What do you think?
Rate this book
The New Optimum Nutrition Bible
Since it was first published in 1997, THE OPTIMUM NUTRITION BIBLE has revolutionized health by showing more than half a million readers how to achieve a profound sense of well-being by devising the best possible intake of nutrients for their unique biochemical makeup. THE NEW OPTIMUM NUTRITION BIBLE presents the latest research from Britain'�'s top nutrition expert Patrick Holford, with new chapters on stimulants, water, eating right for your blood type, detox, homocysteine, and toxic minerals. You'�?ll learn to analyze your symptoms, lifestyle, and eating habits in order to formulate a personal ideal diet and vitamin regimen. Once optimum nutrition is in place, you can look forward to a consistent high level of energy, emotional balance, alertness, physical fitness, resilience against infectious diseases, and longevity.A revised edition of the best-selling nutritional guide, with an A-to-Z guide to specific health problems and how to heal them with optimum nutrition.Unlike modern medicine, which tends to treat diseases not people, the optimum nutrition approach considers a human being as a whole, with an interconnected mind and body designed to adapt to health if the circumstances are right.Additional chapters cover boosting your immune system; preventing cancer and heart disease; how to increase your IQ, memory, and mental performance; improving skin health; and much more.THE OPTIMUM NUTRITION BIBLE sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. "From the Trade Paperback edition."
ebook
First published September 24, 1998
66 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Holford
175 books53 followersPatrick Holford, BSc, DipION, FBANT, NTCRP, is a pioneer in new approaches to health and nutrition. He is a leading spokesman on nutrition in the media, specialising in the field of mental health. He is the author of 37 books, translated into over 30 languages and selling millions of copies worldwide, including The Optimum Nutrition Bible, The Low GL-Diet Bible, Optimum Nutrition for the Mind and The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People, 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing and Good Medicine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 23, 2009
Diet and nutrition books are a growth market these days. This book, although published in 2005, does not seem dated. Holford's recommendations center around a) controlling your blood sugar through a low-glycemic-load diet, b) taking supplements to clear up health issues ranging from eczema to schizophrenia. Some of his recommendations are more mainstream than others, but none are extreme, and all are backed up with scientific research. One of the most useful features is the array of quizzes where you can find out your nutrient deficiencies and get exact milligrams of the supplements needed to compensate (by the way, he disproves studies saying that vitamins have no effect). Overall, this book presents a sane and reasoned approach to health. I'm sad to see it characterized as an "alternative medicine" book because it has easy and sensible recommendations that anyone can choose to adopt.
June 6, 2008
Absolutely LOVE this book, keep it on my desk, and actually use it as a textbook for the online nutrition course that I teach for the local university. VERY useful information from cover to cover, including a "How to use nutrition to heal problems from A to Z" section that is quite good.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
March 10, 2012
This book provides an easy to read overview on nutrition and vitamins.
This book explains how antioxidants work together, how to lower your homocysteine levels, how to reduce cancer risk, the safe limits of each vitamin and mineral (even if the numbers given are quite conservative and so perhaps not very useful) and which foods they are in, plus has sections on detoxing and digestion, lots of information on diet, and lists which foods are highest in antioxidants and much more.
Most information is aimed more at maintaining health rather than treating serious disease, so this book is mostly for wlel people that want to stay well.
But even so, this book is still very useful for educating yourself about how the body works in many ways as part of a wider health reading program.
The sections on diet are poor and the author recommends a diet still too carb heavy for many of us, and too low in healthy fats and which excludes many very important traditional foods probably due to a vegetarian bias. Yes vegetables and fruit are important but what about how important meat is, or eggs, or raw cultured vegetables, or kefir, or homemade 24 hour yogurt made with unprocessed milk, or organ meats? Vegetables are not the only important health foods!
This book is best combined with really excellent books on diet such as Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and books on reducing your total load and detoxification and so on such as 'Detoxify or Die' by Dr Sherry Rogers and the book on sauna use by Dr Lawrence Wilson as well as Dr Atkin's Vita-Nutrient Solution book.
(As with almost all health books what he says about 'CFS' (and even M.E., appallingly) is ridiculous and should be ignored fully by everyone, no matter their diagnosis, but overall this book is very useful. 'CFS' is a wastebasket term and not a distinct disease. Patients need a real diagnosis and real help, not to be fobbed off with this unhelpful MISdiagnosis! M.E. is not the same as 'CFS')
I'd give this book a 6 or 7/10.
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encepahlomyelitis
This book explains how antioxidants work together, how to lower your homocysteine levels, how to reduce cancer risk, the safe limits of each vitamin and mineral (even if the numbers given are quite conservative and so perhaps not very useful) and which foods they are in, plus has sections on detoxing and digestion, lots of information on diet, and lists which foods are highest in antioxidants and much more.
Most information is aimed more at maintaining health rather than treating serious disease, so this book is mostly for wlel people that want to stay well.
But even so, this book is still very useful for educating yourself about how the body works in many ways as part of a wider health reading program.
The sections on diet are poor and the author recommends a diet still too carb heavy for many of us, and too low in healthy fats and which excludes many very important traditional foods probably due to a vegetarian bias. Yes vegetables and fruit are important but what about how important meat is, or eggs, or raw cultured vegetables, or kefir, or homemade 24 hour yogurt made with unprocessed milk, or organ meats? Vegetables are not the only important health foods!
This book is best combined with really excellent books on diet such as Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and books on reducing your total load and detoxification and so on such as 'Detoxify or Die' by Dr Sherry Rogers and the book on sauna use by Dr Lawrence Wilson as well as Dr Atkin's Vita-Nutrient Solution book.
(As with almost all health books what he says about 'CFS' (and even M.E., appallingly) is ridiculous and should be ignored fully by everyone, no matter their diagnosis, but overall this book is very useful. 'CFS' is a wastebasket term and not a distinct disease. Patients need a real diagnosis and real help, not to be fobbed off with this unhelpful MISdiagnosis! M.E. is not the same as 'CFS')
I'd give this book a 6 or 7/10.
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for Myalgic Encepahlomyelitis
March 26, 2008
This has superseded "Food - Your Miracle Medicine" by Jean Carper (which I think is out of print now?) - as my health reference book. It has some interesting and up-to-date info about supplements and the fact that the maximum recommended doses of these have been unnecessarily cut down, scaring us into going to the doctor for orthodox medicines. There is another good reference book on the drug industry called "Food Is Better Medicine Than Drugs" - also reviewed.
May 22, 2007
this really is the bible of nutrition books- the best!
May 24, 2013
I found this book to be well written with the information laid out in a way that you could read it straight through (as I did) or for reference only. I found the supplementation discussions to be the most informative. Holford lists the main vitamins and minerals and elements that we come into contact with for better or for worse. He goes into detail about what levels of vitamins and minerals we need; what foods, environmental and mineral issues prevent the absorption of said nutrients; and most importantly, how to eat and supplement accordingly. He describes what makes a good supplement and what is a cheap one. I will keep this book as a guide to help me in this manner.
As far as nutrition itself I have mixed feelings. Over all I feel the advice is good. What I struggle with is I have read several other books that contradict some of his eating principles, such as eat less meat and maintain a close to vegetarian lifestyle. I don't think anyone denies the health value of a diet high in vegetables and fruits, especially vegetables. But I don't know if I should take his advice about meat and dairy, or the other books I have read (and written about) such as "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, and "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, to name a few.
What makes me take that into consideration for reviewing this book is that even within this book there are contradictions. Sometimes he says eat meat and fish and whole grains, other times he will say to reduce or avoid. Now when he is talking about individual issues such as Celiac disease it is not contradictory to tell that person to stay away from wheat and other gluten containing grains. That is not what I am referring to. I am referring to, as a whole, throughout the book he seems to change his mind about what is the best diet. He relies on soy to be one's main intake of protein, disregarding other evidence that too much soy can be carcinogenic. He also recommends quinoa but doesn't discuss the saponins that can damage the digestive system.
I also don't like the glossing over the tragedy of HIV with the advice to take a ton of Vitamin C and your symptoms may go away. I am not saying that a huge increase in Vitamin C couldn't help, but it felt naive to me to act like it could be a cure.
All in all I think it is a good read with some good advice, but I think readers need to continue their own research and not blindly accept this as gospel, as the "Bible" reference in the title implies.
As far as nutrition itself I have mixed feelings. Over all I feel the advice is good. What I struggle with is I have read several other books that contradict some of his eating principles, such as eat less meat and maintain a close to vegetarian lifestyle. I don't think anyone denies the health value of a diet high in vegetables and fruits, especially vegetables. But I don't know if I should take his advice about meat and dairy, or the other books I have read (and written about) such as "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, and "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, to name a few.
What makes me take that into consideration for reviewing this book is that even within this book there are contradictions. Sometimes he says eat meat and fish and whole grains, other times he will say to reduce or avoid. Now when he is talking about individual issues such as Celiac disease it is not contradictory to tell that person to stay away from wheat and other gluten containing grains. That is not what I am referring to. I am referring to, as a whole, throughout the book he seems to change his mind about what is the best diet. He relies on soy to be one's main intake of protein, disregarding other evidence that too much soy can be carcinogenic. He also recommends quinoa but doesn't discuss the saponins that can damage the digestive system.
I also don't like the glossing over the tragedy of HIV with the advice to take a ton of Vitamin C and your symptoms may go away. I am not saying that a huge increase in Vitamin C couldn't help, but it felt naive to me to act like it could be a cure.
All in all I think it is a good read with some good advice, but I think readers need to continue their own research and not blindly accept this as gospel, as the "Bible" reference in the title implies.
October 27, 2012
I read this book as part of my nutritional consultant education. It is packed with good information and research on optimum nutrition (as the title suggests). It will remain in my research library as a great reference for me in my future career.
December 30, 2018
Quite informative and interesting read.
September 9, 2020
Great nutrition book! Exactly my regimen!
October 9, 2024
Excellent.
Tons of valuable information - I definitely learnt a lot.
Tons of valuable information - I definitely learnt a lot.
December 5, 2025
I thought I was eating healthy already, but this book taught me so much. After upping my fruits and vegetables and supplements (and yes, cutting down on meat), I feel so much more fit and mentally alert!! I recommend this book for people in all stages of life!
Changing my diet seemed like a daunting task at first. I looked at Nutrition Kitchen and the likes, which were very expensive, but turned out to be quite unnecessary because there are actually so many salad options near where I work!
Changing my diet seemed like a daunting task at first. I looked at Nutrition Kitchen and the likes, which were very expensive, but turned out to be quite unnecessary because there are actually so many salad options near where I work!
July 11, 2011
If you would like to know what to eat and why, this is the book for you. It is very comprehensive, covering everything from diet plans, food as medicine, nutritional supplements, allergies and some good common sense advice. Patrick Holford has clearly made a living from selling his knowledge on how to eat well. He knows his stuff and it is all very practical.
For me this was an important book. I have always been a sceptic when it comes to vitamin and mineral supplements, but Patrick has convinced me that taking supplements makes sense. While many other recommendations will not come as a surprise (eat fruit and veges), there is some really useful advice on the effects of stimulants like caffeine and alcohol and how to detox to give your body a break.
I suspect this will be one I dip back into now and again, and already I am eating better, taking supplement and watching that stimulant load. Well worth a look.
For me this was an important book. I have always been a sceptic when it comes to vitamin and mineral supplements, but Patrick has convinced me that taking supplements makes sense. While many other recommendations will not come as a surprise (eat fruit and veges), there is some really useful advice on the effects of stimulants like caffeine and alcohol and how to detox to give your body a break.
I suspect this will be one I dip back into now and again, and already I am eating better, taking supplement and watching that stimulant load. Well worth a look.
October 21, 2017
This is some pretty advanced nutrition knowledge. In a way it's pretty bleak/grim stuff. The author can paint an almost hopeless picture of all the problems with our modern diets (especially pesticides, storing food in plastics, lack of nutrients in food, and much more). This guy is pretty extreme but is at least extremely knowledgable to back it up. This book certainly isn't afraid of the science of food. Tons of useful information. Though lots of the information seems to contradict itself in some ways so you have to take everything with a grain of salt. This guy pushes a mostly vegan/organic + gluten free lifestyle but at least doesn't deny the nutritional benefits of certain animal products, etc. The main thing I'm taking away from this book is the importance of a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement.
February 10, 2017
A nutritionist who claims popping pills is the answer to (almost) everything is no nutritionist to me. I don't care that he's talking about supplements, not strict medicine - it's all the same - most isolated nutrients haven't been proven effective or AS effective AS the whole foods that include them. Would not recommend his books - they feel like pseudo science. Nutrition is a great field bursting with exciting new research every day - he didn't tell me anything new, just re-told a couple of myths + some basic (correct, I admit) information.
August 15, 2009
This is an essential read. The first half is the most important part, and you will pick up a lot useful information about healthy nutrition and it is backed up with scientific evidence. Holford recommends a vegetarian diet, but if you are not vegetarian, there is still useful information here. It also has significant information about dietary supplements and vitamins.
November 13, 2007
Taking a reasonable approach to a healthy diet, Holford lays out easy guidelines without all the mystery and cruelty that other diet-of-the-month-authors seem so fond of. This is just simple good health spelled out for you. And as a bonus, I found it very helpful in quitting smoking.
August 5, 2013
A good book but kind of a 'dry toast' read. There is nothing astonishing here and most things are common knowledge. There are some things here that are also antiquated as well.
Overall if you can stay awake it has some really good nutrition advice for those that are new to the nutrition game.
Overall if you can stay awake it has some really good nutrition advice for those that are new to the nutrition game.
May 2, 2014
Patrick Holford wrote a real good book about nutrition for our people who just starts about it.I read it two year ago,and I really learned so much in this book,it tells you something that nourishments sellers something that they would never tell you.The truth for the nutrition is about "balance"
Read
April 26, 2007This book is fabulous for anyone that wants a good understanding of holistic nutrition, but does not have a medical background.
July 8, 2007
This is good. It is so good that it has managed to become the most dusty of all my books. I get 10 points for trying though ;0)
March 20, 2008
Loaded with great nutritional information...thanks for letting me borrow it Meg. I agreed with most of it but not all of it. A great reference book.
August 21, 2008
So far a really wealth of info. for optimum wellness. Not flashy like Skinny Bitch. Not too scientific like the China Study.
Read
December 2, 2008A brilliant book which covers everything full of useful knowledge about how to improve your health through nutrition.
March 12, 2009
Decent albeit a bit dry. Holford, though obviously knowledgeable, falls prey to the all too common practice of criminalizing food.
Want to read
June 10, 2009GCNM book
October 28, 2009
Essential read for vitamin and mineral optimum guides also a-z guide on various common ailments.
Read
August 12, 2017Reference
April 1, 2011
Food for thought, literally.
Read
August 9, 2011I normally rent books from the library but this one is worth buying to refer back to. It is loaded with great information.
March 3, 2015
The information was very good. The writing was quite poor at times though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews