Good Food Reads for Vacation or Beach

Do you consider yourself a nutrition nerd? If so, you might want to add a few books to your summer reading list.

• Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics (University of California Press 2012) by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim is a practical read that can help you and your clients navigate through the minefield of food misinformation that blankets today’s landscape. Energy and food issues can be hard to explain to clients, which is why it’s a good idea to arm yourself with facts. The authors sort out the calorie question and many other topics with plain, science-based discussion of issues ranging from diet and food to weight gain/loss and obesity. They also pick apart much of the doublespeak with which clever diet and food industry marketers like to confound us.

• The American Way of Eating (Scribner 2012) by journalist Tracie McMillan chronicles her 2-year investigative journey to find out what it takes to eat well in the U.S. McMillan takes readers on undercover stints as a field hand in California’s Central Valley; as a kitchen expediter at a bustling New York City Applebee’s restaurant; and as a produce stocker at a metro Detroit WalMart to get to the heart of why we eat the way we do and what, if anything, can be done to change it.

• The Engine 2 Diet (Wellness Central 2009) by firefighter and former pro triathlete Rip Esselstyn, isn’t a new book, but it introduces compelling reasons why a plant-strong diet can be the solution to much of the obesity-related chronic illness plaguing so many today. A simple 28-day vegan-style eating program is meant to kick-start the system and help users establish healthy eating habits. Even those with well-formed nutrition knowledge will learn about new food ingredients, balanced combinations and healthy, oil-free cooking techniques.