Trust Your Gut Gregory Plotnikoff, MD, and Mark Weisberg, PhD. San Francisco, CA: Conari Press, 2013, 234 pages, $18.95.Trusting your gut is about much more than guts! In fact, this book nudges the reader into an exploration of the integrated system of mind, body, and spirit- looking at "health from a 360-degree perspective" (p. x). Neuroscience and ancient wisdom both refer to the gut as the "focal point of human energy and the seat of the emotions" and often refer to it as the second brain (p. x). Having a "gut feeling" about an issue is exactly that, and listening carefully to that feeling and acting on it can lead to improved well-being and health.Gregory Plotnikoff and Mark Weisberg have organized their discussion according to guiding CORE principles. The initial step is to Center (C), an experiential activity that requires a balance of the body and the mind-a balance of energy. This balance depends on a relaxed and effortless attitude, a focus on deep abdominal breaths, and attending to your personal strengths. Through story, examples, and suggestions, the authors remind us of the deep connection between digestion and respiration.The second step is to Observe (O)-that is, to pay attention, to be aware of your way of being. What is your gut trying to tell you? What are your particular stresses and how are they manifesting in your body? How does your body respond to certain foods? What are your sleep patterns and how is your sleep affected by the events of the day, including the foods that you eat? How well is your whole life working? This section of the book offers a wide variety of insightful quotes-for example, "Awareness, in and of itself, is transformative" (Ken Wilber, author and philosopher, quoted on p. 21) as well as guidance for "somatic wisdom"-how emotions and physiology interact. The authors warn that even though you have taken a close look at the patterns in your life, you are not done. Nothing stays the same in today's world, so you must create the habit of looking within and becoming aware of the interconnections in your way of being, preparing you for the next stage of self-empowerment: restoring your balance.The third step in the CORE principles is Restore (R)-not the usual focus on fighting or fixing a particular health problem but restoring mind-body balance. Here, the authors make a powerful argument for balancing the human microbiome, the 10-100 trillion bacterial cells in the gut that are now recognized as a key factor in maintaining not only our health but also our energy, our metabolism, our mood, our behavior, and our immune function. This fact amazed me because I had not read the June 2012 issue of Science devoted to the topic of the human microbiome. No wonder we run into problems with Candida and other yeast infections, parasites, and toxins when we take antibiotics! …