“Super Gut” Review: HELP Explained

This month our focus has been chapter 5 of The Health, Energy & Longevity Plan (HELP) which discusses cultivating your "bowel garden" or microbiome.

In our learning module on gut health, Dr. Dave gives an introduction on the topic, and discusses the microbiome and the problem of inflammation.

A few months ago, I read "Super Gut" by Dr. William Davis. This book was incredibly helpful to me! It takes a deep dive into why so many people have poor gut health. From the overuse of antibiotics, to the high rate of Cesarean section births, to the loss of hundreds of good bacterial species (largely due to the industrialized agriculture and food), Dr. Davis presents some history to show how things got to this point.

Dr. Davis also discusses the importance of having a thick protective layer of mucus lining your GI tract. He explains how this lining is often compromised, and how to protect and rebuild it. I appreciated his chapters on SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth). Dr. Davis not only explains what these conditions are, but he lists the symptoms and what to do if you find yourself afflicted with one of these increasingly common conditions.

I appreciated Dr. Davis's tone in the book. It would be easy to throw up your hands in defeat when faced with the knowledge that your gut health is poor. The second half of the book consists of Dr. Davis's four-week plan to "reprogram your microbiome, restore health and lose weight." He breaks it up into manageable steps.

Dr. Davis's Super Gut Program

In the first week he suggests that you "prepare the soil." He gives instructions on how to do this, listing what kind of diet to follow (hint it's basically keto), what things to especially avoid, and a list of supplements to take to support your body in preparing your intestinal "soil."

The second week you continue with the changes you made in the first week and then add in a high-potency probiotic and fermented foods to "reseed your garden." In appendix A, Dr. Davis includes many helpful resources including suggestions for good probiotics to take during this part of the program. I chose this one from Brenda Watson's Vital Planet.

In the third week you begin to feed the good bacteria that you planted the previous week by adding "water and fertilizer" in the form of prebiotic fibers. Dr. Davis provides instruction for how to do this and what the best sources are. Jane Connell, a registered dietitian who regularly contributes to HELPcare content, had a great post this month on eating for gut health. Check it out to learn more on the subject!

Finally, in the fourth week, you "grow your super gut microbe garden" by introducing specific strains of microbes depending on the symptoms you are experiencing. Dr. Davis lists different species of microbes and the particular benefits they provide. He gives recipes for how to make yogurts with these specific strains. The last forty pages of the book are filled with recipes, not only for yogurt, but also beverages, side dishes, condiments, main dishes, and desserts.

I haven't followed the program completely yet, but even the small changes I've made since reading the book have benefited me. I was having some pretty severe constipation, skin problems, and mood instability, and all of that has improved since implementing just some of the steps Dr. Davis lays out in his book.

I encourage you to read "Super Gut" for yourself, or listen to Dr. Davis speak on the topic in the video below.

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Rachel Borg

Rachel is HELPcare's Membership Director and the HELPcare Challenge Coordinator. She lives in Winchester, KS with her husband and six children.