Quite a few people have asked me which books are the best references for nutrition, health and non-dieting approach. Here is my regularly updated list (last updated in 2017) of my favourite books for your continuing education as hungry health-conscious eaters and badass body-positive guys and gals!
Intuitive Eating / Non-diet approach / HAES
If not dieting, then what? - Dr. Rick Kausman
This is the book that stopped me in my raw vegan, juice-fasting til 4pm tracks and lovingly encouraged me to start facing the fact that my relationship with food and my body had become disordered. I devoured most of this book in one day, and was forever changed. This book literally turned me in the HAES, non-dieting and body-positive direction, a trajectory I humbly continue to travel to this day.
Dr Rick Kausman is a general practitioner and the founding father of the non-diet approach in Australia. Years later I met Dr Rick in person at one of his if not dieting health professional trainings, and can confirm that he is an incredibly compassionate and sweet man who walks his talk. If you're sick of dieting and want to discover that there is an alternative to restriction and body hatred, this easy to read book will get you started. It feels like Dr Rick is talking to you in person.
Health at Every Size: The surprising truth about your weight - Dr. Linda Bacon
A little more data and research-heavy than If not dieting, this book presents the argument for shifting our focus well and truly away from weight and towards actual health. I've been lucky enough to meet from Dr Linda Bacon and she too is a quietly-spoken woman with a refreshingly calm demeanour who is passionate about her work. If you're still a skeptic about the whole HAES thing and want cold hard well-researched evidence as to not only why diets don't work, but why they actually contribute to weight and body image problems - then this is the book for you.
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works - Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
Written by two dietitians who really GET IT and have spent decades in the field, this is an experiential book with heaps of practical suggestions and activities, as well as patient stories to inspire and demonstrate the effectiveness of this work. I find myself coming back to this classic again and again because I've found that learning intuitive eating is a must when it comes to healing one's relationship with food and their body. The authors break the concept of intuitive eating down into 10 manageable chunks such as, "how to reject diet mentality forever, "how to find satisfaction in your eating", and "how to feel your feelings without using food".
This book basically explains how to stop dieting and start listening to your body. It's not the be all and end all to healing relationship with food, since a huge chunk of that involves extensive body image work. But learning intuitive eating is a vital starting point.
This is the book that stopped me in my raw vegan, juice-fasting til 4pm tracks and lovingly encouraged me to start facing the fact that my relationship with food and my body had become disordered. I devoured most of this book in one day, and was forever changed. This book literally turned me in the HAES, non-dieting and body-positive direction, a trajectory I humbly continue to travel to this day.
Dr Rick Kausman is a general practitioner and the founding father of the non-diet approach in Australia. Years later I met Dr Rick in person at one of his if not dieting health professional trainings, and can confirm that he is an incredibly compassionate and sweet man who walks his talk. If you're sick of dieting and want to discover that there is an alternative to restriction and body hatred, this easy to read book will get you started. It feels like Dr Rick is talking to you in person.
Health at Every Size: The surprising truth about your weight - Dr. Linda Bacon
A little more data and research-heavy than If not dieting, this book presents the argument for shifting our focus well and truly away from weight and towards actual health. I've been lucky enough to meet from Dr Linda Bacon and she too is a quietly-spoken woman with a refreshingly calm demeanour who is passionate about her work. If you're still a skeptic about the whole HAES thing and want cold hard well-researched evidence as to not only why diets don't work, but why they actually contribute to weight and body image problems - then this is the book for you.
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works - Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
Written by two dietitians who really GET IT and have spent decades in the field, this is an experiential book with heaps of practical suggestions and activities, as well as patient stories to inspire and demonstrate the effectiveness of this work. I find myself coming back to this classic again and again because I've found that learning intuitive eating is a must when it comes to healing one's relationship with food and their body. The authors break the concept of intuitive eating down into 10 manageable chunks such as, "how to reject diet mentality forever, "how to find satisfaction in your eating", and "how to feel your feelings without using food".
This book basically explains how to stop dieting and start listening to your body. It's not the be all and end all to healing relationship with food, since a huge chunk of that involves extensive body image work. But learning intuitive eating is a vital starting point.
General nutrition
In Defence of Food – Michael Pollan
This book provides awesome insight into junk science and the reality behind the “healthy” diet the US government prescribes. This guy shares a very balanced approach to eating that I really resonated with. He loves his food too and shows you how to rediscover the joys of eating well with a few gems of advice that allow you to enrich your life and your palate.
Chakra Foods for Optimum Health - Dr. Deanna Minich
A guide to the foods that can improve your energy, inspire creative changes, open your heart and heal body, mind and spirit - and that's just the front cover. Written by an inspirational yogini and truly integrated clinical nutritionist - a beautiful reference book.
Healing with Wholefoods - Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition – Paul Pitchford
The unequivocal bible for practitioners of traditional chinese nutritional medicine. This book will have you turning its pages in awe for hours in the Balinese cafe it belongs to while the staff wait impatiently for you to get out. This hefty tome also makes for an excellent video camera stand and a formidable self-defence weapon.
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition – Enette Larson Meyer
I had this book out on constant loan from the university library in my long distance and triathlon days to maximise nutritional benefits and boost performance, which it did. A must read for vegetarian athletes (who can find it harder to get all the goodies they need), coaches and nutritionists.
This book provides awesome insight into junk science and the reality behind the “healthy” diet the US government prescribes. This guy shares a very balanced approach to eating that I really resonated with. He loves his food too and shows you how to rediscover the joys of eating well with a few gems of advice that allow you to enrich your life and your palate.
Chakra Foods for Optimum Health - Dr. Deanna Minich
A guide to the foods that can improve your energy, inspire creative changes, open your heart and heal body, mind and spirit - and that's just the front cover. Written by an inspirational yogini and truly integrated clinical nutritionist - a beautiful reference book.
Healing with Wholefoods - Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition – Paul Pitchford
The unequivocal bible for practitioners of traditional chinese nutritional medicine. This book will have you turning its pages in awe for hours in the Balinese cafe it belongs to while the staff wait impatiently for you to get out. This hefty tome also makes for an excellent video camera stand and a formidable self-defence weapon.
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition – Enette Larson Meyer
I had this book out on constant loan from the university library in my long distance and triathlon days to maximise nutritional benefits and boost performance, which it did. A must read for vegetarian athletes (who can find it harder to get all the goodies they need), coaches and nutritionists.
Putting it all together
The Yoga of Eating: Transcending Diets and Dogma to Nourish the Natural Self - Charles Eisenstein
This is simply an amazing book. Charles wraps up environmental ethics and intuitive eating in the one book, with eloquence and thought-provocation. He talks about how connecting to your food and your body is so important, about the emotional and spiritual aspects of eating, and why nutrition is about more than just the physical chemistry of the food we eat. A yummy book to dip into time and time again.
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind – Deepak Chopra
A teabag of quantum physics steeped in a cup of deep spirituality, Deepak’s philosophy displays a nicely rounded example of immateriality merging with science, with a fair few gems on nutrition thrown in for good measure.
This is simply an amazing book. Charles wraps up environmental ethics and intuitive eating in the one book, with eloquence and thought-provocation. He talks about how connecting to your food and your body is so important, about the emotional and spiritual aspects of eating, and why nutrition is about more than just the physical chemistry of the food we eat. A yummy book to dip into time and time again.
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind – Deepak Chopra
A teabag of quantum physics steeped in a cup of deep spirituality, Deepak’s philosophy displays a nicely rounded example of immateriality merging with science, with a fair few gems on nutrition thrown in for good measure.
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