Uncovering the Impact of Antibiotic Overuse: Examining the Role of Missing Microbes in Our Modern Plagues

jem: Dr. Blazer makes a convincing case that the over use of antibiotics may have the unintended effect of killing off essential bacteria in the human gut contributing to the contracting of chronic diseases by children such as diabetes, asthma, allergies, autism, obesity, etc. In later life celiac disease, colitis, Chrones disease, various cancers, etc.

I would especially recommend it to young adults contemplating marriage and parenthood as a general knowledge background needed to make informed decisions regarding the preparation for pregnancy, actual pregnancy, whether to have elective c-section, and whether to consent to the giving of antibiotics to their babies, toddlers and older children.

The general use of antibiotics in the raising and husbandry of various livestock is also addressed, affecting us by way of meat, eggs, dairy products and water.

A very interesting book, made me curious as to further discoveries since the book was published in 2014.

United States on Feb 08, 2024

Renzo Dalla Via: Dr. Blaster has done an excellent job on this topic. It is a very easy read but extremely informative and important.

Canada on Mar 17, 2022

Amazon Customer: Should you take antibiotics or not is the question? There’s no denying that antibiotics saves lives. People turned to medicine literally because all other ‘known’ options were exhausted and this book clearly highlights the price countless people paid because of no fault of their own and no fault to the physicians either. But the message is when you cure one thing with antibiotics unfortunately it can damage other areas. This book helps us to understand why it’s important to replenish those areas.

There is now new research in the world of gut bacteria which brings hope to us all. My message to anyone that reads this book. Take a leap and try probiotics for your self. I suffered from brain fog, sleep apnea, anxiety, trouble loosing weight, skin acne I can go on and on. But once I changed my diet, and started taking Pre and Probiotics it literally saved my life. I even found alternate ways to inject them and it was remarkable how I feel now. This field is so promising and god bless the men and women who dedicated their lives to bring all this information to light.

United States on Oct 26, 2019

joseph mjoseph m: Todo el mundo especialmente los medicuchos sabelotodo que tenemos hoy en dia que realmente no saben absolutamente nada deberian leerlo. Por supuesto tambien pacientes y cualquier persona pues nos afecta a todos y a diario.

Spain on Apr 01, 2019

堂垣外弘忠: ...

Japan on Nov 17, 2018

Thierry de Lestrade: Un livre à mettre au programme des études de médecine. Écrit par un médecin formé à la culture de l'allopathie la plus classique, ce livre décrit le questionnement de Martin Blazer sur la hausse exponentielle des maladies chroniques et de l'obésité. Et les réponses qu'il apporte, faits scientifiques à l'appui, en font un réquisitoire implacable contre l'usage actuel des antibiotiques. Et un cri d'alarme conte l'appauvrissement du microbiote intestinal. Indispensable.

France on Oct 30, 2017

Jami Be: Exelente. Llego rápido y en perfectas condiciones. El libro tiene un maravilloso contenido referente a las nuevas plagas de nuestra era que nos afligen debido al uso inadecuado o a una temprana edad de los antibióticos. Muy recomendable.

Mexico on Jun 21, 2016

Jodi Sweet: If you are prone to overreaction when you hear about a new scientific or medical study, I recommend you read something else. If you are interested in where science is leading us and want to understand the (possible) negative impacts of the overuse of antibiotics, read this book.

I say that because it would be easy to decide that you never want to be near an antibiotic again after reading some sections of this book. Dr. Blaser does an excellent job of balancing the potential risks with the known benefits, but it still leaves the reader recounting every course of antibiotics ever taken and holding a quiet vigil for all of the valuable microbes likely lost.

While the information is valuable, the writing style was a bit uneven. The sections that tell the story of an individual are engaging. However, some of the sections that explain pure science can feel a bit too simplistic. This is obviously an attempt to make the book accessible for all kinds of readers, which it is, but it can be dry at times. Be prepared to push through those pages, because the book is definitely worth finishing.

If you'd like a better idea of what this is all about, check out Dr. Blaser's...

United States on Aug 03, 2014

Peter Emch: If I were to read only one book this year, it would be Missing Microbes.
When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in 1962, she meticulously documented that widespread and mounting pesticide use was impacting far more than the intended insect targets. She pointed out what many people could already sense, that bird and other wildlife populations were dropping precipitously in areas heavily sprayed with pesticides and that human health in and around those areas was probably being degraded. Her book galvanized citizenry and policy makers to consider the full impact of powerful chemicals on what we would today call the “ecosystem.”
Fifty plus years later, Dr. Martin Blaser, former chair of medicine at NYU and a past president of the Infectious Disease Society of America, has written a book which painstakingly lays out how antibiotics impact both the pathogenic as well as symbiotic bacteria which line our intestines. He begins his book with a rumination on the “modern plagues” of today which typically involve our metabolic or immune systems: obesity, childhood diabetes, asthma, food allergies, esophageal reflux and cancer, celiac disease, and IBD among others. Blaser wonders...

United States on Apr 21, 2014