About book Missing Microbes: How The Overuse Of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues (2014)
I really enjoyed this book. I had heard parts of the information in this book but not all together. It covers the startling use of antibiotics in the United States' primarily for livestock to fatten them up. It discusses the difference between viruses and bacteria and how increasingly we find the elimination of good bacteria to led to increased susceptibility of diseases and other pathogens. I believe this is a must read for young couples starting their own families and making decisions about how they go about increasing their families. Whatever you are reading now, stop and get your hands on a copy of this book.Antibiotics were once considered wonder drugs but now have become commonplace. Their overuse has led to concerns about the spread of "superbugs" (MRSA) that antibiotics will not be able to stop.This author presents his research, albeit primarily on mice, that our overuse of antibiotics as well as C-section births and antiseptics has disrupted our microbiome - the relationship we have with bacteria. Not all bacteria is bad. We need it to digest our food, for example. That disruption may have led to a rash of modern plagues. Have you wondered about the increase in food allergies, autism, and obesity? The common practice of prescribing antibiotics to young children may be a factor, if not the cause, of this increase. Broad spectrum (and least expensive) antibiotics may have killed the bacteria that caused the child to be sick but also the bacteria that would allow that child to digest peanuts or gluten. Early use of antibiotics may affect brain development in young children. Antibiotics are routinely used on livestock to get them to gain weight.The author outlines the problem without a solution. He does not claim that the overuse of antibiotics is the only cause of our modern plagues, but he presents enough evidence to give me pause next time I reach for a hand sanitizer.
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Very thought provoking. I enjoyed this book.
—Tails
