Good Reads

It’s getting closer to real summer and so I have a couple of reads for you. I have to watch a lot of videos and read many articles and a lot of books as well. Some are written by the doctors I follow like Dr. Gundry, Dr. Greger etc. Many articles are also suggested by my patients. Yes, I still get to read for pleasure so I sandwich in some Steven King etc. between the study stuff. Recently I read two books that I thought were important so I wanted to share them with you. Both are about health but one is more about physical health and one is more about mental health.

Let’s start with GUT CHECK by Dr. Gundry. I have been a fan since the book the PLANT PARADOX and have read all of this stuff, but this latest is another great look at what really controls so many aspects of your health…the care and feeding of our microbiome. I am firmly in the camp that most diseases are due to metabolic issues and mitochondrial issues and this book looks in detail at both. Almost all chronic diseases are diseases of metabolism and what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat affects your health directly. This book has a lot of insights and helpful hints but fiber and fermentation are big issues which are well covered. Personally, I am staying far away from Kimchi and Kumbucha but I am a big fan of pickles and vinegar. Dr. Gundry points out the math…fiber is important, fermented food is important and the two together are synergistic so 1 plus 1 = 5. Sure Dr. Gundry sells a lot of supplements on the internet but that doesn’t invalidate his 25 years of nutritional research. Change your diet, change your life and health destiny.

Moving on to mental health, we have THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman. It’s easy to fall in love. It’s not so easy to stay in love. I am always amused by people who put zero energy and effort into maintaining relationships and wonder how it went bad. Love, like your mind and outlook, is a garden that needs constant attention if you want it to grow right. Now, I am no expert at marital things and I don’t have the experience of those of you who have been married two or three times but I think anyone who is in a long term relationship can benefit from reading this book. The five love languages are;

• Words of affirmation.

• Quality time.

• Physical touch.

• Acts of service.

• Receiving gifts.

What I like about this book is the section at the end where you can find out for yourself what your love language is and what your partner is and you can do this in an interactive way that I think will tell you something about yourself and who you love. I found out my wife already knew my love language. I also found out that just because someone knows your love language doesn’t mean they will use it! A patient suggested this book to me and it took forever for me to get around to it but I am glad I finally did.

So, one book on physical health and one book on mental health. Next month we will take on the topic of the sun. Life giver or death dealer. Stay tuned.

Until next month, get well and stay well.

JT BARRY MD

Dr. Barry