I wanted to read a book on nutrition which is backed by extensive research and is easily readable by a common person so that he/she can make changes in his/her lifestyle (especially vegetarian). Most of times, they are contradictory views related to diet and food we consume even in the top 10 results of google. I understand that diet is something which is dependent on person to person, but some universal truths like don't mix sour foods with dairy always work.
This would help a lot, rather than me reading every other blog on which food combinations do not go well together, or is dairy good, is keto diet healthy, is plant-based diet better than others etc.
I’ve read most of them. There be dragons. There’s an entire landscape of conflicting information backed by conflicting scientific studies. You’ll go mad trying to find an objective answer.<p>But I’d recommend Food Rules by Michael Pollan. Honestly, you can get the summary in the first paragraph below: “Eat [real, unprocessed] food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”<p><a href="https://michaelpollan.com/reviews/how-to-eat/" rel="nofollow">https://michaelpollan.com/reviews/how-to-eat/</a><p>I’d also recommend anything by Dr. Rhonda Patrick. I feel like she does not have an agenda and is putting out best-effort evidence.
Multiple 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.<p>Also, if you like videos better, there is a huge collection by him on <a href="https://nutritionfacts.org/" rel="nofollow">https://nutritionfacts.org/</a> - searchable by condition (like "cholesterol"), or on his youtube channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/NutritionFactsOrg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/user/NutritionFactsOrg</a><p>Spoiler alert: all of his conclusions boil down to just a few things:<p>- don't drink calories<p>- eat less processed food<p>- eat less meat and dairy<p>- eat more fiber (beans, greens, fruits, veggies)
> especially vegetarian<p>Given that you have already made that choice, I'd recommend "How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Greger. One of my biggest criticisms of Greger is that he is ignores <i>any</i> study that shows benefits of eating animals, even for specific conditions. People who would like to continue eating animals would find it easy to dismiss Greger for being so one-sided in what kinds of studies he cites. However, if you've already made the choice to prefer vegetarian, Greger's book (and videos) are an easy recommendation.
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes is a good start. It explains the high-level science of fat regulation well and can deep dive further with references. Gives a good history of bad nutrition advice. There's a bias towards low carb, high fat diet (popular variant is keto).
Most people tend to forget the most important thing in nutrition:<p>If you are chasing an objective, remember to listen to your body. If you don't, it will be often cause a substantial issue while you course correct.<p>Also, don't experiment too much, the digestive system isn't bullet proof.
I 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.
One thing that might be a good thing to focus on over all would be nutrient density and secondly bioavailability and its relation to your genetics ie. how well your body can convert/make use of said nutrients. I'm a fan of Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Joel Fuhrman and his book Eat to Live. Deep Nutrition is another good book that covers the things modern diets often miss out on. Cronometer is a good place to check nutrient density of foods. If you've done 23andMe or other genetic testing you may want to run your data through Promethease or just check individual SNPs relevant to vegetarians like DHA/EPA conversion.
Not a book, but a video course, "Nutrition Made Clear" at TheGreatCourses.com. Unlike a lot of the other books I see recommended here, this is not a dieting advice book, it's a course on nutrition. The professor specializes in sports nutrition, so a lot of the anecdotes are along those lines. It's 36 lectures, about 30 min each, plus the guide book.<p><a href="https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/nutrition-made-clear.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/nutrition-made-clear...</a>
The best book I've read on this topic is by a British Botanist and TV presenter called James Wong. His book 'How to eat better' lists commonly available fruit and vegetables at your local supermarket and tells you which are the best varieties to pick and why (no surprise that the greener or redder the fruit or vegetable, the more nutrionally rich it is).<p>You won't find obscure ingredients, or advice on micromanaging your diet (which takes out all the pleasure of eating), but you will find simple advice you can put immediately into practice.
It would also help to just have a short booklet which lists down even 20 things which are well established to improve your nutrition like:-
Don't eat any form of refined sugar.
Drink more water.<p>This thread is a lot of help - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3282998" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3282998</a>, however reasoning behind them is not super clear.
"The Economists' Diet: The Surprising Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off"<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Economists-Diet-Surprising-Formula-Keeping-ebook/dp/B074ZGR8FR" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Economists-Diet-Surprising-Formula-Ke...</a><p>The subtitle is a lie. There's nothing "surprising" here at all. It's complete common sense.<p>Also:<p>"Fitness Confidential: Adventures in the Weight-Loss Game"<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/FITNESS-CONFIDENTIAL-Adventures-Weight-Loss-Game-ebook/dp/B00DONI7AK" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/FITNESS-CONFIDENTIAL-Adventures-Weigh...</a><p>Taubes is good too:<p>"Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It"<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/</a>
I'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.<p>Next I'd read "The Engine 2 seven-day rescue diet" by Rip Esselstyn. If you a more in-depth treatment, try "How Not to Die" by Michael Greger, MD. If you want scientific journal articles, I recommend the work of Caldwell Esselstyn. MD and Dean Ornish, MD. Dean Ornish's TED talk is also a good reference.
Perfect Health Diet is the best I've read, but the authors seem to be overemphasizing a bit the effect of their diet plans. Diet alone won't cure all your illnesses completely. The sentiment reflected in the book is the opposite.
You can see an actual nutritionist/doctor and get blood tests. It's probably impossible to determine what is good nutrition from any book besides 'dont eat processed food' because of individual needs/genes.
The perfect ten diet - by Dr Michael Aziz
I lost about seventeen kilos in ten months following the advice in this book<p>The Leangains method - by Martin Berkhan<p>Science and development of muscle hypertrophy - Brad Schoenfeld
Any book that excludes the microbiome is like seeing monochromatically.<p>At least include, Follow Your Gut by Rob Knight.<p>Imo, chasing the Avalon of single books is a flawed strategy, arguably silly.
For an evidence based approach: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31756631" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31756631</a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43723901-lifespan" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43723901-lifespan</a>
Notable that the recommendations here skew to two diametrically opposed poles:<p>a) low/no meat/dairy, high fiber, beans, plants<p>b) high meat/dairy (and fiber), low carbs<p>This is not a single consistent universe.<p>My personal experience is my body is usually in a mode where it likes b) but sometimes transitions to wanting time in a).
Deep Nutrition: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Nutrition-Your-Genes-Traditional/dp/1250113822" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Nutrition-Your-Genes-Traditional...</a>