The Gut We Inherit

What if your stomach pain is telling a story—one that began long before you felt it?

In The Gut We Inherit, gastroenterologist and researcher Gabriel Perlemuter explores one of the most intimate and misunderstood questions of modern health: why our stomachs hurt.

For years, digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome have been difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to explain. But scientists are beginning to reveal a far more complex picture of them, in which our symptoms are shaped by an intricate dialogue between the microbiome, the brain, the nervous system, our hormones, emotions, stress-levels, anxieties, and even what we’ve inherited from our genetic pool.

Perlemuter takes us inside this internal ecosystem, questioning the belief that what we inherit is written in stone and exploring how our environment and lifestyle can affect the way our bodies express
themselves. He addresses topics such as:
• Why anxiety can make stomach pain worse;
• Why stomach pain can in turn impact our mental state;
• What role the vagus nerve plays;
• How our diets influence the billions of bacteria living inside us;
• What to do when conventional explanations and treatments fall short.

Drawing on the latest findings in epigenetics and the gut-brain connection, Perlemuter invites us to listen closely to what our bodies are trying to tell us and to consider that understanding where our pain comes from may just be the first step toward healing it.