CULTURED

CULTURED by Katherine Harmon Courage is a revealing look at the 300 trillion microorganisms that keep us healthy - and the foods they need to thrive.

These days, probiotic yogurt and other gut-friendly foods line the supermarket shelves. But what is the best way to feed our all-important microbiome? And what is a microbiome, anyway?

In this engaging book, science journalist Katherine Harmon Courage investigates these questions, presenting a deep dive into both the latest research and ancient food traditions for maintaining a healthy gut. Topics include:

Meet your microbiome: What it is, how it works, and why it's essential for our immune system and overall health.
How clean is too clean? How antibacterial products can do more harm than good.
Gut-friendly food traditions: A guided tour of artisanal makers of yogurt, kimchi, kefir, kombucha, and other vibrant, ancient foods that feed our microbiome.

Equal parts science explainer, culinary investigation, and roadmap for healthy eating, CULTURED offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in making smart food choices in our not-so-gut-friendly modern world.


Katherine Harmon Courage is a contributing editor for Scientific American and a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, National Geographic, and Popular Science, among other publications. Courage has been covering the microbiome beat since 2009. Her first book, Octopus: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea, was published in October 2013, and her work was featured inThe Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013.