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Nourished by Design: A Christ-Centered Approach to Nutrition
“I’m ecstatic that with this book I have both the science and philosophy to defend a biblical food ethic. Enjoy.”
—Joel Salatin
What if your faith and nutrition were designed to work together?
Far too often, the Church neglects this critical topic, leaving believers with the impression that God doesn’t care about our eating habits. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In Nourished by Design, Andy Felton invites readers to explore a Christ-centered approach to nutrition—one that nourishes both body and soul. Rooted in Scripture and informed by modern science, this transformative book challenges a broken food culture and reveals how eating can become a daily encounter with God’s love, logic, and design for human flourishing.
Inside, you’ll A biblical foundation for understanding the body, food, and healthWhy metabolic dysfunction lies at the root of many modern health issuesA practical framework for aligning your eating habits with God’s designThe powerful integration of Christian feasting and fasting with modern insights on food rhythmsA balanced theology of meat and food ethicsPrinciples for God-honoring food systems and sustainable stewardshipA practical quick-start guide to building foundational nutrition habits and tracking progressWhether you’re overwhelmed by conflicting health advice or longing for a deeper connection between your faith and the way you eat, Nourished by Design will help you transform your habits—and your life.
—Joel Salatin
What if your faith and nutrition were designed to work together?
Far too often, the Church neglects this critical topic, leaving believers with the impression that God doesn’t care about our eating habits. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In Nourished by Design, Andy Felton invites readers to explore a Christ-centered approach to nutrition—one that nourishes both body and soul. Rooted in Scripture and informed by modern science, this transformative book challenges a broken food culture and reveals how eating can become a daily encounter with God’s love, logic, and design for human flourishing.
Inside, you’ll A biblical foundation for understanding the body, food, and healthWhy metabolic dysfunction lies at the root of many modern health issuesA practical framework for aligning your eating habits with God’s designThe powerful integration of Christian feasting and fasting with modern insights on food rhythmsA balanced theology of meat and food ethicsPrinciples for God-honoring food systems and sustainable stewardshipA practical quick-start guide to building foundational nutrition habits and tracking progressWhether you’re overwhelmed by conflicting health advice or longing for a deeper connection between your faith and the way you eat, Nourished by Design will help you transform your habits—and your life.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 6, 2025
About the author
Andy Felton
1 book8 followersAndy Felton is a devoted Christian, husband, father of two boys, and the author of Nourished by Design, a book exploring the intersection of faith, food, and health. A former nuclear submarine officer and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Andy now serves as a manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory. After overcoming his own health challenges, he is passionate about helping others align their physical and spiritual well-being with God’s design for flourishing. Andy lives in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he is an active member of Crossroads Bible Church.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 8, 2025
Lots to consider! Inspiring!
November 17, 2025
This book is good for someone looking to understand how the Bible is meant to be a guideline for ALL aspects of our lives. It will provide an understanding of how to approach health in a Christ-honoring way in a compelling, biblically sound format.
January 6, 2026
A must read for everyone. Very well researched and clearly written. So thankful for this book. It is one I will read over and over again.
May 17, 2026
As I said about Joel Salatin’s The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs, if you are a Christian and if you eat food, this book is for you!
So much that I’ve been learning and thinking about regarding health and nutrition over the past couple of years is summarized well in this book, and all from a Christian worldview.
I love Felton’s definition of health - “Strength for life.” He makes an excellent argument that Christians should be the healthiest people of all. God has laid out the good works He has for us to do, and in order to carry out our God given mission, we must be equipped physically as well as spiritually. If we are not taking care of ourselves well, how will we have the strength, energy, and vitality to do our God honoring work?
Felton is skilled at explaining things, particularly the reasons for the Old Testament dietary laws, metabolic health and dysfunction, the alarming soil depletion that is a result of unbiblical farming methods, and regenerative farming.
I appreciated how philosophical and theological this book is, and yet how practical it is.
A few excellent quotes:
“Ultimately, the degree to which our diets support health depends on how much they appeal to the logic of God’s design. Food, by its very nature, is meant to nourish and heal the body. The more we distort its purpose - turning it into something artificial, over-processed, or made in our own image - the more we invite decay and dysfunction into ourselves.”
“The biblical argument for the goodness of health hinges on its role as an enabler of greater goods. Health is not an end in itself but rather the means through which other noble ends become attainable. Through our bodies, we can strive to be gifts to our spouses, families, communities, and above all, living offerings to God. We are called to illumine the world with our works, serving as instruments of His will. Herein lies the true meaning of health.”
“In short, recognizing that our bodies are not our own, but rather God’s purchased possession, frames healthy habits as acts of obedience to God’s call for stewardship. Health, seen in this way, can even serve as a form of evangelism. What if, instead of simply presenting a cross-section of a sick world, the body of Christ was marked by robust health? What if the Church, instead of constantly focusing on its own array of diseases, was a physical representation to the rest of the world of the total abundance that Christ offers?”
So much that I’ve been learning and thinking about regarding health and nutrition over the past couple of years is summarized well in this book, and all from a Christian worldview.
I love Felton’s definition of health - “Strength for life.” He makes an excellent argument that Christians should be the healthiest people of all. God has laid out the good works He has for us to do, and in order to carry out our God given mission, we must be equipped physically as well as spiritually. If we are not taking care of ourselves well, how will we have the strength, energy, and vitality to do our God honoring work?
Felton is skilled at explaining things, particularly the reasons for the Old Testament dietary laws, metabolic health and dysfunction, the alarming soil depletion that is a result of unbiblical farming methods, and regenerative farming.
I appreciated how philosophical and theological this book is, and yet how practical it is.
A few excellent quotes:
“Ultimately, the degree to which our diets support health depends on how much they appeal to the logic of God’s design. Food, by its very nature, is meant to nourish and heal the body. The more we distort its purpose - turning it into something artificial, over-processed, or made in our own image - the more we invite decay and dysfunction into ourselves.”
“The biblical argument for the goodness of health hinges on its role as an enabler of greater goods. Health is not an end in itself but rather the means through which other noble ends become attainable. Through our bodies, we can strive to be gifts to our spouses, families, communities, and above all, living offerings to God. We are called to illumine the world with our works, serving as instruments of His will. Herein lies the true meaning of health.”
“In short, recognizing that our bodies are not our own, but rather God’s purchased possession, frames healthy habits as acts of obedience to God’s call for stewardship. Health, seen in this way, can even serve as a form of evangelism. What if, instead of simply presenting a cross-section of a sick world, the body of Christ was marked by robust health? What if the Church, instead of constantly focusing on its own array of diseases, was a physical representation to the rest of the world of the total abundance that Christ offers?”
March 28, 2026
Not bad. I enjoyed the biblical exposition for a theology of nutrition. Unfortunately the heath paradigm espoused is fundamentally centered around a Christian version of the Paleo diet and points to insulin resistance and metabolic disfunction as the root of most modern disease, an incomplete view with weak roots. For example, leptin resistance ALWAYS precedes insulin resistance. Leptin absorbs UVC light. Where does that light come from? Etc. etc.
On the upside, the food and nutrient recommendations like sourcing locally, no snacking, eating good quality meat, and eating seasonally and only during the day are spot on.
On the upside, the food and nutrient recommendations like sourcing locally, no snacking, eating good quality meat, and eating seasonally and only during the day are spot on.
April 28, 2026
Ever since the publishing of Casey Means’ book, Good Energy, I was praying that there might be a Christian book that dealt with the same information. And praise God, my prayer was answered! While I don’t agree with every theological underpinning that Andy Felton is operating under, it was MUCH more profitable than sifting through Means’ new age spirituality. I pray the information in this book would benefit my family and broader society.
June 1, 2025
Andy’s book was refreshing to read since it encourages Christians to humbly consider their decisions regarding food and health and whether it is God-honoring or not. Ultimately he provides sound scientific evidence to pursue good nutrition for a better life that allows us to maximize our productivity and godly living, and flourish as God intended.
Want to Read
August 7, 2025Very well thought out. I will refer back to tis book.
August 22, 2025
This a slightly premature review (I'm just over half-way in the book).
Many books on nutrition look at only our bodies and/or food. And in so doing, they are just a band-aid fix.
Not this one. Andy goes all the way back to the original creation and what we were designed for. He unpacks what it means to be a human, a body, a person, etc. He breaks down the food chain to photosynthesis and how we treat the soil & plants that produce actual food. He takes a deep dive into metabolism & cellular processes. He also takes "Big Food" to court and its attempts at creating a "better" way with vitamins, supplements, ultra-processed foods, etc.
He doesn't say we should eat according to the Hebrew laws. He doesn't say all this and none of that. (Although, there are a few obvious things that should be avoided as much as possible.) Rather, he lays out a very strong case for nutrition that is harmonious and as natural/wholesome as possible. And again, he does it by going all the way back to the beginning. He's done very exhaustive research. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Many books on nutrition look at only our bodies and/or food. And in so doing, they are just a band-aid fix.
Not this one. Andy goes all the way back to the original creation and what we were designed for. He unpacks what it means to be a human, a body, a person, etc. He breaks down the food chain to photosynthesis and how we treat the soil & plants that produce actual food. He takes a deep dive into metabolism & cellular processes. He also takes "Big Food" to court and its attempts at creating a "better" way with vitamins, supplements, ultra-processed foods, etc.
He doesn't say we should eat according to the Hebrew laws. He doesn't say all this and none of that. (Although, there are a few obvious things that should be avoided as much as possible.) Rather, he lays out a very strong case for nutrition that is harmonious and as natural/wholesome as possible. And again, he does it by going all the way back to the beginning. He's done very exhaustive research. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews