Best Wellness Books Featuring Mark Hyman, Stephen Cabral and more

A lot of research has been dedicated to the link between reading and wellbeing. Reading for a mere six minutes was said to reduce stress levels up to 68%, an article published by the Telegraph stated. According to the article, non-readers were more likely to report depression. 

According to University of Liverpool English Professor, Josie Billington, reading can help to make one feel less lonely, have greater self-esteem and it can assist in getting a better night’s sleep. And those benefits are about reading in general. Imagine if you were reading a book designed to help you live a healthier and happier life?

The Pegan Diet

The Pegan Diet takes a conscious “food is medicine” approach in which Dr. Mark Hyman explains how to take the best aspects of the paleo diet and combine it with the vegan diet. Dr. Hyman cuts through the confusion spawned by decades of “diet wars” and incorporates meal plans, recipes and shopping lists in his book. 

The author is the director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine as well as founder and director of The Ultra-Wellness Center.  

The Rain Barrel Effect 

Making a 6,000 year old secret available, Dr. Stephen Cabral shows how combining the oldest form of medicine in the world, Ayurveda, with state-of-the-art functional medicine will bring about the best results in one’s health. The book delves into what makes us sick, why we put on weight and break down over time, as well as how to reverse that process. 

The #1 International Best-Selling author, Dr. Stephen Cabral, revealed in an interview with Dr. Ron Ehrlich how his wellness journey got started. “…at 17 years old I got extremely sick and it was at that point that my immune system started to become dysfunctional. So, I came down with a number of “diseases” that took about two years to finally get diagnosed…”. 

With his diagnosis there were plenty of pharmaceutical-based drugs available, but the potential long-term effects on his body did not appeal to him. He continues:  “…And so, that’s where my journey started, and it led me on essentially a decade-long path of education and traveling over the world to get my health back. Today, more than 20 years later, I can honestly say that I feel better than I ever have in my life.”

I’m So Effing Tired 

Based on her own wellness journey, Dr. Amy Shah, a double board certified MD, created a program with the aim to help readers regain energy and take control of life. In her book, Shah discusses three critical systems in the body: gut, immunity and hormones. The book outlines how to nourish each one through nutrition and stress management. 

Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging

In his book, Ben Greenfield takes a systemized approach to increasing healthspan and lifespan using a unique blend of ancestral wisdom and modern science. The author states that: “…Boundless is the first step-by-step guide for optimizing every element of your life force and obtaining true, lasting, boundless energy…” Greenfield details in his book how readers can operate at their full human capacity. 

Ben Greenfield is a nutritionist, physiologist, fitness coach, biohacker and competitive athlete on top of being a New York Times bestselling author. 

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection

Gabor Maté CM is a Hungarian-Canadian physician, who draws on scientific research and experience as a practicing physician, to explore the role that stress plays in an array of common diseases. The book goes into great detail about the effect of the mind-body link on illness and health and the role stress and one’s individual emotional makeup plays. 

The author discusses the “Seven A’s of Healing” principles as well as the prevention of illness from hidden stress. The international bestseller was translated into 15 languages and aims to provide transformative insights into how disease can be the body’s way of saying “no”. 

A Final Thought 

Previous research has shown that the benefits of reading extends well beyond enhancing our vocabularies. According to Josie Billington, “Our research found that reading for just 30 minutes per week means you’re 52% more likely to feel socially included than those who have not read in the past week and 72% more likely to have greater community spirit. Readers are also 37% more likely to get greater pleasure out of their social lives.”