Digestive Intelligence tells the fascinating story of how our digestive systems are the centre of our bodies’ second brain and how we think and live our emotions via our stomachs. Not surprising when you consider there is something equivalent to the size of a village football pitch hiding inside our bellies--that’s the incredible magnitude of our digestive systems. Dr Matveikova answers the obvious questions: “How?” and “Why can this be so?” by explaining, in straight forward layman’s language, that the digestive system contains more than one million neurones, identical to those in the brain and is responsible for producing 90% of the body’s hormone, serotonin, the all-important hormone which makes us feel happy and full of wellbeing. It follows that, if our stomach is “out of sorts” we feel irritable and lacking in energy; and those feelings block our intellectual productivity, disorientate us and completely change our thought patterns and physical processes.

On July 9-10, 2014, the Institute of Medicine's Food Forum hosted a public workshop to explore emerging and rapidly developing research on relationships among the brain, the digestive system, and eating behavior. Drawing on expertise from the fields of nutrition and food science, animal and human physiology and behavior, and psychology and psychiatry as well as related fields, the purpose of the workshop was to (1) review current knowledge on the relationship between the brain and eating behavior, explore the interaction between the brain and the digestive system, and consider what is known about the brain's role in eating patterns and consumer choice; (2) evaluate current methods used to determine the impact of food on brain activity and eating behavior; and (3) identify gaps in knowledge and articulate a theoretical framework for future research. Relationships among the Brain, the Digestive System, and Eating Behavior summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Cutting-edge neuroscience combines with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome to inform this practical guide that proves once and for all the inextricable, biological link between mind and body. We have all experienced the connection between our mind and our gut—the decision we made because it “felt right;” the butterflies in our stomach before a big meeting; the anxious stomach rumbling when we’re stressed out. While the dialogue between the gut and the brain has been recognized by ancient healing traditions, including Aryuvedic and Chinese medicine, Western medicine has failed to appreciate the complexity of how the brain, gut, and more recently, the microbiome—the microorganisms that live inside us—communicate with one another. In The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emeran Mayer, Executive Director of the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress, offers a revolutionary look at this developing science, teaching us how to harness the power of the mind-gut connection to take charge of our health. The Mind-Gut Connection, shows how to keep the communication brain-gut communication clear and balanced to: • Heal the gut by focusing on a plant-based diet • Balance the microbiome by consuming fermented foods and probiotics, fasting, and cutting out sugar and processed foods • Promote weight loss by detoxifying and creating a healthy digestion and maximum nutrient absorption • Boost immunity and prevent the onset of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s • Generate a happier mindset and reduce fatigue, moodiness, anxiety, and depression • Prevent and heal GI disorders such as leaky gut syndrome; food sensitivities and allergies; and IBS; as well as digestive discomfort such as heartburn and bloating • And much more. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

The reality is that IQ is not the way to go to measure intelligence, it is about the notion that we have not measured intelligence well. We have focused on bad tests to access mental functioning of a person where that we have put labels on a person. We need to stop putting labels on a person and focus on the real measure of what it means to be smart, we all are intelligent.

Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics in Gastroenterology provides informative and broad-ranging coverage of the relation between nutrition and diet and the gastrointestinal tract. It explores dietary factors involved in causation of a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, as well as the effects on diet and the treatments available. It also provides an overview of anatomy and physiology, measurement and assessment of function, and dietary components relevant to gastrointestinal health. ABOUT THE SERIES Dietary recommendations need to be based on solid evidence, but where can you find this information? The British Dietetic Association and the publishers of the Manual of Dietetic Practice present an essential and authoritative reference series on the evidence base relating to advanced aspects of nutrition and diet in selected clinical specialties. Each book provides a comprehensive and critical review of key literature in its subject. Each covers established areas of understanding, current controversies and areas of future development and investigation, and is oriented around six key themes: •Disease processes, including metabolism, physiology, and genetics •Disease consequences, including morbidity, mortality, nutritional epidemiology and patient perspectives •Nutritional consequences of diseases •Nutritional assessment, drawing on anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, dietary, economic and social approaches •Clinical investigation and management •Nutritional and dietary management •Trustworthy, international in scope, and accessible, Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics is a vital resource for a range of practitioners, researchers and educators in nutrition and dietetics, including dietitians, nutritionists, doctors and specialist nurses.