Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues [Hardcover]
Author: Martin J. Blaser | Language: English | ISBN: 0805098100 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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A critically important and startling look at the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics, from the field's leading expert
Tracing one scientist’s journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage that overuse of antibiotics is doing to our health: contributing to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now, this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances—antibiotics—threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences. Taking us into both the lab and deep into the fields where these troubling effects can be witnessed firsthand, Blaser not only provides cutting edge evidence for the adverse effects of antibiotics, he tells us what we can do to avoid even more catastrophic health problems in the future.
- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1 edition (April 8, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0805098100
- ISBN-13: 978-0805098105
- Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Immune Systems
- #1 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Basic Sciences > Microbiology
- #1 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Microbiology
As most of us know, the medical community has been over prescribing antibiotics for some time now, and there is a call for the practice to end. There is no need for the use of antibiotics in many cases, and the use of them could be curtailed significantly without harm to public health. In addition, the author of this book presents compelling evidence that the overuse of antibiotics is not just causing resistance in microbes, but may also be contributing to the alarming increase in a number of diseases.
The book begins with several chapters that explain microbiology and how microbes are aligned with the human body. For instance, there are millions of microbes living in your intestinal tract, but they are not harmful; in fact they may be very beneficial. Early and frequent use of antibiotics can disrupt this natural ecosystem causing a myriad of problems.
There is also information on how we obtain our microbiological flora. For instance, microbes are passed from a mother to a baby during birth. As the baby exits the birth canal, it is coated in the naturally occurring bacteria that is found there normally. In addition, the newborn will pick up bacteria from nursing and from being handled by the mother. All of this is normal, and healthy, but overuse of antibiotics maybe causing disruption of the normal process.
In information presented that was startling, the author has linked a bacteria found in the stomach, and thought to cause ulcers, to an increase in the number of cases of gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease. When it was first proven that the bacteria in question was responsible for ulcers, doctors went on a spree to eradicate it from adults.
I am not a doctor, nurse, scientist, really any type of person in the medical field. I'm just a person who thinks that reading about medical issues is interesting. So it's important for you to know that I'm going into this review without a lot of background and understanding of microbes and biology. There, the disclaimer is over with.
Missing Microbes is about the microbes in your body and the use of antibiotics. It explores the concept that perhaps we are doing ourselves a disservice by using so many antibiotics and that some of the microbes previously thought harmful, are in fact an integral part of our body's system and essential to our well being. Especially explored is H. Pylori that resides in your digestive system and is thought to be a contributor to stomach cancer and ulcers. Previously eradicated when it was found, new research is showing that it helps protect against other ailments and the destruction of it with antibiotics may not be the best course of action. There is also a section on birth and the impact that caesarian sections has on the passing of natural microbes from mother to infant. And several other facts about the bacteria in our bodies.
You can definitely tell the author wanted you to know what he's contributed to the field. And there's nothing wrong with that although it is a little distracting. Most of the focus is on the research and several studies are described. I appreciated the fact that it was written in language that I could understand. While there were some medical concepts that were a little harder for me, by and large, I understood the descriptions and theories that were presented in this book.
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