A name change, an update and a thank you ππΌ
The Gut Makeover (2.0)...plus 3 things I learnt this week...
Many of you here know me best for my book The Gut Makeover (first edition December 2015).
I wrote it after devising a style of eating from following science papers since 2012 on a strange new subject then called βthe microbiomeβ - the bacteria living in our gut.
I identified the eating principles coming out of the research and started applying them to my nutritional therapy clients with success (which then turned into the book).
It was obvious to me how powerful these principles (plant diversity and fermented foods) could be.
One client, literally ran out of my office, jumped in her car and drove to the nearest Eastern European corner shop in London to clear a fridge shelf of fermented milk kefir when I told her about a paper I had read on its possible health benefits.
At that time Polish and Hungarian grocery stores were the main places you could find it. Within about 3 months her irritable bowel syndrome cleared up, the friendly probiotic bacteria in the kefir settling her digestive system. Who would have thought?
Not only was her IBS better, but her brain fog went too and her psoriasis-prone flaky, itchy skin calmed down.
Which made sense because more and more research was confirming that the pattern of these microbes impact many other areas of our health from our digestion to brain and skin, to immune system.
The very good news is and was - that you can manipulate and transform the pattern of this bacteria to influence all those other areas of our health - through what we eat and when.
The book did well with multiple reprints and translations. My publishers in the UK (Quercus) and North America (Bloomsbury) pulled out all the stops on the publicity front (I appeared on Good Morning America when it came out in the USA).
But the gut space has now become noisy and often unnecessarily complicated. There are hundreds if not thousands of influencers and TV and social media doctors and scientists talking about βgut healthβ. Much of it is theoretical (without nutritional therapy clinical experience in the mix) and/or is trying to sell you stuff.
So Iβm carving out a peaceful, trusted, practical weekly place to write on this subject - to fill this gap - so you can help your gut bacteria make you healthy.
In the 9 years since writing my book (which is a 4-week recalibrator) I have learnt so much more which I want to share with you all in this Substack which has become The Gut Makeover 2.0. Much of it you can weave into your every day life easily.
It will bring news, reviews, and views plus recipes and food ideas on the subject so you hear the latest here first and can get on it - and feel the benefits.
The beauty of Substack is I write this weekly so itβs bang up to date - from the gut health Netflix documentary to the weight-controlling impact of kimchi or what one-year after doing Zoe looked like. You heard it here first.
I have worked with hundreds of people in my workshops, retreats, one-to-one clinic (which is now online) and have a lot of expert clinical knowledge based on real life to share.
I originally called this Substack publication Nourish with Jeannette - because I wanted to be able to write about everything to do with nutrition and wellbeing. (BTW it may take me a few days to change the name on everything across Substack, but I started today).
But I realise I write about gut health in almost every article - because itβs at the root of all our health and wellbeing so hence the name change was beginning to make sense.
We are now 7 months in (and this Substack has even gained a βbestseller'β tag! - there are 100+ of you paid subscribers as of today).
Thanks everyone who has come over to the paid side. I feel enormous gratitude for each and every new subscription as a notification falls into my inbox saying βnew paid subscriberβ. Your support means the world to me.
Welcome to The Gut Makeover (the 2.0 version).
PS if you need a refresher on the basics of gut health itβs here.
Note to paid subscribers.
Iβm still working on the gut-health WFH lunches thing - coming as soon as I can, hopefully worth the wait!
What I learnt this weekβ¦
πΆοΈ Thereβs a chilli heat scale on the side of gochujang (the red pepper flakes) for making fermented kimchi cabbage.
πΆοΈThank you Noel a subscriber in the USA who has 24 years of fermenting experience and pointed this out to us all on our Zoom kimchi meet-up last weekend. πΆοΈ Imagine you didnβt know this and you follow a recipe which says 2 teaspoons of the stuff, but the recipe author was using a mild one and you have the hottest one? πΆοΈ Anyway hereβs a pic of the scale on the side of mine - check yours too if youβre making it. πΆοΈ BTW I have uploaded the recording of the kimchi session at the bottom of the recipe for paid subscribers here. πΆοΈ The capsaicin plant chemical in it ,working in conjunction with the lactobacillus bacteria, are what are thought to help with preventing weight gain in people who eat kimchi every day.
Journalist Johann Hariβs book Magic Pill on the new weight loss drugs is out. He wrote in The Times last week that although he lost weight, he thinks his mood went down too. Maybe because his appetite no longer drove him to use food to soothe his emotions he says. He interviews lots of experts around the world and the drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are thought to change our brain chemistry. Early days and Iβm interested to know about the gut-brain impact. Iβm looking forward to reading this.
Beans and tuna salad made out of a jar and a tin can be turned into a beautiful easy meal and can end up tasting like ceviche. Really!
The most delicious meal I ate last week was from a recipe book I have recommended before and come back to time and again. Kitchen Prescription by gastroenterologist and cook Saliha Mahmood Ahmed. I replace the tuna with bonito - a smaller version which accumulates less toxins/mercury than larger fish.
Good morning Jeanette thank you for yet another uplifting and wonderful article. Youβve cracked it, you really have. In this crazy, frantic world, what we need is regular, gentle reminders of how to love and cherish our gut biomes. After all, we all want to live forever, look great and most of all feel and be as healthy as possible β¨I know what weβre having for dinner tonight βΊοΈ