Nikki Lee Health

Thanks to Leslie Cree, IBCLC, student RN,and Mother of 2, for this lovely review.

Baby Poop, What Your Pediatrician May Not Tell You about Colic, Reflux, Constipation, Green Stools, Food Allergies, and Your Child’s Immune Health

Linda F. Palmer, DC, Edited by Susan Markel, MD $17.99 USD,

Sunny Lane Press, San Diego, CA, 2015

In a market glutted with books on every conceivable way to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby, this suggestively titled book provides a PhD in understanding the impact of diet, antibiotics, and environment on short- and long-term health.

The book begins by explaining how the human microbiome is designed, and discusses research findings on the impact of interventions such as cesarean birth, antibiotics and infant formula on the colonization of bacteria in a newborn infant’s intestinal system. Gut composition has lifetime implications, from colic in infancy to abnormal behavior in childhood to eventually obesity and diabetes in adulthood. The bacterial composition of the gut is only beginning to gain importance as an area of scientific study, but the impact is already causing many to re-think common wisdom in treating constipation, diarrhea, allergies, and bowel diseases.

Elimination, the final step in the digestive process, provides a trail of clues as to what is transpiring within the body. Worried parents will likely be attracted by the title and be first to pick up this book. Hopefully, others’ interest will be piqued as well. Some may find the discussion too scientific at first, but content is repeated, almost verbatim, in multiple chapters, reinforcing the application of the discussion. The glossary is helpful as well. Research citations are provided for further investigation or for sharing with a healthcare provider.

A parent skimming for information can focus on their chapter of interest without having to read the entire book (although they may find themselves unable to stop). Explanations of available treatment options for many conditions are discussed, from current conventional pharmaceutical options to dietary modifications that take the new research into account. Easy to interpret charts and tables provide clarification on using elimination diets and supplemental probiotics to restore gut health.

This book has many sound ideas, but unfortunately the writing is replete with grammatical errors such as run-on sentences and sentence fragments. This makes it hard to follow the author’s arguments.

Overall, the message is well worth the extra effort to understand the author’s use of language.