What I Learned From 25 Books To Publish My First

I read 61 books in relative isolation last year. Here are some of the most influential in shaping my first.

I published a book this week with Nashville-area wellness writer Gina Bontempo on how the food and pharmaceutical industries are exploiting Americans' deepest insecurities to maintain a nation hooked on junk diets enabled by a pill for every ill.

I launched this Substack shortly before moving to a small town of roughly 100 people in northern Colorado where I wrote the book, titled, Fat And Unhappy: How “Body Positivity” Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself), now available for purchase on Amazon. A pair of senior residents who owned a home at an elevation around 10,000ft allowed me to rent the first floor and embark on the first major challenge of my career.

I published an op-ed about the book in The Federalist here, but as I completed the project this summer, I realized I wanted to share a collection of books which shaped my thinking and synthesize the lessons from each with brief one-point takeaways. This will offer readers more than what anyone may decipher from a sample text, including not just what the book is about but who influenced the project. My final count for the number of books I read in relative isolation came to 61, but not all of them were about health, and a few of the most important were read just before I made the move. While this list of roughly two dozen below is far from exhaustive, I hope it opens a window into the voices that shaped the final product with 25 of the most influential works contributing to the collective narrative published this week.

Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, plus his book of “12 More Rules…”

I learned, as cliché as it sounds, how to reorient my life to actually write what is ultimately a book about addiction after spending years smoking weed in Denver. Dr. Jordan Peterson’s 24 rules wrapped in two books were the first texts I read cover-to-cover once I moved to the small town of Ward.

Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease--and How to Fight It, by Dr. Ben Bikman.

I learned how insulin resistance lays the seeds not just for obesity, but nearly every other major chronic illness to plague the nation from diabetes to kidney disease.

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, by Gary Taubes

I learned how carbohydrates, not dietary fats, are the insulin-driving culprit macronutrients which make us fat.

Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, by Nina Teicholz

I learned how America was persuaded to embrace the catastrophic low-fat diet for the last three consecutive generations which wrecked the nation’s health.

Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet--One Bite at a Time, by Dr. Mark Hyman

I learned how the food industry has manipulated public opinion and captured lawmakers with corporate interests. This book drove home how many of our chronic health problems are foodable, not druggable.

Death by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interests Have Ruined Our Health, by Denise Minger

I learned how the food pyramid we grew up with was an absolute lie.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, by Eric Schlosser

I learned how the fast-food sector closely followed America’s descent into food-driven nation hooked on cheap and convenient food.

Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine, by Dr. Robert Lustig

I learned about how just about everything in a modern grocery store is essentially designed to kill you.

Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile, by Anthony Jay

I learned about how myriad everyday chemicals are wreaking havoc on our endocrine systems, and that we’re oblivious to the problem. This book drove away the importance of testosterone on our overall metabolic health.

Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food, by Dr. Chris van Tulleken

I learned the behind-the-scenes processes of how food manufacturers engineer our food with industrialized processes.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss

I learned how the food industry was captured by Big Tobacco to perfectly manipulate our processed food supply for maximum addiction.

The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, by Sam Quinones

I learned how powerful addiction is on the brain, and how inescapable substance abuse can become.

Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health--and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More, by Dr. Chris Palmer

I learned how our mental health crisis and (epidemics of chronic illness are all wrapped into one). We don’t have a mental health crisis. We have a lifestyle crisis.

Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety, and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health, by Dr. Georgia Ede

I learned how we can reach optimal brain function with proper nutrition that emphasizes a reduction of stimulated insulin.

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, by Dr. Anna Lembke

I learned how food, social media, and drugs are all wrapped about the same reward centers of our brain captured by runaway capitalism into a nation chronically addicted to some modern mechanism to cope in the 21st century.

Body Positive Power: Because Life Is Already Happening and You Don't Need Flat Abs to Live It, by Megan Jayne Crabbe

I learned about a vast movement of obesity activists and influencers promoting an apathetic approach to weight under the banner of “Body Positivity.”

Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, by Linda Bacon

I learned what science these activists had embraced to adopt “Health at Every Size” as the movement’s mantra, which include concepts backed by the food industry.

You Have the Right to Remain Fat, by Virgie Tovar

I learned from one of the most prominent influencers of Body Positivity how pro-fat activism seeks to plant obesity as another ring on the victimhood hierarchy of social justice.

Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, by Luke Burgis

I learned about how impressionable we are, and the importance of models to shape our desired lifestyles.

Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs, by Johann Hari

I learned how the latest generation of weight-loss drugs can bridge a gap to weight-loss but come with extreme caution.

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker

I learned the fundamental value of sleep to our overall health.

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Dr. Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

I learned how even if you think you might be working hard enough to enjoy a prosperous longevity, you probably aren’t.

The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life, by Dr. Lisa Miller

I learned how spirituality and purpose can protect individuals from mental illness.

Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook: A Cookbook

This book remains an work in progress. The books above taught me what to eat. Martha Stewart is teaching me how.