For an evidence based approach: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31756631
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43723901-lifespan
Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
21–30 of 41 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#22I like Joel Fuhrman's books. Not sure if the science included is as deep as you (a Hacker News reader) would want or not, but I found it adequate. I'm not trying to become a nutritional scientist myself, just understand things better.
Agreed. Eat to Live is the single best nutrition book I’ve read. He also continues [1] to be an active medical researcher and clinician. His diet is challenging to strictly follow but the results are very clear.
[1] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,22&q=%22jo...
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#23"The Economists' Diet: The Surprising Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off"
https://www.amazon.com/Economists-Diet-Surprising-Formula-Ke...
The subtitle is a lie. There's nothing "surprising" here at all. It's complete common sense.
Also:
"Fitness Confidential: Adventures in the Weight-Loss Game"
https://www.amazon.com/FITNESS-CONFIDENTIAL-Adventures-Weigh...
Taubes is good too:
"Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It"
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#24"The End of Dieting", Joel Fuhrman, MD.
"How Not to Die", Michael Greger, MD.
"The Obesity Code", Jason Fung, MD.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#25Multiple mentions of "How not to Die" by Dr. Michael Greger which is great and extensively researched - and he just came out with a new book "How not to Diet" which looks like the same quality.
Also, if you like videos better, there is a huge collection by him on https://nutritionfacts.org/ - searchable by condition (like "cholesterol"), or on his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NutritionFactsOrg
Spoiler alert: all of his conclusions boil down to just a few things:
- don't drink calories
- eat less processed food
- eat less meat and dairy
- eat more fiber (beans, greens, fruits, veggies)
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#26"The Economists' Diet: The Surprising Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off" https://www.amazon.com/Economists-Diet-Surprising-Formula-Ke... The subtitle is a lie. There's nothing "surprising" here at all. It's complete common sense. Also: "Fitness Confidential: Adventures in the Weight-Loss Game" https://www.amazon.com/FITNESS-CONFIDENTIAL-Adventures-Weigh... Taubes is good too: "Why We Get Fat: And What to D…
Honorable mention: "The Hacker's diet (how to loose weight and hair through stress and poor nutrition" ( https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ )
Written by one Autodesk cofounders. Good read, btw.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#27Notable that the recommendations here skew to two diametrically opposed poles:
a) low/no meat/dairy, high fiber, beans, plants
b) high meat/dairy (and fiber), low carbs
This is not a single consistent universe.
My personal experience is my body is usually in a mode where it likes b) but sometimes transitions to wanting time in a).
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#28Any book that excludes the microbiome is like seeing monochromatically.
At least include, Follow Your Gut by Rob Knight.
Imo, chasing the Avalon of single books is a flawed strategy, arguably silly.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#29I'd start with a movie, not a book. The movie is "Game Changers", directed by James Cameron, and released last month on Netflix and Amazon Video. If you're skeptical about the science behind the movie, read the critique published in Men's Health magazine along with the rebuttal from one of the MD's interviewed in the film. Next I'd read "The Engine 2 seven-day rescue diet" by Rip Esselstyn. If you a more in-depth tre…
Fun fact - the most popular subject for debates in the original Coursera course "How to Reason and Argue" was diet. We've got a lively debate going here in the comments below - bravo!
I myself am most interested in what medical doctors (MD's) have to say about the question of plant-based diets, with reference to peer reviewed scientific journal articles. On the one hand, we've got high-profile MD's such as Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, Michael Greger, Neal Barnard, Joel Fuhrman, James Lomis and Matthew Lederman arguing for the benefits of a plant-based diet. Can someone provide links to MD's who take an opposing view?
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best book on nutrition?
#30"How not to die" by Michael Greger .. nearly half the book is the list of references...
"How not to diet" goes into far more depth; the references are so large, he put them online instead of making the book far larger than the 800 pages it already is. People sometimes read Dr. Greger through a lens which suggests he spends too much time talking "plant-based" when they, those readers, have digestive or other problems with strictly vegan diets. My take is that he does, at the very least, point out what the effects of non-plant-based sources can have. I do not read in his books (I have both, and watch all his videos) specific dietary advice; rather, I simply find in them the kinds of information I seek to make my own choices.