These eight holistic nutrition books are my top books on nutrition and healthy eating for weight loss, digestive health, and overall health. Taking a holistic approach to healing your body and improving your health is essential. Eating whole foods and a plant-based diet is the cornerstone for improving various health issues, but sometimes we need to do a deep dive into the best books on holistic nutrition to really understand just how important it is to eat healthy foods.
If you are ready to make lifestyle changes and have the best health, these wellness books are a must-read. These books on holistic nutrition have been my best resources full of scientific evidence that will help you to lose weight and improve your gut health.
While I have read many books on the topic of nutrition and health and spent countless hours listening to podcasts, and by hours, I mean years. These authors and books on holistic nutrition have stood out in ways that other books have not.
The messages in each book are profound. All these holistic health books have had an impact on my life. The information in the following books is priceless.
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#1 – Dirty Genes by Dr. Ben Lynch – The best holistic nutrition book
Dirty Genes is the best holistic nutrition book that forever changed the course of my nutritional studies and took my understanding of how nutrition affects our health and genes to a whole new level. After years of improving my health in specific areas, I still had a couple of remaining symptoms.
Reading dirty genes helped me to pinpoint exactly where my body was struggling and how to support my struggling genes using the diet and targeted supplements. Simple questionnaires will help you find out what dirty genes you may have and how to clean up your own dirty genes.
The book dirty genes had such a profound effect on me and the clients that I practice with that I continued to study genetics by taking Dr. Ben Lynch’s courses.
If you are like me, you will love this book and want to get to know yourself on the genetic level by doing your genetic testing to find out what clinically relevant SNPs you may have. This post walks you through what you can expect from your strategene report and genetic testing.
But to get started, no testing is needed. Just start with reading dirty genes and utilizing the questionnaires found in dirty genes. In this holistic nutrition book, you will take an in-depth look into the inside story of our body and learn about the top dirty genes that cause many health issues.
Dr. Ben Lynch is a leading expert in the field of genetics, and his book combines the latest evidence-based advice to clean your genes and sound nutrition advice with natural foods full of nutrients to support your dirty genes. Dirty Genes is my top pick, as the information was life-changing for me!
Here is my genetic story and why I love personalized nutrition through genetics.
#2 – The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung
If you want to lose weight, are insulin resistant, or have type 2 diabetes, then the Obesity Code is a must-read! The increased consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates has led to the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic that we face today.
One of the reasons why the keto diet has gained massive amounts of popularity for weight loss is because weight gain is a hormonal problem due to excess sugar causing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. When insulin levels are consistently elevated, the body is in a constant state of fat storage, making weight loss nearly impossible.
Dr. Jason Fung proves how fasting for weight loss, removing sugar and bad calories while eating healthy fats in the diet is the answer to solving the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic that we see today. The Obesity Code is one of the best weight loss nutrition books.
#3 – The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin
JJ Virgin’s book The Virgin Diet was one of the first holistic nutrition books I read back in the early days of delving deep into my self-nutrition studies. Through this book, I first learned about how food sensitivities cause inflammation. This book inspired me to get my first food sensitivity test which was the start of my healing journey.
Did you know that chronic inflammation is one of the big reasons why people cannot lose weight? The seven most common food allergies that cause inflammation include gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, eggs, peanuts, and corn.
If you have developed food sensitivities to these foods and can’t lose weight, then removing these common food sensitivities from the diet is the answer to your weight problems.
I remember reading The Virgin Diet while on holiday in Mexico, thinking, how the hell can I remove all these foods from my diet, and what am I allowed to eat?!
But the book made sense and sparked interest in me, so when I got home from my holiday, I booked my first naturopath appointment to get my food sensitivity test. Adjusting my diet to remove my food sensitivities while kicking my candida overgrowth was when I saw my health and digestive symptoms start to improve.
Many diet books count calories or use healthy eating habits, which is great, but what is missing is the immune system’s role in creating inflammation and thus causing weight gain. For anyone who wants to achieve permanent weight loss results, this is the best holistic nutrition book that contains meal ideas and smoothies to help you eat a proper diet for weight loss.
#4 – Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You by Dr. Jonathan Wright
Heartburn and acid reflux are super common digestive complaints, but did you know that too much stomach acid is rarely the cause of heartburn.
Most often, stomach acid levels are low when heartburn and acid reflux is present. What is often needed is gut healing support first, then additional stomach acid support in the form of betaine HCL. Long-term use of acid-blocking drugs and proton pump inhibitors can cause many long-term side effects.
Jonathan M Wright links low stomach acid levels to many chronic health conditions, from osteoporosis, rosacea, autoimmune challenges, heartburn, and many more. You will have to read Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You to fully understand all the roles that stomach acid plays in our health. Anyone interested in functional medicine needs to read this book, as it all starts with restoring optimal stomach acid levels.
#5 – Heartburn: Fast Tract Digestion by Norman Robillard
Acid reflux used to be one of my SIBO symptoms, but in my case, low stomach acid was not the problem. For me, it was the resistant starches and hard to digest starches that were feeding my SIBO that was underlying and causing my heartburn. By removing and reducing the high-fiber foods and difficult to digest starches that are fuel for SIBO, you can get rid of acid reflux.
Knowing that sometimes those healthy high fiber prebiotic foods are not helpful for someone experiencing heartburn is HUGE. If high fiber and difficult to digest starches are triggering your acid reflux, this book is a must. Norman Robillard lays out how SIBO and fermentable fibers are causing your heartburn symptoms in his Heartburn: Fast Tract Digestion book.
The SIBO diet and FODMAP diet can be beneficial to help reduce symptoms of acid reflux caused by the excess fermentation of carbohydrates in the small intestine but the ultimate healing of the gut allows people to eat high fiber food again. But if you are symptomatic and at the start of your healing journey, this holistic nutrition book is a great book to start with to get your acid reflux under control
#6 Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski
One of the most informative and comprehensive books I have read on gut health is Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski. This book is my gut health bible with alternative, dietary, and supplemental remedies and solutions for heartburn, leaky gut, candida, parasites, etc.
You name it, and this holistic health book talks about it. The health of our digestion affects all areas of our health, and this book provides step-by-step solutions to improving your gut health.
#7 The Wahls Protocol by Dr. Terry Wahls
The story of Terry Wahls and how she used diet to overcome her MS is truly inspiring and the perfect reminder of how powerful the diet is. Terry Wahls created the wahls diet to obtain as many micronutrients from the diet as possible to restore mitochondrial function and, thus, overall health, as we need healthy mitochondria to have a healthy body.
Terry Wahls went from wheelchair-bound due to her multiple sclerosis to walking and healthy through utilizing the power of nutrition found in real food. Reading The Wahls Protocol reconfirmed how important the diet is in restoring health and Terry Wahls is a walking example of how powerful the diet is for optimal health. Food matters when it comes to the nutritional healing of the body, and this book is an example of what can be achieved through diet changes.
This holistic nutrition book is another must-read for anyone suffering from an autoimmune condition or multiple sclerosis!
#8 Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome
Many people today have various digestive issues such as IBS and SIBO, but contrary to following a low fodmap diet, the long-term solution for a healthy microbiome is a high-fiber diet. The primary benefit of fiber is to nourish the good bacteria in the gut, which in turn makes postbiotics that have positive ripple effects throughout the entire body.
A healthy robust digestive system depends upon a diverse microbiome that can digest various plant fibers. Following a ketogenic diet low in plant-based foods can negatively impact the microbiome and one’s ability to digest fiber and various plant foods as the bacteria that produce enzymes to digest specific plant foods die. without being fed. Without a doubt, a healthy diet full of diverse plant-based foods is crucial for optimizing gut health for better health.
These are some of the best nutrition books I have read that have massively helped me through my own personal experiences. Each book has a unique perspective, and a lot of in-depth research has gone into these best books on holistic nutrition.
While these books on holistic nutrition are just the tip of the iceberg of many phenomenal books on the topics of nutrition, gut health, and weight loss, this reading list is a great start for anyone wanting to improve their health, lose weight and have the best gut health.
For anyone who wants to lose weight, here is a list of the best books for weight loss.
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