I wish Mary Roach had spent a little more time, in the beginning, explaining the digestive system and the different parts of it – although I know a bit about it, from having gone with my husband to a few of his doctor’s appointments with gastroenterologists, there were still a lot of topics that Mary Roach covered that I didn’t understand. This book is NOT for people who don’t have at least a basic understanding of the digestive system and how it works. I also liked that Mary Roach talked a lot about her experiences talking to different experts on the alimentary canal and digestion. Mary Roach provided A LOT of information about the alimentary canal, and some of it, like the chapter on eating yourself to death, and the alimentary canal as a criminal accomplice, went beyond just talking about the digestive tract in general, so it didn’t seem like I was reading a college textbook on the digestive system.

The Ick Factor: We Can Cure You, But There’s Just One Thing.

I’m All Stopped Up: Elvis Presley’s Megacolon, and Other Ruminations on Death by Constipation.

Eating Backward: Is the Digestive Tract a Two-Way Street?.Smelling a Rat: Does Noxious Flatulence Do More than Clear a Room?.Dead Man’s Bloat: And Other Diverting Tales From The History of Flatulence Research.Inflammable You: Fun with Hydrogen and Methane.Up Theirs: The Alimentary Canal as a Criminal Accomplice.Stuffed: The Science of Eating Yourself to Death.Dinner’s Revenge: Can the Eaten Eat Back?.Big Gulp: How to Survive Being Swallowed Alive.A Bolus of Cherries: Life at the Oral Processing Lab.Spit Gets a Polish: Someone Ought to Bottle the Stuff.Hard to Stomach: The Acid Relationship of William Beaumont and Alexis St.The Longest Meal: Can Thorough Chewing Lower the National Debt?.Liver and Opinions: Why We Eat What We Eat And Despise the Rest.I’ll Have the Putrescine: Your Pet is Not Like You.

Nose Job: Tasting has little to do With Taste.

Elvis fans may enjoy reading the chapter on his megacolon. She also talks about how our pets’ digestive systems are different from ours. She also talks about some less attractive topics such as spit, flatulence, and constipation. She also talks about how chewing more thoroughly can help digestion and weight loss in general, and help people eat less. In “Gulp” Mary Roach talks about the different organs that make up the digestive tract, such as the nose, stomach, and colon among others. I decided to read this book because I’m always looking for ways to improve my health in general. WARNING: If you have a weak stomach don’t read this book!

Gulp mary roach review