Reset Eating

by Rob Verkerk, Meleni Aldridge, and Melissa Smith

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Reset Eating is an interesting and well written guide to understanding (and changing) the impact that food has on gut biome and overall health written by Rob Verkerk and Meleni Aldridge. Released 23rd Sept 2022, it's 234 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an accessible guide to some of the biophysical aspects of eating and how choosing to fuel the body wisely can result in significant improvements in health and well-being. The introduction gives an understandable overview over the different types of food nutrients and how they're utilised by the body. This basic info is expanded on it following chapters. The authors also examine the active ingredients in common seasonings and spices and how they can help (or hinder) gut health.

Much of the content is given to an examination of the connection between the health of the gut and overall general health (it's more profound and deep than most people are probably aware). The language throughout is everyday speech and understandable for the average layperson. New concepts are defined in context. The "big word" content is mostly confined to the potentially problematic compounds in foods and are generally less confusing and technical than what's on the average nutritional label.

Spelling is UK/British English, but shouldn't pose any problems for readers outside the UK. The authors have gone to some effort to provide other (US) common names for items such as referring to pulses and beans together.

The book contains a number of recipes. Recipe ingredients are listed in a bullet list with measures given in standard (metric) measurements. No imperial equivalents are given (for readers using American measurements).

It's illustrated simply but effectively throughout. The authors/editors have also included a solid (more technical) bibliography for further reading with links to peer-reviewed literature.

Quite a lot of reset/wellness/diet literature is faddish and full of non-scientific woo-woo. This one is, happily, not at all so.

Five stars. It will take *effort* to implement and the authors are pragmatic about that. They're providing the practise based information, though, in an accessible and digestible (sorry) format.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.