There have probably been more books written on dieting than practically any other subject – fad diets, celebrity diets, dietitian-recommended diets: in fact, you name it and it has probably been written about. Then we have the acim videos Diet and the Holcombe Diet – and, of course, Paul McKenna ‘I Can Make You Thin’ which comes complete with a CD as well. The book by Zoe Harcombe ‘The Harcombe Diet – Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight’ is actually a book based on very sound nutritional principles. The concept behind this book is easy to follow and makes sensible nutritional sense
With regards to the Holcombe Diet, that is more of a lifestyle nutritional book that advises on cooking in a nutritional way. Holcombe’s book is entitled ‘How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even if You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans (one with an ill-fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets – unless you count the garlic crusher’. The title is a bit of a mouthful (sorry about the pun!) but it does reflect the fun nature contained within the book. This is sound nutritional information, presented in a light-hearted, fun way that gets the message of healthy eating for the whole family across.
Family and Parents
Continuing with the theme of healthy eating for the family, Annabel Karmel has written a book about meal planning for the baby and toddler that continues to be a bestseller on the nutrition of babies and toddlers. The ‘Essential Guide to Feeding Babies and Young Children’ was first published in 1991 and hasn’t been out of print since. Annabel Karmel has now published the ‘New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner’ which features home-cooked meals based on fresh, natural ingredients and integrates menu charts to make it easy to plan your shopping trips in advance.
Fitness and Exercise
Moving away from the theme of nutrition and dietetics, the fitness and exercise section features a pretty diverse collection of books from ‘Strength Training Anatomy’ by Frederic Delavier to ‘The Anatomy of Stretching’ by Brad Walker. A book that I have found in the Fitness and Exercise section is ‘Born to Run: the Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen: The Rise of Ultra-Running and the Super-Athlete Tribe’. This title is another mouthful, this time written by Christopher McDougall. It is a tale of endurance, of adventure – with that odd quirk that makes an ordinary book special. It should be way up there with the best sellers. Basically, it’s a story of Christopher McDougall running across the planet where no man should have gone before – but, there is much, much more to this book – and I am not about to spoil it for you by telling you any more about it. Read it for yourself – you will be very glad you did!
Men’s Health and Lifestyle
One book I would encourage every man and his partner to read is the book by Professor Jane Plant: ‘Prostate Cancer: Understand, Prevent and Overcome Prostate Cancer’. Many men are only vaguely aware of their prostate until it starts causing problems with the ‘waterworks’. However, what men need to be made aware of is that prostate cancer really can be the silent killer – unless it is caught early enough. Prostate cancer rarely gives any obvious symptoms until it is too late but, if you are fortunate enough for it to be caught early enough, prostate cancer is completely curable.