8 Must Read Plant-Based Nutrition Books in 2023

Whether you’re considering a plant-based diet for your health, the environment, the animals, or all three, you may be feeling confused or overwhelmed by all the conflicting information you discover. 

But no fret, here are our favourite books about plant-based nutrition to set the record straight and support you during your transition. (These books are also pretty great to lend to a concerned family member or friend who is worried about their health!)

• How Not To Die by Dr Michael Greger
• The Plant Power Doctor by Dr Gemma Newman 
• Proteinaholic by Dr Garth Davis
• The China Study by T. Colin Campbell & Thomas M. Campbell
• Undo It! By Dean Ornish, M.D. & Anne Ornish 
• Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz, M.D MSCI.
• Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
• The Vegan Starter Kit by Dr Neal Barnard

 How Not to Die  

“The best way to minimize your exposure to industrial toxins may be to eat as low as possible on the food chain, a plant-based diet.”

Endorsed by the Dalai Lama himself, How Not To Die by Dr Michael Greger and writer Gene Stone examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches. (Those nutritional changes? A plant-based diet.) 

Greger’s advice, all of which is backed by strong scientific evidence, explains which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer, and healthier. The book includes Dr Greger's Daily Dozen - a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day. 

The book goes into detail about each disease, saying “History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks.” 

Even if you’re not a sufferer of the diseases the book details, it gives invaluable yet practical and actionable advice, alongside cutting edge nutritional science. A book everyone should read, whether they plan to strictly follow a plant-based diet or not. 

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The Plant Power Doctor   

“Just imagine if what you put on your plate could not only improve your health right now but also make you healthier in the future...how to make enjoyable, sustainable choices to futureproof your body and mind.”

As this year has shown us, we don't know what's around the corner. But we can make changes to our lifestyle to better support ourselves and our families to move towards optimal health. This book has valuable tips to help us support our immune system and also the long-term health of our bodies and minds - to help us face whatever life throws at us next.

In The Plant Power Doctor, British GP Dr Gemma Newman offers an accessible, actionable plan, to help you feel empowered to make positive changes to your diet and lifestyle so you can heal from the inside out and be at your optimum health. 

Plant-powered eating has had a transformative effect on Dr Newman, her family and her patients. In her first book, Gemma shares the tools and knowledge she has learned from over 17 years of experience, combining trusted medical evidence with simple eating advice to prevent and aid recovery from a host of common chronic illnesses. 

After her husband switched to a plant-based diet following a running injury and saw a rapid, sustained recovery, Gemma investigated the medical literature behind this diet. Gemma’s family is prone to heart disease – both her grandfather and father died early from heart attacks. Through eating a plant-powered diet she radically improved her blood cholesterol levels (Lipid Panel) moving from raised to normal and remaining normal ever since, she also moved from a high BMI to a healthy BMI without dieting. Chronic illness is not always genetic, you have more control than you've been told in the past. 

Gemma has been guiding patients to tackle their chronic illnesses with a plant-powered diet and the results have been staggering. From women suffering from hormone issues such as endometriosis to the millions who suffer from high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, Dr Newman shows how this way of eating can have a radical effect on your health, whatever your age. 

In this ground-breaking book, Gemma provides a roadmap on how to harness the power of nutrition with over 60 delicious meal ideas, and meal plans to fill in, to get you started and help you keep on track, The Plant Power Doctor is a simple, powerful way of eating for everyone.

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Proteinaholic 

“After years of intense research, I could come to only one conclusion: People whose diets are high in animal protein have significantly higher rates of chronic diseases: hypertension, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many, many others, including cataracts, diverticulitis, diverticulosis, inflammatory bowel disease, gall bladder disorders, gout, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney stones, and rheumatoid arthritis.”

Subtitled “How our obsession with meat is killing us and what we can do about it”, Dr Garth Davis and author Howard Jacobson’s book sets the record straight about protein myths that have been perpetuated by doctors, weight loss experts, and the media. 

Misconceptions the book sets out to dispel includes: 

• Protein is not the key to weight loss — it is actually one of the biggest factors behind the obesity epidemic.
• Animal protein is not the healthiest food we can eat — it is strongly associated with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.
• Carbs are not the enemy — they are a source of energy, and are staples in the diets of the longest-living peoples in the world.

Supported by numerous scientific studies over many years in multiple countries, Davis distils these findings into a straightforward, plant-based solution that combines what we know about our own biology, the evidence from our world’s healthiest cultures, and an insider’s knowledge of the health media and its flawed messaging. 

The book includes a two-week meal plan to introduce a diet filled with fresh whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and grains. Alongside details on how to interpret the findings of endless combines what we know about our own biology, the evidence from our world’s healthiest cultures, and an insider’s knowledge of the health media and its flawed messaging.

If you’re a “proteinaholic”, this book will help you find a simple “recovery” process that the author says will change your life forever.  

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The China Study 

“It’s never too late to start eating well. A good diet can reverse many of those conditions as well. In short: change the way you eat and you can transform your health for the better.”

In the early 1980s, a nutritional biochemist from Cornell University, in partnership with researchers at Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, completed one of the most comprehensive nutritional studies ever undertaken known as the China Project. 

Their website describes this study as “A unique opportunity” detailing “The Chinese population tended to live in the same area all their lives and to consume the same diets unique to each region. Their diets (low in fat and high in dietary fibre and plant material) also were in stark contrast to the rich diets of the Western countries. The truly plant-based nature of the rural Chinese diet gave researchers a chance to compare plant-based diets with animal-based diets.” 

The book written by the same biochemist, T. Colin Campbell, and his son, Thomas M. Campbell II, details how you can dramatically reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes just by changing your diet. 

This book is not only filled with a myriad of information on the power of a plant-based diet, but it is also a thoroughly interesting read that will open your eyes to the ever-changing medical system. 

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Undo It!  

“The latest studies are showing that lifestyle changes are often actually better than drugs and surgery in treating and even reversing many of the most prevalent chronic diseases, including stable coronary heart disease and early-stage prostate cancer.”

The national bestseller, Undo it!, details how you can fight cancer, diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, and even the ageing process itself with one simple, scientifically proven plan to reverse disease, as well as prevent and reduce symptoms. 

Dean Ornish, M.D., and his wife Anne, present a simple yet powerful theory explaining why these simple lifestyle changes can reverse so many different chronic diseases and how quickly these benefits occur. They discuss:

• Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet naturally low in fat and sugar and high in flavour
• Moving more and moderate exercise such as walking
• Stressing less, through meditation and gentle yoga practices
• Loving more how love and intimacy transform loneliness into healing

With seventy recipes, easy-to-follow meal plans, tips for stocking your kitchen and eating out, recommended exercises, stress-reduction advice, and inspiring patient stories of life-transforming benefits, this book empowers readers with new hope and new choices.

Rated "#1 for Heart Health" by U.S. News & World Report every year from 2011 to 2017, this book is worth a read for anyone interested in a plant-based diet. 

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Fiber Fueled 

“We’ve made health too complicated with our extensive lists of foods to avoid, complex percentages of fats-to-protein-to-carb ratios, elimination diets, calorie counting, even weighing our food—and despite all these rules, we’re not getting any better. It just doesn’t need to be this complicated. Diversity of plants. That’s it. That’s all you have to remember. Done. No more annoying food lists. If you follow this one rule, it will lead you to better health. And it will always be the truth no matter what happens: No matter what changes on this planet or in our lifestyles, this core tenet of better health will stay the same.”

Written by Will Bulsiewicz, M.D MSCI, (a.k.a. Dr B) is a board-certified gastroenterologist and gut health expert, Fiber Fueled details a “step-by-step methodology to stop the misinformation madness caused by the diet industry, and show you the simple, science-backed process for a lifestyle that is effortless, sustainable, and above all else it transforms your health by optimizing your gut microbiome.” 

Written for those who stay up late at night Googling health questions, but have turned up more questions than answers, Dr B covers: 

• The revolutionary, first of its kind guide to plant-based gut health
• Truth bombs that will blow your mind, change your approach and get you on the road to better health
• Reverse food sensitivities and get back to loving your food
• 100% backed by science, with over 600 references supporting it
• Not pulling any punches, we're taking on gluten, lectins, low carb, high carb, and everything in between. Let's get ready to rumble!
• Over 70 plant-fueled recipes
• Detailed shopping lists
• Key lifestyle changes that will help you heal your gut without even lifting a fork!

The 28-day jumpstart programme, with menus and recipes, along with essential advice on good sensitivities, allows you to jump straight into improving your lifelong health instantly. 

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Super Immunity  

“Medicines cannot drug away the cellular defects that develop in response to improper nutrition throughout life.”

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, seven-time New York Times best-selling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing. His second book Super Immunity covers a practical nutritional plan to prevent and reverse disease, with no shots, drugs or sick days required.

Querying why some people get sick with greater frequency than others, and what makes us more susceptible to illness, Fuhrman doesn’t believe the secret to staying healthy lies in medical care, rather, the solution is to change the way we eat. This bestseller includes: 

• The big picture—Learn everything you need to know about healthy eating for a healthy life.
• A 2-week meal plan—Take the guesswork out of changing your diet with planned meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.
• 85 immunity-boosting recipes—These delicious plant-based recipes make eating healthy easy and crave-worthy.

Whether you’re looking to go fully-plant based, or you’re just interested in a nutritional plan to help prevent diseases, Super Immunity is for you. 

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The Vegan Starter Kit  

“Going vegan is easy. It’s easier than going low-carb or gluten-free. And it’s much easier than quitting smoking or breaking other habits. Because you can eat as much as you want.”

If you’ve decided to adopt a more health-focused diet you may be overwhelmed by the endless questions you want to ask: How do I plan a vegan meal? Is protein an issue? How do I make it work if I don't cook? Which are the best choices at restaurants? 

In The Vegan Starter Kit, Dr Neal Barnard answers your questions and gives you everything you need to put vegan power to work. This book presents everything you need for a plant-based diet, from information on complete nutrition to quick-reference charts, tips for recipe modification, and examples of quick and easy meals. 

If that wasn’t enough, this book also includes information on healthy eating in childhood, pregnancy, and other stages of life, and a complete set of basic meals, holiday feasts, and snacks. 

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