Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman

In Super Immunity, Fuhrman outlines how certain foods including leafy green vegetables, mushrooms, onions, garlic, berries and seeds can improve our natural defenses. Eating only vegetables, particularly green leafy and other foods high in nutrients is purported to not only boost immunity but also rid the body of other problems like diabetes and lupus.  While the information on the particular vegetables was interesting and useful, there is also a lot of space given to his theories on, for example, why cold medicines don't work. He also includes a lot of testimonials, which I always consider kind of a red flag for credibility.  Furhman espouses the vegan diet, or at least a diet with little or no meat and dairy, and not much fats except avocados.  While there are a number of recipes given, similar ones can be found in any good vegan cookbook. There is also no index. Most reviewers on Amazon gave the book 4 or 5 stars, but I expect most of them were predisposed to his message.  278 pages. Medicine

10% Human: how your bodies microbes hold the key to health and happiness, by Alanna Collen

Here's a startling fact - for every one of the cells that make up your body, there are another nine living on or mostly inside you.  These microbes have a very complex relationship with us, their host organisms.  Without them, we would not be able to digest a good portion of our food, we would lose out on important vitamins and enzymes that they produce, and would also lose much of our immune system.  While I was mostly acquainted with the basics of the role of these microbes in digestion, Collen also summarizes recent research on the links between these microbes, antibiotics, and other illnesses or disorders such as obesity, autism and even personality traits such as anxiety and other moods.  Collen turns the 'you are what you eat' statement around to 'you are what they eat' and describes the widespread effects of various imbalances of microbes on human health.  So, if you want to have better health and boost your immune system, eat what your microbes prefer - lots of good fruits and vegetables.  304 pages.  Medical .