The author combines neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and nutrition in such a way that you don’t have to be a neuroscientist to understand it. This is an excellent introduction to learning WHY change is so difficult. He answers the question: Even though we know better, we often eat too much. Why does our behaviour betray our own intentions to be lean and healthy?
This is the nutrition book I recommend most often. I wrote more about it in this blog.
Atomic Habits is not a nutrition book per se, though there are many nutrition examples used between the pages. This book lays out how to create sustainable change over time. We learn that most of the things we do, we just do out of habit. The key is to insert healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine in a way that makes it feel like just another habit.
Dr. Lee-Baggley is a registered clinical psychologist specializing in health behaviour change, managing and treating obesity, and adapting to chronic health conditions.
I was lucky to have had Dr. Lee-Baggley as a guest in one of my Medical Nutrition Therapy classes. She is a self-confessed regular exerciser, though admittedly rarely enjoys it.
This book explains why our brain can sometimes make healthy habits feel like they’re not worth doing. Followed by strategies to work around this.
This book is an in-depth, deep-dive into the physiology and biology of weight management. With chapters like: Diets are Failing, What Really Works?, and Debunking the BS, it is an all-inclusive, evidence-based resource for “How to Lose Fat and Keep it Off”.
One of the most important aspects learned in this book is our body’s self defense system. Meaning, how our body actually fights AGAINST weight loss. The chapter, Defending Against the Self Defense System, provides strategies that will help keep weight off.
The author of this book is a dietitian and has a PhD in exercise physiology. This book is an incredible introduction to the science of digestion, nutrition, and stomach distress. If you’re an exerciser and experience any stomach distress, or want to avoid it in the future, I highly recommend this one!
The book is wonderfully written, with hilarious analogies and pop culture references, it was very easy and fun to read.
Here, Alan wrote a fantastic all-in-one nutrition book for the general public. Even for those who already spend a lot of time reading about nutrition, there are a lot of golden nuggets in this one!
He does a great job adding nuance where it is needed, dispelling myths, and letting you know what you need to know. Along with all of that is a chapter dedicated to The Big Picture of Science, which touches on topics like, basic Scientific Literacy and Why is the General Public So Confused About What to Eat?
The Power of Habit shows that many of “our most basic actions are not the product of well-considered decision making, but of habits we often do not realize exist”.
Keeping with the themes of the books mentioned above, like The Hungry Brain and Atomic Habits, this book is a deeper dive into the science behind habit change. It discusses our habits as if they are three-step loop, consisting of a cue, a routine, and a reward. The science has shown us that to change a habit (the routine), it may work best to keep the cue and the reward the same.
Canada released a new Food Guide in 2019 encouraging Canadians to “make it a habit to eat a variety of healthy foods each day”.
As you explore the Canada Food Guide website, you’ll find pages like: how to make healthy eating habits, recipes, tips for meal planning, and more!
Cool fact: the Canada Food Guide is available in 31 different languages!
Examine provides “Evidence-Based Analysis on Supplements and Nutrition”.
There are no ads or industry ties, just nutrition and supplement information you can trust.
This is one of my go-to resources when I want to learn more about a supplement or see the latest research in nutrition. I use Examine for their supplement guides and research database. Examine makes it easy to search by supplement and/or health condition.
The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, describe recommended amounts of time we should spend being active, sedentary, and how much time we should dedicate to sleep.
The guidelines include resources for the early years (0-4 yrs), children and youth (5-17 yrs), adults (18-64), and for adults over 65 yrs.
This website has lots of healthy living resources. It is a type 2 diabetes prevention initiative for children and youth. Meant 2 Prevent provides resources for both families and health professionals. It also has family-friendly kitchen tips and recipes!
Their goal is to “empower families, youth, and healthcare professionals across Canada with evidence-based resources and tools to promote healthy living habits and prevent pediatric type 2 diabetes”.
This website provides the “most informative, consistent, and unbiased health and nutrition book reviews available”. They “exist to help you evaluate the information quality of the books you read or are thinking about buying”.
The creator of Red Pen Reviews is Dr. Stephan Guyenet (author of The Hungry Brain as mentioned above). All reviewers are experts in the field of nutrition. Each book that is reviewed has one primary expert reviewer. Their review is then peer-reviewed by another expert.
