Gut reaction (by Gudrun Jonsson)

(Amazon UK link)

I happened to notice, when I was editing this blog, that I had found Gudrun Jonsson’s book ‘Gut reaction’ quite helpful when I read it in 2007. So I thought it worth a re-read. There has been a lot of research into gut health in recent years, and I was interested to know whether this book, published in 1988, was still relevant. 

Apparently the author is a biopath who trained in Copenhagen but, at the time the book was published, was practising in London. I’m not entirely sure what a biopath is, and I’m a lot more sceptical about homoeopathy than I used to be; but although the author does recommend this, it’s not a big part of the book.

The main thesis is that a lot of chronic illness is caused - or triggered by - faulty digestion and toxins in our guts. Jonsson never really spells out what these toxins are. Nor does she explain why our guts are not able to deal with them, at least in moderation. She’s not too directive: she acknowledges that there is a lot which she doesn’t know, and some illnesses that don’t seem to respond to anything. But she recommends doing what we can to improve our gut health. And a lot of the suggestions do seem to be in line with up-to-date research on this topic, at least as far as I understand it.

The first chapter, which is very brief, explains that a healthy person is not just someone who is not suffering any serious illness. Health, she suggests, refers to the state of being lively, energetic, and without any minor ailments afflicting us. We should not expect to spend our lives tired, stressed and suffering bloating or headaches or similar.

The next chapter looks at the gut: how it works biologically, with some information about the digestive system in general. I was a little sceptical about the author’s insistence that the gut has its own brain, but I understand that this refers to the nervous system that controls our gut, and which functions in some respects similarly to our brain. 

This is followed by a brief chapter about awareness: of noticing when we’re feeling under the weather, of regulating our eating, of taking more care when we start feeling aches and pains. And it makes a lot of sense, even if some of what Jonsson says is a bit vague. She bases many of her observations on personal experience as a nutritional therapist, and reminds us that we’re all unique: what works for one person may not do anything for another. 

And then there are some general suggestions. There’s a lot about the acidity necessary for digestion, and lists of foods that are said to be acid-forming or alkali-forming. Confusingly the author tells us that some obviously acidic foods such as lemons or oranges will help our guts to become more alkaline (which she says is a good thing). She is also an advocate of ‘food combining’, which was a popular fad for a while; that system tells us not to eat protein and starches at the same meal. Modern nutrition seems to have debunked that one. 

More helpfully, she strongly suggests chewing every mouthful of food well to stimulate digestive juices. She suggests fifty times, which I feel is somewhat excessive; but chewing food until it becomes a mush rather than swallowing chunks is generally considered to be a good idea. And she tells us to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, avoiding over-processed food. That, too, seems to be a sound and solid recommendation. 

The rest of the book involves the author’s recommendations for specific programs of eating and supplements depending on what ailments we might be suffering. She covers a lot of general symptoms of malaise, and suggests taking it slowly. She tells people to continue with whatever medication a doctor may have recommended, and to work with personal doctors to follow her nutritional advice. So while I don’t know if any of these recommendations help, they’re unlikely to do any harm. 

At the end of the specific recommendations - and there are a lot, with a fair amount of detail - the author acknowledges that many people might feel that these programmes are too stringent and that their circumstances don’t enable them to follow them. So she gives an overall strategy. In particular she recommends eating less than previously, and taking it more slowly. She tells people to stop smoking, to reduce caffeine intake, and to cut down on (or cut out) refined sugar. These are all generally considered to be positive, and likely to improve overall health. 

She also suggests starting each day with a little apple cider vinegar with honey in warm water, and, during the day, drinking olive oil with lemon juice. There are other suggestions, including specific supplements that I’ve never heard of. It’s entirely possible that people with certain ailments are lacking specific vitamins or trace minerals, but it would probably be a good idea to have a blood test before taking too many extras. 

When I first read this book I found it quite inspiring although I never managed to follow the ‘food combining’ principles. I suspect that, for a while, I did remember to chew more thoroughly and to eat a bit less. I remember trying to start the day with apple cider vinegar, but it didn’t seem to help me at all - and on the whole, I am in reasonable health. 

The writing is good, in a very readable style, and the author comes across as a friendly person who wants to help everyone reach a better state of health. If you suffer from chronic  health issues - whether migraine, catarrh, panic attacks or many others listed - and have found no help elsewhere, then some of the recommendations in this book might be worth trying. 

However, I’m not sure I’d recommend this book in general now, as there are so many other books and websites about health (including gut health) that are more up-to-date, following recent nutritional discoveries. But if you happen to find it in a second-hand shop, as I did, or are looking for ways to improve your general health, it’s an interesting read. 

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