Mya Nelson
In today’s Cancer Research Update, we have nine great book recommendations – all health related. But we had so many suggestions they all didn’t make the list.
Here’s a few more recommendations, from the professionals that couldn’t choose only one and from AICR staff. Thanks to all. And if you have a health-related book, please share.
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
This book goes into how our digestion system works, from our saliva to gut bacteria. She’s an entertaining writer; she wrote a book called Stiff on cadavers, which is a fun read too.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
The author tells the story of an isolated tribe’s great distance runners, who can run hundreds of miles without rest. This book will motivate any one at any fitness level to get out and run – you can’t help but be inspired by this story.
The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation by Mollie Katzen
The author of The Moosewood Cookbook, Mollie again provides recipes that help you take plant-focused eating from a “should” because it’s healthy to something so enjoyable, you are delighted to make vegetable-focused dishes the main focus of a meal. As a bonus, she includes a short section on stocking the kitchen with ingredients and tools that make healthful cooking easier.
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan
This is a book on the history and culture of cookery. It discusses cooking methods and the science behind food. After reading this, if you’ve lost your way from cooking real whole foods at home, you’ll find yourself back in the kitchen! If not, you’ll increase your culinary mastery.
Just Two More Bites!: Helping Picky Eaters Say Yes to Food by Linda Piette
For parents or grandparents concerned about getting healthy eating habits starting early with a picky eater, Just Two More Bites will have your resistant eater trying new foods. This book will help prevent mealtime show downs or melt downs by parents and kids alike. Who doesn’t need help to find winning solutions to get kids to eat their vegetables? This book provides real life solutions that work.
The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner
The author has traveled the globe to show how people live in areas where longevity and health is most common. These are people who are applying basic principles of healthy living as part of a lifestyle.
The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
Taking place in early twentieth-century New York, this non-fiction tells the story of how a chief medical officer and toxicologist start using novel scientific techniques to solve murders and begin the field of forensic chemistry. The book is told through stories of poison, including stories of typhoid Mary and the deadly affects of alcohol poisoning during prohibition.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Now a classic, this beautifully written novel is a love story that takes place in the late 1800s in the Caribbean. One of the main characters is a doctor and there are a lot of references to early hygiene and disease prevention, such as hand-washing. A good first read or re-read.
Disease-Proof: The Remarkable Truth about What Makes Us Well by David Katz
The book focuses on how to bring a health-promoting lifestyle from an intention to reality. It provides a positive message about how healthy eating, physical activity and other lifestyle choices can make a major difference in our risk of major chronic diseases, including cancer, as well as heart disease, diabetes and dementia.
