The Baby and the Biome

Praise

“We owe it to our kids to read this book. Meenal Lele shines a spotlight on perhaps surprising, but in fact critical, ways to address the rising rates of allergic disease—by focusing on barriers and microbiome health.”
—Romilly Hodges, MS, CNS, CDN, author of Immune Resilience

“Meenal Lele’s The Baby and the Biome tackles a crucial subject for parents: allergies and autoimmune reactions in children, including food allergies, eczema, and asthma. Lele explores the relationship between these devastating conditions and our microbiome–the collection of microorganisms in and on our body and skin. Drawing on cutting-edge research, Lele explains how our immune system is shaped from birth by our microbiome, and how we as parents can contribute to a healthy microbiome in our children through the right diet, environmental exposure, medications, and hygiene products. Lele clearly lays out how fostering a healthy biome prevents overactive immune reactions–and helps avoid allergies and autoimmune pathologies. Intertwining scientific and clinical data with the personal story of her quest to help her highly allergic son, Lele manages to educate with practical advice while making the journey through our body and gut an enjoyable read.”
—Sofia Axelrod, PhD, chronobiologist, author of How Babies Sleep

“Every parent wants the best possible start for their kids. Meenal Lele used her superpowers to identify and manage her son’s out-of-control immune diseases, and with The Baby and the Biome, we get her playbook. Packed with actionable ways for us to help our kids live healthier lives from birth, whether you’re a first-  or third-time parent, you’ll never look at microbes or feeding your kids the same way after reading this deeply researched, marvelous book.”
—Leslie Schrock, author of Bumpin’

“Lele’s The Baby and the Biome is a wonderful response to the surprising and life-threatening atopic episodes that Lele, and increasingly many others, encounter with their children. This is the book for parents wondering why eczema, food allergies, and asthma have become a modern epidemic, and what we can do to stop them.”
—Michael Brandwein, PhD, lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and CTO and cofounder of MYOR Diagnostics