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Health & Fitness

The best Health & Fitness books — new releases and enduring classics — each distilled to its core framework, 7 takeaways, and a practical plan. Tap any book to distill it live.

01

New & notable — the past year

2024

The Care We Crave

Britt Berrie

A practical guide to personalized health and self-care that emphasizes listening to your body and building sustainable wellness habits.

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2023

Dopamine Nation

Dr. Anna Lembke

Explores how overstimulation from modern life depletes dopamine and provides evidence-based strategies for resetting your nervous system.

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2024

The Plant-Based Solution

Dr. Joel Kahn

Synthesizes research on plant-based eating and integrative medicine to tackle chronic disease prevention through dietary transformation.

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2024

Built to Move

Juliet Starrett & Kelly Starrett

Combines movement science and practical exercises to help anyone build strength, mobility, and resilience for a lifetime of physical vitality.

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2024

The Wim Hof Method

Wim Hof

Presents breathwork, cold exposure, and mindset training techniques backed by research to enhance immune function and mental resilience.

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2023

Brain Energy

Dr. Christopher Palmer

Investigates how metabolic health directly influences mental health, offering nutritional and lifestyle interventions grounded in neuroscience.

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2024

The Oxygen Advantage

Patrick McKeown

Teaches functional breathing techniques to improve oxygen utilization, athletic performance, and overall health through scientifically-validated methods.

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2023

Fitness for Geeks

Bruce W. Perry

Combines fitness science with practical programming advice for anyone seeking sustainable exercise routines backed by evidence and data.

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2023

The Sleep Revolution

Arianna Huffington

Makes the case that sleep is the foundation of health and performance, providing strategies to overcome sleep deprivation in modern life.

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2023

The Complete Guide to Fasting

Dr. Jimmy Moore & Dr. Jason Fung

Explains intermittent and extended fasting protocols with scientific backing and practical guidance for metabolic health and disease prevention.

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02

The classics

1979

Anatomy of an Illness

Norman Cousins

A pioneering account of one man's use of humor and positive attitude to overcome serious disease, foundational to mind-body medicine.

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1989

The Art of Health

Dr. Stephen Covey

Integrates physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness into a holistic framework that remains central to personal development.

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2015

How Not to Die

Dr. Michael Greger

Comprehensive guide to evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle interventions to prevent and reverse the leading causes of death.

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2018

Why We Get Sick

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

Explores the root causes of modern illness and presents practical strategies to restore health through lifestyle medicine.

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2014

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk

Revolutionary examination of trauma's physical and psychological effects, demonstrating how the body stores stress and pathways to healing.

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2009

Born to Run

Christopher McDougall

Combines adventure narrative with running biomechanics and human endurance science to explore our evolutionary fitness capacity.

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2008

In Defense of Food

Michael Pollan

Cuts through nutritional confusion to argue that whole, unprocessed foods are the foundation of good health and longevity.

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2006

The Omnivore's Dilemma

Michael Pollan

Traces modern food systems from source to plate, revealing connections between agriculture, health, and environmental sustainability.

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2007

Younger Next Year

Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge

Proves that aging is not inevitable decline but malleable through targeted exercise, diet, and social engagement.

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2012

Mindfulness for Beginners

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Introduces secular mindfulness meditation practice grounded in neuroscience as a pathway to physical health and emotional resilience.

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