Are you interested in changing your diet and improving your health? You are not alone. Many people are now turning to another way of eating in order to lose weight and be healthier. Tons of vegan books are now available to help you transition to a whole foods plant-based diet.
More and more information is available about the health benefits that come from eating a plant-based diet. Many studies are now showing the correlation between our consumption of animal products and our common diseases.
Just look around you! People are overweight and sick. The average American eats about 124 kg of dairy and 82 kg of animal flesh every year. And let’s not forget about the industrial sugars, the processed and fried foods we ingest on a regular basis.
The epidemic of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer is making people rethink their diet and change their lifestyle. Just like many of us, you probably are not interested in a premature death that was entirely caused by your dietary habits… Knowing that making simple dietary changes can really make a difference, why not give it a try?
So here are 9 vegan books that can help you adopt a vegan diet and improve your health dramatically.
How Not to Die
Our favourite vegan book is by far How Not To Die written by Dr. Michael Greger’s. The author is the trusted physician behind the non-profit website nutritionfact.org where you can find informative videos about all kinds of health topics related to science-based nutrition.
The book looks huge but you’ll soon notice that 1/3 of it is references! Dr. Greger is known for his thorough research on the topics he covers. He always includes references from serious studies.
In the first half of his book, Dr. Greger explains how not to die from some of our most common diseases like diabetes, using scientific evidence that demonstrates the link between our diet and our illnesses. It is no surprise that the book starts with how not to die from heart disease, the leading cause of death in the world. The second half of the book comes with tips on how to improve your health by increasing whole plant-based foods.
The China Study
Based on a large epidemiological study done in China, The China Study is one of the first vegan books that started the whole foods plant-based movement. Written by Dr. Collin Campbell, this comprehensive report shows the connection between nutrition and diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
The role of casein (the main protein in milk) in the development of diseases is largely discussed in this book. For example, Dr Campbell reveals that during his years of research, he discovered that it was possible to turn on and off cancer growth in rats, just by replacing animal protein by plant-protein in their food.
The Cheese Trap
In The Cheese Trap, Doctor Neal Barnard puts a light on the dangerous cheese addiction that people suffer from. The president of the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine argues that cheese and dairy products are responsible for our present health disaster.
Since childhood, we have been conditioned to believe that dairy does the body good, and that we need it to survive. However, the dairy industry has omitted to warn us about the fat, the cholesterol and the hormones contained in milk and cheese.
In his book, Dr. Barnard compares cheese to crack cocaine! He tells us about the opiates in milk that make us completely addicted to it. Casomorphins are proteins that attach to the same brain receptors than hard drugs and, just like heroin, casomorphins are able to produce the feel-good hormones and encourage us to want more.
The Forks over Knives plan
The Forks over knives plan came after the famous 2011 documentary of the same name. It was released to help people transition to a whole foods plant-based diet and maintain the lifestyle to live a longer and healthier life.
The authors, Doctors Alona Pulde and Matthew Lederman published the Forks over Knives plan in 2014 after the huge success of the movie. They are both MDs that understand the power of nutrition in the practice of medicine. This vegan book includes 100 recipes to allow the reader to transition into a plant-based diet in one month.
No Meat Athlete
Matt Frazer is a 100-mile ultra-marathoner and popular blogger about the benefits of a meat-free diet. In his book No meat-Athlete, he explores the advantages of adopting a plant-based diet to enhance athletic performances.
The book talks about weight loss to increase speed, improving digestion for faster workout recovery, as well as boosting energy levels to enhance performance.
Frazier explains how to transition to this lifestyle and getting all the nutrients you need to thrive. He proposes specific diet menus for endurance, performance and recovery, with training plans, tips and advice.
Proteinaholic
Dr. Garth Davis is an experienced bariatric surgeon who cuts into overweight people’s stomachs, in order to eat less and lose a dramatic amount of weight. He is an advocate of the plant-based diet since he had to face his own health problems in his thirties. He wrote his book Proteinaholic after being inspired by his own patients.
Dr. Davis says that most patients of his believed to be on a healthy diet, like the ones promoted by the Atkins, Paleo, low-carb and Keto gurus. These diets cause weight loss in the beginning but fail to maintain it in the long run, while promoting the development of chronic diseases.
In his book, Dr. Davis cites 699 study references, while answering the most popular questions, such as “where do you get your protein from?”, “how much protein we really need” and “does soy make men grow boobs?”. He discusses the history of our protein obsession and how this over-consumption is affecting our health.
Eat to Live
Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to live is about improving your health in general through a strict whole foods plant-based diet, with no oil, refined sugars or processed carbs. Fuhrman wrote this book with the intention of helping people lose weight, and lower their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
This vegan book is a 6-week diet plan composed of foods that are rich in nutrients and low in calories. This approach allows you to lose weight without feeling hungry. You can eat more and feel satiated while following this diet.
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease
Dr. Dean Ornish was the first cardiologist to bring to the mainstream media documented proof that heart disease, our #1 killer, could be treated and reversed with simple lifestyle changes. With a plant-based diet, his patients were able to reduce their medications and their blockages in coronary arteries.
Dr. Dean Ornish’s program for reversing heart disease has worked its magic for former US President Bill Clinton as well as many other people suffering from heart disease. These lifestyle changes can also help reverse early stage of prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes, while slowing down the aging process.
The Pleasure Trap
This powerful vegan book was written by Douglas Lisle Ph.D. and Alan Goldhamer D.C. This is a wake-up call that challenges our beliefs about sickness in today’s culture, even to the most health-conscious people.
The authors offer a new perspective on how our society has turned us into saboteurs of our own well-being. They provide solutions to free ourselves from the “pleasure trap” and the chronic illnesses that come with it.
In addition to our unhealthy diets, the authors examine other habits like alcohol and drug abuse, gambling and sex addiction, which are also the result of this pleasure trap we are caught into. This book is about empowering yourself, and not blaming others for the life you have. It’s never too late to change.
So now I turn to you… What inspired you to change your diet and get healthier?
