Everything you need to read, watch and listen to this month
READ
For the inquisitive foodie
ALL CONSUMING BY RUBY TANDOH
Since making her way to the finals of beloved TV cooking contest The Great British Bake Off in 2013, Ruby Tandoh has built a reputation as a reliable food writer, contributing to major magazines like The New Yorker. Her new book takes the full measure of modern culinary customs and habits, asking how and why we came to eat the way we do. There are chapters exploring restaurant hype, online recipes and claims made in the name of “wellness” that are used to sell everything from whole foods to tonic waters.
For the conscious foodie
SUPERFOODS FOR LIFE: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO NATURE’S MOST POWERFUL FOODS BY FREDERICK KINSKI
This handy illustrated guide by the creator of FK Body & Mind demystifies superfoods such as chia seeds to explain the science behind their effects, in a way that is fittingly easy to digest. The images are lovely and the layout is immensely user-friendly, showing and telling the reader how blueberries, turmeric, spirulina and the like work their powers on the immune system, brain function and so on.
For the scientific foodie
GENIUS GUT BY DR EMILY LEEMING
Leading dietician and microbiome scientist Dr Emily Leeming is an expert in gut bacteria, and her book is structured as a 10-Step Gut-Brain Plan to help readers improve their digestion. Developed through her work as a Research Fellow at King’s College, London, her rigorous clinical “hacks”, are designed to target specific goals such as beating cravings, boosting energy levels and even enhancing the mental processes that give the gut its growing status as the so-called “second brain”.
WATCH
Hack Your Health: Secrets Of Your Gut
Various accredited specialists, including Dr. Giulia Enders and Professor John Cryan, serve as knowledgeable talking heads in this useful documentary about the gut microbiome. Meanwhile, four guests/test subjects – including competitive eater Kobi Kobayashi – try to solve their related gastrointestinal problems, as the viewer learns how gut function is connected to every other essential system in the body, from the immune system and metabolism to mental health.
LISTEN
HYDRATION PODCAST
First launched as a Danone Nutricia Research initiative back in 2008, Hydration for Health has since come to the forefront of global public information on human water consumption. The organisation even has its own dedicated podcast, putting a friendly voice to the related issues, and answering any question you might have on the subject, with guest scientists talking through different cultural relationships to water sources, and the role hydration has to play in fat storage or visible signs of aging.
