What is our immune system, and how does it work? A vast array of cells, proteins and chemicals spring into action whenever our bodies are damaged, but immunity is not something you can see, touch or feel. It can fight off malicious bacteria and viruses, locate cancerous growths, and even re-wire our brains – but sometimes our own tissues can get caught in its crossfire, with catastrophic consequences.

Humans may be the most disease-ridden animals on the planet. Professor John Trowsdale shows how the immune system protects us, and how our bodies invest huge resources to keep it running. Immunity influences how we age, and controls how we learn to fight off recurring diseases, and how our bodies respond to chronic conditions such as heart disease and dementia. But, in the case of allergies and autoimmune conditions, it can also easily get things wrong.

What the Body Knows is a hugely readable account of a fascinating phenomenon-one which, for good or for ill, impacts every aspect of our lives.

‘Masterful . . . distils extensive clinical experience, personal insights, and the scientific achievements of a professional lifetime, to offer a lucid analysis of what it will take to understand, treat, and ultimately defeat what is todays “cancer of the self”‘ Peter Whybrow, Founding Member and Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

We are often told that depression is ‘all in the mind’. So why are so many of its symptoms felt in our bodies? Why can depression have such a profound impact on physical as well as mental health – from coronary disease to stroke? Philip Gold, a world-renowned expert on this devastating illness, shows how depression is a stress response gone awry, affecting the whole body, not just the brain.

Drawing on both neuroscience and endocrinology, Breaking Through Depression reveals the latest research on how depression influences every aspect of our health, from the chemical messengers that control appetite to the brain’s structure and functionality. Packed with startling insights – such as how depression disrupts the twenty-four-hour sleep-wake cycle, interacting with the stress system differently depending on whether someone experiences melancholic or atypical symptoms – this book gives us the fullest picture yet of the disease. Gold transforms our understanding of different forms of depression, including related conditions such as bipolar and seasonal affective disorders, and its huge impact on global health.

Timely, urgent and important, Breaking Through Depression articulates the workings of this misunderstood illness in compelling and often surprising detail, introducing the newest innovations in treatment – from low energy lasers to genetic solutions and rapidly acting antidepressants which restore damaged brain cells – that offer hope for healing.

DK brings you a ground-breaking health book that will help you revitalise your workouts and perfect your Pilates practice, by understanding the muscle action, breathwork and techniques required, every step of the way.

Did you know that performing Pilates can strengthen your core, improve flexibility and posture, and help to reduce stress and anxiety at the same time? Backed by scientific research, learn how Pilates exercises benefit every system in the body. Science of Pilates reveals the facts with annotated artworks that show the mechanics, the angles, how your blood flow and respiration are affected, the key muscle and joint actions working below the surface of each exercise, safe alignment, and much more!

Go on a journey of self-discovery to explore:

– Specially commissioned CGI artworks depict all the main Pilates exercises with variations that add or reduce challenge.
– Artworks detail the mechanics of each exercise, correct body posture, the muscles involved and how they engage to perform movements.
– Illustrations featuring colour-coding to highlight how the muscles, ligaments, and joints engage, stretch, and relax to perform each exercise.
– Pilates programmes tailored to different abilities and aims.
– Suggested practices with a progressive increase in challenge over weeks and months.
– Easy-to-follow infographics help explain the hard science behind why Pilates training is so effective and what beneficial physical adaptations it can bring.

Set out to unearth the facts behind the pseudo-science fads, The Science of Pilates is an approachable, entertaining and easy-to read fitness guide for those seeking self-development backed up by solid scientific evidence. The popular question and answer format brings an immediacy to the information provided, and the highly visually illustrations truly bring the science to life in a contemporary and accessible way.

At DK, we believe in the power of discovery.

So why stop there?

If you like Science of Pilates, then why not try Science of Yoga to help you better understand yoga anatomy in order to perfect your practice and poses, or Science of Strength Training to support you in your journey to build you strongest body. Complete the collection today!

Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich, a pioneering orthodontist and a world-renowned evolutionist, respectively, present the biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have driven us toward this major health challenge. They propose simple adjustments that can alleviate this developing crisis, as well as a major alternative to orthodontics that promises more significant long-term relief. Jaws will change your life. Every parent should read this book.

The Concise Human Body Book provides full coverage of the body, function by function, system by system. In the opening chapter, colourful medical scans, illustrations, and easy-to-understand diagrams show you how the different parts of the body work together to produce a living whole. Eleven main body systems – including the skeletal system, cardiovascular system, and respiratory system – are then covered in intricate detail in the following chapters, with each section ending on common diseases and disorders that can affect that system.

From bones and muscles to systems and processes, this in-depth, pocket-sized guide to the body’s physical structure, chemical workings, and potential problems is the must-have reference manual for trainee medical professionals, students, or anyone interested in finding out more about how the human body works.

Each page of The Human Body Book, updated to reflect the latest medical information, is illustrated with colourful and comprehensive diagrams, which are thoroughly annotated to take you right into the cells and fibres that are responsible for keeping the human body ticking.

The opening chapter, Integrated Body, explains how the parts of the body work together at various levels of size and hierarchy to produce the living whole. It also contains an overview of the major body systems, enlivened by real-life 3D medical scans of the entire body. The chapters that follow provide coverage of the body function by function, system by system. Eleven main body systems are covered in turn, with each section ending on common injuries, diseases, and disorders afflicting that system. The book concludes with a chapter on Growth and Development which looks in detail at how the body changes over the course of a human lifespan.

Our gut is as important as our brain or heart, yet we know very little about how it works and many of us are too embarrassed to ask questions.

In Gut, Giulia Enders breaks this taboo, revealing the latest science on how much our digestive system has to offer.

From our miraculous gut bacteria – which can play a part in obesity, allergies, depression and even Alzheimer’s – to the best position to poo, this entertaining and informative health handbook shows that we can all benefit from getting to know the wondrous world of our inner workings.