Key Reads for Progressive Practitioners

Do you have a list of books you recommend Practitioners read to enhance their knowledge and confidence? Always looking to improve my library and extend my learning.  Thanks!

Yes, of course!  Here are some of my favorites:

• The Healthy Deviant by Pilar Gerasimo.
  Finally!  A book that deeply explores a truth we teach at SAFM every day:  if we want to help people to not only get well but stay well, we must inspire them to make abnormal choices in order to achieve abnormally awesome health results.  Fun, hip, and appropriately irreverent.  Written to engage the patient directly, but healthcare practitioners are likely some of the people who most need an inspiring, effective, how-to guide on reclaiming their personal health 🙂
• Toxic by Dr. Neil Nathan.
  In my opinion, the best book available today on Lyme, mold, and MCS.  A rich exploration for practitioners (w/lots of case examples and details).
• Stomach Acid is Good for you by Dr. Jonathan Wright.
  An oldy but a goody.  I have given 100+ copies of this book to various clients too – a powerful read on digestion, the widespread prevalence of suboptimal stomach acid, the major dangers of long-term use of PPI medications, and related diseases.  An energizing example of just how much disease begins in (even just this part of) the gut.
• Digestive Wellness by Liz Lipski.
  My go-to for gastrointestinal disorders.  This one isn’t new but still, I believe, the best overview.  Mine is highly dog-eared and heavily used.
• Why Do I still Have Thyroid Symptoms? by Dr. Datis Kharrazian.
  At SAFM, we teach over and over again:  Sluggish thyroid, sluggish Anything!  This book goes beyond thyroid basics and explores the patterns of suboptimal thyroid hormone function (especially the overlooked, “subclinical” varieties) that are often the reason why someone just. can’t. get. well. from other disease dynamics.
• The Disease Delusion, by Dr. Jeffrey Bland.
  One of my heroes.  Widely credited as the father of the functional medicine movement, Dr. Bland’s book is an excellent overview of functional medicine for practitioners.  Likely a bit too dense for most patients.  Skip the recipes.
• The Diabetes Code by Dr. Jason Fung.
  There are many great reads in the FM world about insulin resistance, but this one is particularly in-your-face clear and succinct about why it happens and what is effective for reversing it.  If you want a read that includes a richer overview of labs/supplements in this arena, however, go with Dr. Mark Hyman’s Blood Sugar Solution.
• Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Dr. Kenneth Bock.
  Still my top recommendation regarding the application of functional medicine know-how to the most challenging pediatric epidemics e.g. allergy, ADHD, autism.  Lots of details and also some inspiring case stories.
• The UltraMind Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman.
  Still the best I have seen overall for teaching the multifactorial interconnectedness of disease dynamics that precipitate neurological and mood imbalances.  If you want a specific dive into the world of Alzheimers/Dementia, then definitely go with Dr. Dale Bredesen’s gem The End of Alzheimers.
• Integrative Cardiovascular Medicine by Dr. Mark Houston.
  This one is really a textbook, but if you are passionate about preventing and reversing CVD, then This one is for you.  Includes an especially comprehensive overview of noninvasive diagnostic tools and what published research says about the impact (or not) of many lifestyle choices on CVD risk/outcomes.
• The Great Cholesterol Myth by Dr. Stephen Sinatra
  Lots of easy-to-understand explanations and entertaining stories but anchored in FM truths.  Designed for patients and one I have given away 100+ times.
• The Hundred Year Lie; How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying your Health and Slow Death by Rubber Duck and The Autoimmune Epidemic
  Three of my favorites regarding hidden and ubiquitous toxicity and how it affects our wellness.
• Good Calories; Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.
  A rich, journalistic exploration on how the heck we got into the mess we are in regarding the cholesterol and dietary fat myths (and thus the epidemic of diabetes).  Wonderfully entertaining expose with many details that will surprise you.
• Detoxification and Healing by Dr. Sidney Baker.
  Ahh, we all are always standing on the shoulders of the courageous visionaries who came before us.  Over 20 years old and still one of my top practitioner read recommendations about the practical side of detoxification.
• Cured by Dr. Jeffrey Rediger.
  At last a book that addresses the concept of spontaneous remission and in-credible disease reversal from a scientific perspective.  What can we learn from all the cases that conventional scientific research simply regards as “outliers” and discards without investigation?  We should have been looking here all along!  An engaging testament to the power of lifestyle choices, how the body follows the mind, and the very real opportunity to reverse seemingly entrenched disease.  For practitioners and patients.

There are Oh so many more, but I hope this is a diverse starting point for you.  Enjoy!