It Starts With Food Book Review

There are so many great health books coming out right now and It Starts With Food is probably one of my favorite.

It was written by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, founders of Whole9 and the Whole 30 Challenge and it is a great primer for those who are delving into a healthier way of living and those who just need some extra motivation.

They cover all the basics of healthy eating and healthy living and explain how food affects your hormones, gut, brain and how foods can create or help remove inflammation in the body.

I like that It Starts With Food doesn’t shy away from explaining the science but also presents it in an easy to understand and logical way. Dallas and Melissa address why eating a grain free (even dairy free) low-inflammation diet is so important and give resources to make it workable with kids, family or even while pregnant/breastfeeding.

The book doesn’t pull punches about the fact that a transition to a healthier lifestyle can be tough at first, but they put it in perspective. One of my favorite lines in the book was: “It is NOT hard. Please don’t tell us this program is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard.”

It Starts With Food encourages a strict 30-day no-cheat clean diet with no grains, vegetable oils, dairy, sugars, or food additives. I’ve seen great success with clients from a similar diet and I suggest a similar plan with my 30-Day Wellness Challenge.

I also like that they focus on the health aspects and the science behind eating this way now and don’t just rely on “our ancestors ate this way” as their support for the lifestyle. As they said “We are far more concerned with health than we are with history.”

If you’re just starting into the Paleo/Primal/Grain Free way of living and are struggling to find motivation, It Starts With Food might be a great resource for you. If you have relatives who don’t understand why you’d eat this way or who could really benefit from eating this way, this is a great book to pass on to them.

While It Starts With Food won’t be a lot of new information to those who are already on the paleo/primal/grain free bandwagon, it’s main strength, in my opinion, is how clearly the information is explained and in the motivation.

Have you read It Starts With Food>? What did you think? Share below!