Gulp

Mary Roach’s Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal was something I’d seen on The Colbert Report and thought “huh that seems really interesting, I should read that.” But I know myself and I know that if it weren’t for my book club selecting it, I probably would still have it on my “to read” list.

With Gulp, Roach seeks to explain how we eat, why we eat it, and what our body does with whatever we choose to consume. She does so with many humorous asides and interesting pictures, allowing the reader to really enjoy learning without seeming like a text book from AP Biology in tenth grade. There are many interesting topics covered in this book, but what stuck with me probably the most were the sections on pet food, the true story behind Elvis’ bathroom death (megacolon), and how much we as humans don’t really think about eating as much as we should.

There are people whose job is to smell farts. Seriously. Also, there are people that taste your pet food. And that chicken ‘meal’ or fish ‘meal’ that you find so unappealing in your dog or cats food bag? It’s actually far healthier for them than the whole pieces of white meat chicken you insist on. I learned this and quite a few other fun facts reading the book and I think most anyone would find it interesting. Roach writes approachably enough that you don’t feel like you’re really learning that much until it’s over.