5 Books That Changed My Life

I’m often asked if I follow a certain diet or eating plan. The truth is, I don’t.

I do prefer to focus on eating whole foods and properly combined meals, but I no longer stick to any hard and fast rules. (This hasn’t always been the case, but I’ve found I’m a much happier person when I’m less regimented!)

Naturally, it took me a while to get to this point, and quite a few books influenced my thinking– and eating– along the way.

Today, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

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1. UltraMetabolism, by Dr. Mark Hyman.

I bought this book while I was still in college, and it was the first program that ever made me question the “standard American diet.” Written by a practicing medical doctor, who published this book after successfully treating and healing his own patients through dietary and lifestyle advice, this seemed like a good place to start.

After reading UltraMetabolism, I attempted my first elimination diet– cutting out wheat, dairy and processed foods for a period of time, to see how I felt without them. Not only did I feel better, but I drastically reduced my consumption of cow’s dairy and wheat products from that point forward. There are a variety of scientific tidbits scattered throughout this book, so it’s still one that I’ll reference often.

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2. The Raw Food Detox Diet, by Natalia Rose.

This book has arguably had the most impact on my way of eating thus far.

Natalia Rose introduced me to food combining, green juice, goat cheese, and dark chocolate–> things I still very much love today. While I’ve read all of her subsequent books, including Detox 4 Women, this particular book is the one I always recommend as a good starting point for people interested in learning more about detox and clean eating.

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3. Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall.

This book is a gold-mine of information about the human digestive system, written by a biochemist and cell biologist. I was most influenced by the explanation of how we digests sugars–> particularly the difference between monosaccharides and disaccharides. If you’ve ever wondered why I prefer using honey in my recipes, over other natural sweeteners, this book explains it!

It was also the catalyst behind us making the decision to go grain-free earlier this year, and is a great resource for anyone suffering from chronic digestive issues.

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4. Primal Body, Primal Mind, by Nora T. Gedgaudas.

When embarking on our little grain-free experiment, it seemed natural to read a few books on the Paleo Diet. While this wasn’t the only one I read on the subject, it was definitely my favorite. Nora Gedgaudas discusses, in depth, the diet of our ancestors and makes a strong argument for eating whole, unprocessed foods– with much less of an emphasis on protein consumption, when compared to other Paleo plans.

In fact, I find a lot of similarities between the concepts in this book and the other books listed above!

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5. Brain Over Binge, by Kathryn Hansen.

If you’ve ever dieted before, there’s probably a good chance you’ve also binged.

I was a chronic yo-yo dieter for years, and this was the first book that ever resonated with me on the matter of binge-eating. If you find yourself struggling with urges to binge, this book provides a refreshing perspective on how to put a stop to it for good. Definitely a life-changer!

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Reader Feedback: Have any books influenced your eating and lifestyle habits? I’d love to hear about your favorites!