I am always trying to remember all the great books I’ve read so I can recommend them to people so I decided to publish a list of what I believe are the top 10 best books about nutrition, gut health and wellness. If I could give a copy of each of these books to all the people I love, and force them to read them all, I would do that. That isn’t realistic so I’ll just share the links below. I hope all the people in my life choose a few to them that sound interesting. I’ll keep this intro short so you can get right to the good stuff. I hope you enjoy this list of the top 10 best books about nutrition, gut health and wellness. If you’re not a big reader, try audiobooks. Most of these can be found on Audible and Spotify.

1. Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means and Calley Means

Good Energy by Casey Means, MD: It is hard to choose a top, but this book is perhaps the most impactful that I’ve read on the topic of nutrition and health overall. If you’ve ever wondered about how the “health” care system is not really set up to “heal” you… but to make money from your sickness – this book is for you. Everyone needs to read this book in their life for what to be careful of in mainstream health care and what to know about additives, food colorings, gut health, and more. Dr. Casey Means has argued in front of the senate and is a BIG advocate for removing harmful food ingredients from our foods and passing laws that will keep Americans healthy. I am re-reading this book right now because I found it so impactful.

2. Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken

I am an audio book lover and this book is my favorite audiobook because Chris is such a great narrator. Additionally, he is a knowledgable expert in the topic of ultra-processed food. Everyone should read this so you understand what ultra-processed food is as well as how harmful they are to our bodies. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about gut health, too. Mr. Van Tulleken makes claims that in our American world: the fact that you’re fat might not be your fault. It could be because the food we consume is engineered to make you want to binge eat. Of course we must take responsibility for our eating but there are teams of scientists that spend their lives trying to make food more addictive. The people creating your food want you to spend more money and buy more food.

3. The Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe

Why are we not taught from the time we can talk about what order to eat our food in? I know the salad is usually served before a meal, but everyone in the world needs to know some of the basics about how to manage their own blood sugar by eating in the correct order. It is especially hard in a world where we consume SO MUCH sugar. This book is a must read for anyone with pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or anyone who thinks they eat healthy but just can’t seem to loose weight.

4. Real Food, Fake Food by Larry Olmsted

Before I read the first two books on the list, this was my favorite. Another deep dive into the poisonous ingredients that have found their way into our food. This book covers food coloring, seed oils, preservatives, the fish industry (sushi eaters MUST read), fake olive oil, cheese with bad additives, and more. I could go on and on about this book and the topics it covers, it truly started me on my journey of understanding ultra-processed foods. I gave a copy of this book to my whole family for Christmas because I wanted them to understand it so badly.

5. The Blue Zones of Happiness by Dan Buettner

After you finish the Blue Zones of Longevity documentary on Netflix, this is a perfect book to follow up with it. This book covers everything from diets of the happiest people on the earth, to what type of lifestyle and habits make people happier. Did you know that the less time you spend commuting in the car, the happier you are likely to be? They also have a companion cookbook called The Blue Zones Kitchen; 100 Recipes to live to 100 that I have and I love.

6. The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker

This book addresses how the “healthcare” and food industries have gotten it wrong. When it comes to the epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, we’re off track. The book dives into scientifically created “flavors”, ultra-processed food, gut health and more. This is a great one to read after Ultra-Processed People and Real Food, Fake Food if you’re still craving more. (Pun very much intended, haha).

7. The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer

I am obsessed with gut health, if you haven’t figured that out yet. This book is all about how the health of your gut, impacts your brain, mood, hormones, and mental health. This is such an important topic that most doctors are still not talking about enough but the scientific research is there to back it up. If your gut is not healthy, your mind will not be healthy.

8. Nutrition Made Clear by Roberta H Ading and The Great Courses

This is not so much a “book” as it is a course. It’s available on Audible as an audio “book” and it’s about 25 hours long. It is LONG – but it is such a comprehensive look at nutrition and a great place to start if you’re seriously interested in learning a LOT about nutrition.

9. You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

This book isn’t about nutrition or food at all but it is about wellness! It’s about creating your best life. I particularly love the idea that you can imagine your best life into existence and the author dives deep into that. Aside from the helpful ideas, the book is hilarious and so fun to read or listen to.

10. Atomic Habits by James Clear

What good is all this knowledge if you can’t make the changes you need to make? If you’re trying to create better habits, this is a great way to get some ideas on how to efficiently create new habits. This book also provides inspiration to get your started with your “habit stacking”.

11. Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide by Rosemary Gladstar

As a bonus 11th book, I’d recommend checking out some herbal books from the library before you buy any of them. This is the one I chose to buy to keep in my house since I kept getting overdue notices on my library card with all the herbal books. There are others that I like pretty much just the same but this one is only $11.49 on Amazon . I also love the way this one is laid out. If you don’t know much about the power of herbs in your health (all aspects of health), I highly recommend checking out this book or one similar.

That’s all for now. Let me know if you read any of them.

Yours, nutritionally,
Dan DuPraw