Welcome to my bookshelf...
Truth be told, every room in our house is jam-packed with bookshelves, so this list is barely scraping the surface of the reading and learning I do every day. But in case anyone is interested in going deeper into the topics I teach about, I wanted to provide a short list of the books I consider essential reading on the topics of health and wellbeing.
NB: Each book listed below contains an affiliate link from which I may receive a commission. Thank you in advance for using these links as a way of supporting my work.
Belonging by Toko-pa Turner
I truly believe that there is a direct link between our physical and emotional health, and no conversation about either aspect of our individual wellbeing can be complete without a discussion of our health as families, communities and stewards of the earth.
Our nervous systems are hardwired to co-regulate: together with other humans, and together with all beings in our ecosystem. When we do not feel adequately connected, our experiences of loneliness, anxiety, and stress (all of which have been proven to degrade our health) are greatly increased. In other words, to be fully healthy, we have to belong.
In this book, Toko-pa Turner raises the question, 'What if belonging is a set of skills that we in modern times have forgotten?'
Click Here Now to Purchase 'Belonging' by Toko-pa Turner
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
With so many fascinating books under his belt, it might seem hard to pick the one Michael Pollan book I am most eager to recommend. This book was the obvious choice for me, however, because it reifies a concept I have instinctually believed for years – that there is too much focus on 'nutrient science' (calories, macros, vitamins) and less focus on just eating fresh, seasonally available food in its original context.
Despite all the counting, weighing, biohacking and avoidance of this macro and that food group, fad diets make us more neurotic and less healthy in a truly holistic sense. In contradiction to the trends, Pollan's nutrition advice – which I wholeheartedly endorse – can be summed up in seven little words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. This book will make you a believer!
Click Here Now to Purchase 'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollan
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
An excellent, in-depth study conducted by my professors at Cornell University. If you're looking for evidence-based guidance on how best to eat if you are trying to avoid health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and you want that evidence to be drawn from the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever conducted, then set aside your fad diet and order this book.
Alternately, you can take the tl:dr advice (echoed here, same as in the book above) – eat a diet comprised mostly of whole, plant-based foods. Once again, the answer is simple, but if you still need convincing, this book is the foundation of an Ivy League masterclass on nutrition that backs up the common sense assertions you'll find all throughout my website.
Click Here Now to Purchase 'The China Study' by T. Colin Campbell
Immune by Philipp Dettmer
This book is an excellent resource for breaking down the extremely complicated processes of the immune system into language that everyday people can understand. The narrative voice has more of a dark and battle-themed tone than I personally relate to (my son loves it – but me, not so much), however the underlying information is pure gold. I have leaned into this book quite a lot as I planned course material and content relating to our immune health.
PS My husband and son are co-conspirators in an effort to remove every dust jacket from every hardcover book that crosses our threshold, and the jacket for this book has been misplaced – which is a shame, because it features the same beautiful artwork that the author's Youtube channel, Kurzgesagt, is famous for.
Click Here Now to Purchase 'Immune' by Philipp Dettmer