Review of "Happy Gut", by Vincent Pedre MD

The underlying premise of "Happy Gut" is basically that, given the right conditions, your body wants to, and will, heal itself. Happy Gut is a guide to creating those conditions.

There is a lot of background information, and the focus is very much on ‘leaky gut syndrome’ and how it is so often an ignored or undervalued condition at the root of so many nondescript ailments.

The book is jam-packed with information, presented in a detailed and technical, although very user-friendly format. I found myself able to fully understand what I was reading at all times, although, not having a medical or biochemistry background, found it difficult to recall the details later. But this hardly matters: in the book it is explained in detail why dairy, for example, is bad for anyone with gut issues or an autoimmune/inflammatory condition, so the important thing to take away from reading the book is that you should avoid dairy – it hardly matters if you are unable to recall the chemical breakdown of dairy and how that interacts with the chemical breakdown of your gut. The information is there if you want to go back and see the details, but you easily retain the headline of: no dairy!

A 4-step 28-day plan is presented in the form of the Gut C.A.R.E Program: Cleanse, Activate, Restore, Enhance. The idea is to completely ‘reboot’ your gut, by first cleansing it of all toxins and negative build-up (be it parasites, yeast, or a flourishing of bad bacteria), followed by activating the gut’s natural defences and functions (with probiotics and enzymes), so that it is prepared to then be restored by encouraging the healing of the intestinal lining, and finally by strengthening this lining in the enhance phase, where the gut is strengthened, ready to healthily face the world. There is also information and some ‘supporting documents’ on the linked website: www.happygutlife.com.

Details are also included for the reintroduction phase once you have finished the program – a topic that so often gets overlooked, or is tackled with a simple “gradually reintroduce foods back into your diet”. Here, you are told what to do on which day of the reintroduction phase, and how to adjust it if reactions crop up.

There is also a lot of focus on the psychosomatic element of gut issues, and Dr Pedre really touches on the negative impact of stress, and suggests various methods to deal with this on a daily basis, so that your gut is allowed to heal in peace.

My one negative is that while it constantly speaks of gut-based inflammation, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory conditions, it does so mainly in the sphere of how inflammation in the gut can cause or affect problems elsewhere in the body. Fair enough of course, and this is an important point to make, as someone with rheumatoid arthritis or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis may not think their gut has anything to do with their condition. However, at no point does it make clear whether this programme can be adopted by people with inflammatory bowel disease. On the one hand, it seems to suggest that it can, with the sweeping reference to autoimmune/inflammatory conditions, and how the programme is all about rebalancing the gut. But at the same time, people with active IBD may be reluctant to undergo a generalised programme such as this, without specific reference being made to their condition – I know I would!

I personally would have appreciated a small section addressed to someone with IBD taking on the C.A.R.E programme. For example, nuts and seeds are included in the Happy Gut diet, but if you have IBD, you tend to avoid such ‘scratchy’ foods – if this was addressed, perhaps there would have been a suggestion to soak them first, or blend them, or replace them with something for the initial phase of the programme.

In short, while I was gagging to get started on the programme when I first started reading, and I relished having all that information laid out before me in a single tome, I felt myself gradually apply the brakes as the direct issue of IBDers following the programme was not addressed.

I still want to do it, my gut needs a reboot at this phase, but felt the need to submit a question to this effect online via the Happy Gut website. This question, I’m sorry to say, was never answered.

I would still recommend this book to absolutely anyone, with or without intestinal woes, it is very interesting, and full of useful information. When it comes to implementing the program it suggests, that is of course a personal decision, to be taken and attempted as one sees fit.