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Best books on nutrition


maize
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I'm looking for recommendations of books that you have found helpful in making eating choices for yourself and your family.

 

I realize that there are some pretty conflicting schools of thought out there when it comes to nutrition. I'm open to reading and considering the claims of each; I rather suspect that the truth as to what is best depends significantly on the individual, not all humans being identical to each other.

Edited by maize
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I like Taubes, but I hate his diet stuff he now has on his website.  It has taken what I think is a fairly straightforward WOE/diet and turned it into something far more complicated, somewhat unrealistic for the average person, etc.  It reads like the rich man's low carb diet. 

 

Ah, I have never looked at his website.   

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Eat to Live - Dr. Fuhrman (Nutritarian)

 

Reboot with Joe Juice Diet (Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead)

 

Nourishing Traditions (Sonlight's High School Nutrition based on the studies of Dentist? Weston A Price)

 

The China Study (well known study)

 

Wild Fermentation

 

Foodwise: Understanding What We Eat and How it Affects Us, The Story of Human Nutrition

 

The Biodynamic Food and Cookbook: Real Nutrition that Doesn’t Cost the Earth

 

Wholefood Heal, Nourish and Delight by Jude Blereau

 

Trim Healthy Momma (Definitely NOT something I would recommend for children)

 

And there was another book that I had on my old wishlist, but I can't find the name of it, it was basically about using the whole plant, the whole animal, to create a complete diet, rather than just picking out the parts that we liked (and most of the time, may not be the best bits), about keeping stuff local, homegrown or as close to it etc, real "Wholefood" cooking, since I can't find the name, an alternative (just about meat):

 

The Complete Nose to Tail - Fergus Henderson

 

*I am not commenting on the validity of these books, just adding to the list as these are books I have read or am planning to read.

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Eat to Live - Dr. Fuhrman (Nutritarian)

 

Reboot with Joe Juice Diet (Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead)

 

Nourishing Traditions (Sonlight's High School Nutrition based on the studies of Dentist? Weston A Price)

 

The China Study (well known study)

 

Wild Fermentation

 

Foodwise: Understanding What We Eat and How it Affects Us, The Story of Human Nutrition

 

The Biodynamic Food and Cookbook: Real Nutrition that Doesn’t Cost the Earth

 

Wholefood Heal, Nourish and Delight by Jude Blereau

 

Trim Healthy Momma (Definitely NOT something I would recommend for children)

 

And there was another book that I had on my old wishlist, but I can't find the name of it, it was basically about using the whole plant, the whole animal, to create a complete diet, rather than just picking out the parts that we liked (and most of the time, may not be the best bits), about keeping stuff local, homegrown or as close to it etc, real "Wholefood" cooking, since I can't find the name, an alternative (just about meat):

 

The Complete Nose to Tail - Fergus Henderson

 

*I am not commenting on the validity of these books, just adding to the list as these are books I have read or am planning to read.

China study = faulty study

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deniseminger.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/amp/?client=safari

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Another vote for The Obesity Code

 

I would recommend steering clear of nutrition books that recommend cutting out entire food groups, i.e. books that advocate no meat, or no dairy, or no grains, etc.  And that, unfortunately, seems to be most of the books out there.  If you have a specific allergy or intolerance that makes those foods problematic, then of course you're going to want to cut them out.  But for the vast majority of us, I do not believe we get more healthy by cutting foods* out of our diets, but by eating a broad variety.  So for that reason I would tend to recommend books like What to Eat and Nourishing Traditions which emphasize whole, high-quality foods from all food groups, and recommend avoiding highly processed foods (though I will warn you that the first one is a little bit too fat phobic for my tastes, and probably does not emphasize protein enough for people who are physically active, and the latter one is a very labor intensive way to eat, and is definitely not for everyone.)

 

 

 

 

* When I say food, I do not mean sugar.  Sugar is not food, it is an anti-nutrient which contributes to weight-gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, etc.  You WILL get healthier by cutting sugar out of your diet!

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Another vote for The Obesity Code

 

I would recommend steering clear of nutrition books that recommend cutting out entire food groups, i.e. books that advocate no meat, or no dairy, or no grains, etc. And that, unfortunately, seems to be most of the books out there. If you have a specific allergy or intolerance that makes those foods problematic, then of course you're going to want to cut them out. But for the vast majority of us, I do not believe we get more healthy by cutting foods* out of our diets, but by eating a broad variety. So for that reason I would tend to recommend books like What to Eat and Nourishing Traditions which emphasize whole, high-quality foods from all food groups, and recommend avoiding highly processed foods (though I will warn you that the first one is a little bit too fat phobic for my tastes, and probably does not emphasize protein enough for people who are physically active, and the latter one is a very labor intensive way to eat, and is definitely not for everyone.)

 

 

 

 

* When I say food, I do not mean sugar. Sugar is not food, it is an anti-nutrient which contributes to weight-gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, etc. You WILL get healthier by cutting sugar out of your diet!

Below the neck, carbohydrates ie: grains, are sugar.

 

So cutting out grains = drastically reducing sugar.

 

DISCLAIMER: I am not the food police. I am not and telling anyone what they must do. I am only sharing information. You can choose to use or disregard any or all information at your discretion.

Edited by fraidycat
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Below the neck, carbohydrates ie: grains, are sugar.

 

So cutting out grains = drastically reducing sugar.

 

 

Grains contain fiber and nutrients, however, and sugar does not.  Sugar spikes insulin much higher than whole grains do.  

 

I think that diabetics and people with other blood sugar or metabolic problems will probably have to be far more careful with grains (ETA or quite possibly eliminate them entirely).  But I think that whole grains are a perfectly reasonable thing to include in most people's diets.

Edited by Greta
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Ugh. Broccoli breaks down into sugar, too. That doesn't make it bad.

Not sure about the need for nastiness. I didn't say it was all bad. All carbohydrates break down in to sugar to some degree. Yes, this includes vegetables. I was pointing out the direct contradiction in the statement that one should cut out sugar, but not grains. She did not say refined sugar.

 

As someone who did have to be very careful about ALL forms of sugar, including vegetables, starches, and grains due to gestational diabetes and testing my blood glucose level, this is not just "something I read in a book" and am spewing to the masses. It is from experience. I am saying Carbohydrates = sugar, so be careful with ANY form of it in your diet. If anyone wants to check and see how it affects them, they can get a BG monitor and check for themselves. Some can eat it, some can't. Some who think they can eat it, probably shouldn't. And vice versa.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: I am not the food police. I am not and telling anyone what they must do. I am only sharing information. You can choose to use or disregard any or all information at your discretion.

Edited by fraidycat
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Not sure about the need for nastiness. I didn't say it was all bad. All carbohydrates break down in to sugar to some degree. Yes, this includes vegetables. I was pointing out the direct contradiction in the statement that one should cut out sugar, but not grains. She did not say refined sugar.

 

As someone who did have to be very careful about ALL forms of sugar, including vegetables, starches, and grains due to gestational diabetes and testing my blood glucose level, this is not just "something I read in a book" and am spewing to the masses. It is from experience. I am saying Carbohydrates = sugar, so be careful with ANY form of it in your diet. If anyone wants to check and see how it affects them, they can get a BG monitor and check for themselves. Some can eat it, some can't. Some who think they can eat it, probably shouldn't. And vice versa.

 

What came across as anger is intense frustration.  The poster's meaning was very clear, for a conversation that was not about diabetes.  Putting grains on the same level, in a general conversation not about diabetes, frustrates me, because it perpetuates myths that people try to adhere to and turn themselves inside out trying to be "healthy".

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What came across as anger is intense frustration. The poster's meaning was very clear, for a conversation that was not about diabetes. Putting grains on the same level, in a general conversation not about diabetes, frustrates me, because it perpetuates myths that people try to adhere to and turn themselves inside out trying to be "healthy".

But, this is still not about diabetes. I uses my own BG monitoring due to gestational diabetes as my example to show my personal MEASURABLE Experience with this information. FWIW, my experience happened about 10+ years before I ever picked up or looked at any kind of book on nutrition/food. It just made more sense after reading the info.

 

Sugar affects way more in your body than just pancreas/insulin/diabetes. ALL kinds of sugar. Sugar = sugar = sugar in how your body deals with it. It doesn't matter what form it enters your mouth in.

 

She said cut out sugar. It's more complex than that. Yes, cutting Refined sugar is smart, but it's not the whole story. If that frustrates you, there's nothing I can do about that.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: I am not the food police. I am not and telling anyone what they must do. I am only sharing information. You can choose to use or disregard any or all information at your discretion.

Edited by fraidycat
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Another vote for The Obesity Code

 

I would recommend steering clear of nutrition books that recommend cutting out entire food groups, i.e. books that advocate no meat, or no dairy, or no grains, etc.  And that, unfortunately, seems to be most of the books out there.  If you have a specific allergy or intolerance that makes those foods problematic, then of course you're going to want to cut them out.  But for the vast majority of us, I do not believe we get more healthy by cutting foods* out of our diets, but by eating a broad variety.  So for that reason I would tend to recommend books like What to Eat and Nourishing Traditions which emphasize whole, high-quality foods from all food groups, and recommend avoiding highly processed foods (though I will warn you that the first one is a little bit too fat phobic for my tastes, and probably does not emphasize protein enough for people who are physically active, and the latter one is a very labor intensive way to eat, and is definitely not for everyone.)

 

 

 

 

* When I say food, I do not mean sugar.  Sugar is not food, it is an anti-nutrient which contributes to weight-gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, etc.  You WILL get healthier by cutting sugar out of your diet!

 

Possibly, but it's a lot less tasty.  Why not just cut it down?

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I was pointing out the direct contradiction in the statement that one should cut out sugar, but not grains. She did not say refined sugar.

 

True, I tend to use the word sugar when I mean refined sugars. I do know the difference, but I apologize for being unclear. It's frustrating that we have the same word for three meanings: refined sugars, any carbohydrate monomer, and sucrose specifically. I'll try to be more mindful of that and choose better terms.

 

  

Possibly, but it's a lot less tasty.  Why not just cut it down?

Cutting down is great! Everybody has to do what's right for them and what they can live with. I allow myself to have sugar once a month, mostly to prevent the great sadness that would come from feeling I could never eat crème brûlée again. ;) Considering how often I used to eat sugar though, basically every single meal, that's close enough to cutting it out that I just tend to think and speak of it that way.

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