Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

By Mary Roach

Synopsis: The alimentary canal — the much-maligned tube from mouth to rear — is as taboo, in its way, as the cadavers in Stiff, and as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. In Gulp we meet the scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks —or has the courage —to ask. How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? Can wine tasters really tell a $10 bottle from a $100 bottle? Why is crunchy food so appealing? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? We go on location to a pet food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

Published: April, 2013 | ISBN-13: 978-0393081572

Author’s Homepage: http://www.maryroach.net/books-news.html

Author’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mary_roach

NYTimes Book Review