Nutrition

Our approach to nutrition starts with real food, and generally avoids transient fads and books involving the word “diet.” This is a classic that looks at where our food comes from and how those choices shape our health, environment, and culture. Pollan traces four meals from origin to plate, revealing the hidden systems behind industrial agriculture, organic farming, and foraging.

A clear, practical follow-up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma that distills Pollan’s philosophy into a simple credo: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Cuts through nutritional confusion to focus on whole, minimally processed foods and traditional eating patterns. Basic principles that will never go away. (Just get enough protein alongside the plants)

A short, highly accessible companion to In Defense of Food that distills healthy eating into straightforward, memorable rules. Each rule is practical, often humorous, and easy to apply. Again, a wide variety of plant foods is important for anyone, and especially if you’re an athlete, be sure to get plenty of protein as well.

A highly underappreciated, well-researched takedown of decades of flawed nutritional guidelines and the political, economic, and cultural forces that shaped them. Minger blends investigative journalism with clear explanations of nutrition science, exposing how bad data and biased committees led to widespread dietary misinformation. Read it to understand why official recommendations often lag far behind the evidence, and how to make better choices for yourself.

This book explains so much about how we got to our current place as a culture in terms of food and nutrition. It looks at how post-WWII food companies, advertisers, and media reshaped the American diet and convinced most of a generation to give up on real food and instead depend on what amounted to rebranded field rations at home. Shapiro goes through the rise of convenience foods, the marketing that sold them as modern and liberating, and the cultural shifts they triggered in how we as a society approach food.

An exception to our avoidance of books involving the word “diet” for a very narrow and easily misunderstood niche. This is a concise, guide to low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets. Volek and Phinney explain the physiology of fat adaptation, how it relates to endurance, and how to implement it without sacrificing strength or recovery. It’s essential reading for athletes exploring ketogenic or low-carb approaches.

A good insight into how deeply impactful our cultural views on food can be, with some useful ideas for parents. After moving from Canada to her husband’s hometown in France, Le Billon watched her picky children transform unhealthy North American eating habits by adopting a French approach to eating. She blends personal anecdotes with ten “Good Rules” that banish snacking, normalize tasting everything, and treat meal times as important parts of culture and education.