prisbrey

    I’m curious as to what the author thinks of our pandemic behavior with hand washing at every turn and using copious amounts of disinfectant. I found the book very interesting. Thank you, Sarah, for choosing it.

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      Stephanie

      As a health professional who has to diligently practice "hand hygiene," I observed even before the pandemic that some people really carry this too far, most likely destroying commensals on their skin that have the function of keeping other more pathogenic bacteria in check. These folks call themselves/others call them "germaphobes."

      During the pandemic I actually was happy to see better hand hygiene among the general public after explaining to patients for years that they wouldn't catch so many colds (they were worried about having an "immune system problem") if they'd not touch their faces so much and wash their hands more frequently during the cold season.

      There are other parts of the body that are colonized with bacteria, yeast & other flora that all keep each other in balance--like the vagina, where for years women messed seriously with this by douching.

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    Tracy

    ugh; I'm late to the party! Just downloaded the book and I'm intrigued! The "microbiome" is something I've only known about as a loosely defined concept. Interested to learn more!

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  5. Tim Chrapkiewicz

    From inside the head (books 1-3) to outside the body . . . great juxtaposition, Sarah. With some of the new inight into the gut-brain connection, the concept of how the microbiota may affects behavior is just in it's infancy. Excellent choice.

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  6. Kim Schell

    It was worth it for me just to learn the WEIRD acronym. I found much to discuss with others including the probiotics my husband takes every morning, our dear dog (whose presence was validated), my newborn and adopted granddaughter's developing systems (finding comfort in her new household with a dog, cat, and chickens) and the complexity of fighting obesity. The author's humor helped add levity to a dense subject. Can't wait for the podcast.

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    Rebekah R

    This book was great! Though I have to agree, it’s not as easy to have a “discussion” about. Very informative, but not necessarily controversial.

    Where this book DOES intersect with potentially controversial cultural topics is the very trendy lifestyle brands centered around being more natural, earth-friendly and non-toxic. This book speaks to this trend in a couple ways—one, it’s not a bad impulse to use less toxic cleaners and eat more naturally. We might be doing our microbiomes a favor. Two, we are probably all being suckered in by some pretty shady marketing around what sorts of products will help us be more “probiotic.”

    Is it just me (college educated white mom) who sees this lifestyle trend EVERYWHERE? It’s eye-roll worthy. Gut health is right up there with essential oils, eating organic, yoga and pumpkin spice lattes.

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      Stephanie

      There's a lot of snake oil out there. At the same time, products like Culturelle do have some role when a person's been on antibiotics to at last restore a little of the gut bacteria and hopefully prevent c. diff. infections.

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    Martin Hernandez

    I recently read an article on FreeThink about a type of bacteria that could help us solve the excess plastic issue that is affecting our oceans/climate. I believe there is a bacteria-based solution in the works for removing carbon from our atmosphere and hopefully reversing climate change effects. I find the book reinforces the idea that our initial fear of microbes (and the research dedicated to fighting them) has delayed discoveries that could have incredibly positive effects on civilization.

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    Martin Hernandez

    Asking for a friend: If one were to eat Ryan Reynolds' feces pellets, would that help him achieve that level of physique?

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    Martin Hernandez

    It was a little harder to find the discussion board than I expected, not sure how to navigate this on substack I guess. The diet-microbiome relationship is something that really resonated with me. Not to gross anyone out but, during the pandemic lockdown my wife and I agreed to try out a vegan diet (my wife did the math and meat was a big cost contributor to our grocery bill). We held up pretty good for about six months and when I had my first taste of meat once we broke with the diet, I thought my gut was going to implode. I can only imagine it had something to do with conditioning my gut bacteria to a heavy plant-based diet and then dropping a burger in there caused a stir (literally).

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