If you’re curious about the low carbohydrate, high fat ketogenic diet, you may want to read up on it by getting a comprehensive book on the topic.
The Keto diet was created for kids with epilepsy, and it is a regime that is low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Lately, it has become fashionable as a diet for slimming and controlling blood sugar levels.
Studies have suggested that a change in diet that focuses on burning fat rather than carbohydrates may be helpful for reducing obesity and controlling type 2 diabetes. This alteration has been reported to decrease the desire to eat and regulate blood sugar levels.
However, compared to other low-carb diets, the keto diet is much lower in carbs, with a daily limit of 50 grams or fewer.
It is strongly advised that you do some research before beginning a keto diet, as it can have a dramatic effect on many aspects of your well-being, from your physical capacity to your electrolyte balance.
Top Ketogenic Diet Book
1. ‘End Your Carb Confusion’ by Eric Westman and Amy Berger
This guide, titled “End Your Carb Confusion,” is specially designed for beginners looking to understand the keto diet. It provides insight into the science of the diet, as well as useful tips for achieving success.
Dr. Eric Westman, a physician and weight loss expert who applies the concepts of the keto diet in his clinic at Duke University, was the author of this text.
This book has a high approval rating of 4.6 out of 5 and has been reviewed almost 2,000 times.
2. ‘The Obesity Code’ by Jason Fung
Dr. Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist, runs a medical facility which employs the ideas of ketogenic diets and fasting to aid patients in shedding pounds and bettering type 2 diabetes.
The two books, “The Obesity Code” and “The Diabetes Code”, explain why this approach is successful and how to put it into practice.
This book is a great choice for beginners to the ketogenic diet, providing detailed explanations of the diet’s purpose and effects, as well as guidance on how to start and stick with the diet.
“The book “The Obesity Code” has gathered 24,000 Amazon reviews and has an impressive average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.”
3. ‘Ketotarian’ by Will Cole
This book would be of value to people who are vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian and seeking to learn about the keto diet. Will Cole, a chiropractor and doctor of natural medicine, composed a book that proposes a plant-based option to the ketogenic diet.
The book suggests a diet plan that can easily be adjusted to be vegan if desired. The book not only provides details on nutrition, but also includes recipes and meal ideas.
This product has been reviewed over 2,900 times on Amazon and has an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.
4. ‘The Case for Keto’ by Gary Taubes
Gary Taubes is a health-related journalist who is part of the founding of the Nutrition Science Initiative, a not-for-profit institution that provides assistance in the development and management of nutrition studies.
The works of his, “Why We Get Fat” and “Good Calories, Bad Calories”, sparked a revival of low carb diets when they were released over a decade ago. In his new book, “The Case for Keto,” he provides a thorough examination of the science behind the ketogenic diet.
This book has garnered over 1,600 reviews on Amazon with an average score of 4.6/5 stars.
5. ‘Southern Keto’ by Natasha Newton
Natasha Newton has a very successful blog focused on keto recipes called Keto Is Life.
She has put together a cookbook that includes over one hundred variations of recipes typically found in the south, including biscuits and sausage gravy, that are all compatible with a keto diet.
This book includes shopping lists and a guide to make it easy to find recipes that meet your dietary requirements. The product has earned over 11,000 reviews on Amazon with an average score of 4.7/5.
6. ‘The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook’ by Maya Krampf
Maya Krampf is the proprietor of the very popular keto recipe blog, Wholesome Yum. In “The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook,” she presents recipes that are ideal for the whole family and take no more than 10 ingredients to make and are rapid and simple to prepare.
Examples include keto-friendly garlic breadsticks and chicken fingers. This book has a high rating on Amazon with over 6,000 reviews, with a 4.8 out of 5-star average.
7. ‘The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking’ by Carolyn Ketchum
Carolyn Ketchum operates a prosperous blog, titled “All Day I Dream About Food”, which specializes in recipes for low-carbohydrate meals.
“This book, “The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking”, offers a vast selection of over 150 recipes that have been tested and approved. It also provides a thorough overview of the tools and ingredients you will need to produce keto-friendly baked goods.”
This product has received over 4,000 reviews on Amazon, with an average score of 4.8/5.
8. ‘Simply Keto’ by Suzanne Ryan
Suzanne Ryan is a well-known keto dieter who shed a considerable amount of pounds by sticking to the keto plan. Her blog features many low carb and keto-friendly recipes.
Her publication, “Simply Keto”, contains over one hundred recipes as well as meal plans and details about how to stick to a keto diet and why it is effective for slimming down.
It should be noted that Ryan does not have any qualifications in the health field. This volume has received over 9,000 remarks on Amazon and boasts an average score of 4.6 out of 5 stars.
9. ‘Metabolical’ by Robert Lustig
Dr. Robert Lustig works as a pediatric endocrinologist and lecturer at the University of California San Francisco. He gained fame in the realm of low carbohydrate diets after delivering a talk for the University of California Television titled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” in 2009.
Although his book “Metabolical” does not explicitly cover the keto diet, it provides evidence showing the adverse effects of consuming excess sugar and heavily processed foods on one’s health.
The book has racked up over 1,900 Amazon reviews with an average score of 4.5/5 stars.
10. ‘The Big Fat Surprise’ by Nina Teicholz
Nina Teicholz is a health journalist and the head of the Nutrition Coalition, a non-profit organization devoted to guaranteeing the accuracy of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Her book “The Big Fat Surprise” extensively examines the advantages of consuming dietary fat and how the misapplied science of the 1990s caused the popularity of low fat foods. This book has been reviewed on Amazon over two thousand times, and it has an impressive 4.7 out of 5 star rating.
11. ‘The Keto Diet’ by Leanne Vogel
Leanne Vogel is a qualified nutritionist with a focus on holistic health, and is widely recognized for her writing and podcasting about the keto diet. In her book “The Keto Diet”, she gives a detailed overview of the rationale for and practice of the ketogenic diet, as well as providing recipes and meal ideas.
It is important to remember that even though this book may have useful insights, holistic nutritionists do not need to go through the same rigorous educational and training courses as medical doctors or nutritionists who are registered.
This book has garnered a lot of attention with over 7,000 reviews on Amazon and a score of 4.4 out of a possible 5 stars.
12. The New Keto-Friendly South Beach Diet: Rev Your Metabolism and Improve Your Health With the Latest Science of Weight Loss, by Arthur Agatston
You can still follow the South Beach diet if you want to try the ketogenic diet. The basic idea of this South Beach Diet plan is to put together healthy fats, quality carbs, and protein, and it is said to be less difficult to adhere to than a classic ketogenic diet.
Abbey Sharp, a Toronto-based Registered Dietitian and the creator of Abbey’s Kitchen, backs this diet. Sharp suggests that one should focus on high-fiber vegetables and plant-based sources of fat such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts.
People who read this will be provided with a four-week program as well as a hundred dishes that combine the South Beach and ketogenic diets. The Mayo Clinic states that the South Beach diet is a beneficial approach to eating regardless of if one is trying to shed pounds or not.
Additionally, the South Beach diet already discourages the consumption of simple carbohydrates (which are usually prohibited on the keto diet as well), such as sugar, maple syrup and pastries made from white flour, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Agatston’s medical expertise lends further credibility to the book. Smith suggests that individuals should opt for books created by certified medical professionals that provide practical advice and recipes.
13. Anti-Inflammatory Keto Cookbook: 101 Recipes and a Two-Week Plan to Jump-Start Your Healing, by Molly Devine
The food you consume can have a major impact on how your body combats inflammation. According to Harvard Health Publishing, when the immune system perceives a foreign invader, such as a microbe, chemical, or pollen, it will become active and cause inflammation.
Occasional inflammation can be beneficial for your health, however, persistent inflammation can be detrimental and lead to serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease, according to Harvard.
Meanwhile, eating fatty fish and olive oil can help to reduce chronic inflammation, while other keto-approved foods such as red meat and lard may lead to inflammation.
If you are worried about long-term inflammation, it is vital to choose foods that can help reduce inflammation, even if you are following a ketogenic diet. Don’t be concerned: There are numerous alternative options that you can use to prevent inflammation (rather than causing it).
Smith suggests substituting butter and proteins high in saturated fats with oils like olive and canola oil and proteins like fish that are good for the heart. Smith emphasizes the importance of selecting fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel.
For those in need of inspiration, Devine’s work provides more than one hundred recipes which are both anti-inflammatory and consistent with the keto diet, for example Seared Citrus Scallops and Southwestern Stuffed Peppers. Her meal plan and shopping list for the next two weeks could make it simpler to launch the diet.
14. Keto Diet Hacks: 200 Shortcuts to Make the Keto Diet Fit Your Lifestyle, by Lindsay Boyers
It appears that the keto diet is a viable option in principle, but it may be difficult to keep up with due to all the limitations. Sharp states that, according to his experience, this diet is one of the most difficult to be consistent with.
Boyers’ book provides strategies to make following the diet easier, such as requesting a burger without the bun and condiments when you’re at a drive-thru, or stirring butter into your morning coffee to get the necessary fat intake for the day.
It is essential that you select wisely which tricks you opt to utilize in order to decrease stress in your life, even though these suggestions might be beneficial. Sharp states that while upping your consumption of highly processed foods could lead to feeling fuller and potentially losing weight, they do not support good health or good nutrition in general.
Instead, look for ways to increase the amount of healthy ingredients you consume. A recommendation in the book is to freeze cooked cauliflower in muffin tins for simple incorporation into dishes.
15. Squeaky Clean Keto, by Mellissa Sevigny
A frequent complaint about the ketogenic diet, as noted by Harvard Health, is that people may tend to eat highly processed foods (especially processed meats) that meet the ketogenic diet requirements but may not be good for their health.
This cookbook, Squeaky Clean Keto, hopes to solve the problem by providing 160 recipes that are all considered to be “clean”.
The Mayo Clinic states that “clean eating” usually means consuming food that is not overly processed or packaged and that is close to its natural state, such as a plain chicken breast instead of a chicken nugget. There is no set regulation for what is considered “clean.”
In addition to adhering to the principles of keto dieting, the recipes and meal plans in Sevigny’s cookbook do not include grains, dairy, alcohol, sweeteners, or nuts.
The point of avoiding them? The author suggests that the consumption of certain foods or alcoholic beverages can lead to inflammation or sensitivity, which can impede the process of losing weight. (This isn’t supported by research, however.)
Taking into account that eating nuts in moderation is beneficial for health (unless someone has an allergy) and has been proven to help with weight loss, it could be dangerous to completely exclude them from one’s diet.
Healthline assembled this list of the best keto diet books based on the following criteria:
- Ratings: Does the book have high ratings and favorable reviews?
- Author expertise: Does the author have an degree, experience, or credentials that boost their credibility as a keto diet expert? This is important when shopping for books about health and fitness. We looked for books written by health professionals, such as doctors or dietitians, and cookbooks written by experienced or professional cooks.
- Thoroughness: Does the book provide a thorough and comprehensive look into the keto diet?
- Price: Most books on this list are right around $15, but some may be more or less expensive. Newer or more thorough books tend to be slightly more expensive.
- Type of book: Are you looking for an informative guide to keto, a review of the science, or a cookbook? This will significantly narrow down the list of books that are a good fit. We’ve included a variety.
