The Anti-Inflammation Diet Book Reviews

As mentioned previously, I decided to change my diet and so began the Anti-Inflammation Diet. Upon doing some research, I quickly learned this diet is not a "eat this, not that" diet, it's not a points diet, and it's not a calorie counting diet. It's not really diet at all, but instead a complete lifestyle change. With a little more research I came across two books that I felt confident would help me understand the Anti-Inflammation Diet. Those books were "The Comlete Idiot's Guide to The Anti-Inflammation Diet" written by Christopher P. Cannon, M.D. and Elizabeth Vierck, and "The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book" written by Jessica K. Black, N.D. I felt it was very important to get a book by both an M.D. and a N.D., as both have studied different aspects of the medical field. Besides, if they both said the same things in their book, the information must be true!

As promised, I told you I would review these books so you would have a better idea of which better suited your lifestyle. 

I'll start with "The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book" by Jessica Black, N.D. since that is the one I read first. For starters, Jessica does not hesitate to tell the reader that the diet outlined in her book is the most extreme form of the diet, and goes on to say that even partially adopting this diet will have benefits. 

• The Good: This book is part inflammation background/diet how-to (about 50 pages), and the rest is a legit cookbook...which I love. Jessica clearly explains the role inflammation plays in the body as it relates to common diseases. I felt she did a really good job of covering how inflammation and auto-immune disorders are related, which is what I was looking for. In the cookbook section she includes many recipes for breakfast, appetizers, salads and dressings, entrees, soups, and even desserts! She also includes a substitution chart so you can modify traditional meals into anti-inflammatory ones, double yay! I read this book in one day and felt I had a good understanding of what I needed to do to modify my eating behavior and lifestyle.
• The Bad: The only issue I have with this book is the fact that Jessica uses a lot of coconut oil in her recipes. It wasn't until I read the second book that I realized that their are many other oils that are much better for you than coconut oil. Sure, coconut oil is better than Crisco, but that is not saying much. 
• Would I Buy Again?: Yes, I love all the recipes! They are all really easy and include nutritional information as well as substitutions. She even makes recommendations on how you can further modify recipes with different nuts or flours. I just don't use the coconut oil now that I know it's not the healthiest option.

On to the second book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Anti-Inflammation Diet" by Christopher Cannon, M.D. and Elizabeth Vierck. This book goes into a lot of detail about inflammation; good fats vs bad fats, "7 Principles of the Anti-Inflammation Diet", how the diet works, how nutrition is different at different ages, strategies for succeeding with the diet, etc.This is truly a complete guide to the anti-inflammation diet, but includes recipes as well.

• The Good:  If it pertains to inflammation, you can find it in this book. I have gained a whole new level of appreciation for food...specifically organic, non-processed food...and how the human body works. This book also incorporates physical activity as part of the anti-inflammation process, fast-food survival techniques, and food shopping strategies. All of which I know will come into handy. The author does a really good job at explaining complex ideas (whether they are medical or dietary) in a simple way and motivates you to incorporate the new information into your life right away. This book also includes recipes, but they are scattered throughout so they are not as easy to use. 
• The Bad: This book really focuses on inflammatory conditions that are not auto-immune related, such as heart disease, and because of that their is not as much information around inflammation and auto-immune related illnesses. They also include tomatoes in a lot of the recipes, which I thought caused inflammation...
• Would I Buy Again? Yes, I would. This book is a textbook of valuable information and is one that I will refer back to again and again. I especially love the eating out section, after all I can't avoid eating out for the rest of my life!

So overall, I like both books and feel like if you only buy one or the other you will be doing yourself a dis-service. Minus the coconut oil and tomatoes, neither books had any major contradictions, this further increases my confidence in the benefits of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet. 

In summary, I will use the first book as a cookbook and the Idiots Guide as a detailed reference guide when I need a refresher in inflammation/anti-inflammation. I hope this review helps you make a more informed decision in your purchase. If you are going to purchase both books, Amazon.com has both listed at inexpensive prices!