Book reviews

Patrick Holford: The Optimum Nutrition Bible

A great all round introduction into what nutrition and healthy eating really is, and how to apply it to your life. This book will explain how your body works, and what nutrients it needs to work optimally. As a result, you will be able to see through lot of the marketing hype and health claims made by a number of manufacturers and will be able to make more informed choices when it comes to looking after your diet.

Patrick Holford & Fiona McDonald Joyce: The Holford 'low GL' Diet Cookbook

A collection of tasty and easy to prepare recipes that are nutritionally sound and can also help lose weight. I like the mixture of traditional recipes with a nutritional twist together with more unusual combinations. All the recipes have a manageable list of ingredients and don’t require more than your average cooking skills. There is also a section about Holford’s GL (glycemic load) diet principles, and by following his daily GL quotas you can use this book for weight management too.

Suzannah Olivier: What should I feed my baby?

A beautifully illustrated and laid out book on children’s nutrition. The book gives nutrition advice from small babies to toddlers, and shows how you can give your child the best start in life. It explains how you can wean your baby in a way that reduces the risk of developing allergies and gives great alternatives to some of the commercial (and not so healthy) children’s foods. It contains recipes and useful meal planners, but also goes into a great deal of detail in explaining how different foods and nutrients affect your child’s health.

Lucy Burney: Optimum Nutrition for Babies and Young Children

Another helpful book on child nutrition, and more lovely recipes. I particularly love Lucy’s granola recipe and make it regularly. Again, there is a good section at the start explaining the basic principles of children’s nutrition and how to go about weaning.