My favorite Keto Books for Beginners
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There’s a lot of information out there on diets. Probably too much information, in fact. I know even as a voracious reader and doctor, I have a hard time keeping up on the latest diet books being published. I finally sat down this weekend to try to come up with a reasonable reading list designed more for the new-to-keto or keto-curious as I call them.
These keto books focus more on the health benefits and scientific research behind the ketogenic diet and I’ve left the keto books that are exclusively or mostly keto recipe books for a future article.
Keto Book #1 – Keto Reset Diet by Mark Sisson
I’ve followed Mark Sisson’s website, MarksDailyApple.com, for years and before I started TheHealthyMD.com, Mark’s website was one of the sites that I recommend to patients that were looking to adopt a low-carb and more healthy lifestyle. Sisson has been one of the original low-carb diet authors, first with a Paleo-style way of eating that he calls “primal” and now having shifted to an even lower carb way of eating in his Keto Reset Diet book.
What I like about his book is that he lays out a step-by-step approach to gradually adopting a low-carb lifestyle that seems to help beginners to a keto diet avoid many of the initial side effects of a keto diet, including the dreaded “keto flu.”
Keto Book #2 – Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore and Dr Eric Westman
If you’ve been in the low-carb, keto world for any time, you’ve probably run across author and podcaster Jimmy Moore. Jimmy was one of the first low-carb transformation stories. Back about 15 years ago, Jimmy adopted a low-carb lifestyle and not only saw significant weight loss, but also significant improvement of some of his chronic medical issues.
In Keto Clarity, Jimmy Moore teams up with physician and ketogenic diet researcher Eric Westman, M.D. to write a well-balanced book that gives personal and anecdotal experience with a ketogenic diet with Dr Westman’s medical research and clinical experience of prescribing a low-carb diet for his patients.
Its one of the best nutrition books that is able to give an easy to understand explanation of the low-carb ketogenic diet while supporting it with scientific research. This book was one of the first ketogenic books I ever read and really opened my eyes into the potential benefit of the ketogenic diet.
Ketogenic Bible
This ketogenic diet book is more of a incredibly well-researched reference guide on the ketogenic diet. Lowery and Wilson cover the early history of the ketogenic diet and other low carb diets like the England’s Banting diet from the 1800’s to the first medical use of the ketogenic diet for childhood epilepsy. This book exhaustively covers the science behind the ketogenic diet from a cellular level, i.e., how and why fat-adaptation occurs and why some people seem to do better on a low-carb ketogenic diet than others.
I’ll be honest, if I ever sat down to write a book on the ketogenic diet, this would be the book I’d want to write. I still go back an re-read sections of this book on a regular basis.
Keto book #4 – Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on the Ketogenic Diet – Maria and Craig Emmerich
New York Times best-seller keto nutritionist Maria Emmerich and Craig Emmerich teamed up to write a book that dives deep into the science behind the ketogenic diet. They explain how eating low-carb can improve or control many health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and auto-immune issues. The Emmerichs’ cover how many chronic diseases are actually the result of chronic inflammation in the body and how adopting a low-carb, healthy fat diet can reverse that inflammatory response in the body.
Keto Book #5 – The Complete Ketogenic Guide For Beginners by Amy Ramos
My next keto diet book recommendation is The Complete Ketogenic Guide for Beginners by professional chef Amy Ramos. The book offers a easy-to-understand explanation of the ketogenic diet and its health benefits. Amy also gives a 14 day meal plan that gives step-by-step instructions for a successful start on the keto diet. The book also boasts 75 healthy and tasty keto-friendly recipes that will help jump start your keto diet journey.
Keto Book #6 – The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living – Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney
Volek and Phinney have probably published the most scientific research on the ketogenic diet and have been studying this low-carb diet since the 1980s and well before “keto” became the hot way of eating that it is in 2020. Volek and Phinney team up in this book to discuss some of the science behind the ketogenic diet and the health benefits that they have found in following a low-carb, high fat diet.
As a physician, “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” has been one of my favorite keto books. The book dives a little deeper into the science behind low-carb, high-fat diets and how the body adapts to a ketogenic diet.
If you really want to really understand the science behind the ketogenic diet, this one of the two books I would highly recommend.
Keto Book #7 – Complete Keto by Drew Manning
Complete Keto is a follow up nutrition book by New York Times best selling author Drew Manning. In his previous book, Fit2Fat2Fit, Manning documented his journey as he purposely put on 75 pounds (mostly fat) and then shows how he was also able to lose that 75 pounds as well, returning to his previous high level of fitness.
In Complete Keto, Manning discusses the ketogenic diet and how it can help you lose weight and get into the best shape of your life.
Keto Book #8 – Keto Diet: Your 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, Boost Brain Health, and Reverse Disease – Dr Josh Axe
Dr John Axe has been a big proponent of a low-carb, ketogenic diet and is a chiropractor and clinical nutritionist. His website, DrAxe.com is one of the most popular health websites.
His Keto Diet book offers a simple to follow 30 day plan following the ketogenic diet that can help you lose weight and improve your health.
If you’re new to the ketogenic and low-carb diet world, these keto books for beginners should help give you a thorough understanding of the keto diet, how to start on a ketogenic diet and how to avoid many of the pitfalls that other (unprepared) people have run into when trying to start on a ketogenic diet.
Want to watch a keto documentary instead? We list our favorite keto documentaries in this article.