Our top 10 book tips
Do you want to get more out of your health, performance, and mindset? Then these are the 10 books you absolutely must read. From nutrition and sleep to breathing and dopamine—these books will give you valuable insights to take your life to the next level. Let's get ready!
1. Work like an Athlete – Joep Rovers
This one, of course, has to be number 1. The book by our founder Joep: Work like an Athlete. Optimize your work performance by living like a top athlete. Joep shows how rhythm, recovery, and nutrition can increase your productivity and energy. By applying principles from sports, you work smarter and get more out of your day. The book covers topics such as sleep, breathing, nutrition, and stress management. Joep emphasizes that consistent habits are the key to long-term performance and well-being. He provides practical tools to improve your focus and reduce stress, so you are physically and mentally at your best.
2. Nutrition & Physical Degeneration – Weston A. Price
Weston A. Price researched how traditional diets impact our health. He discovered that natural, unprocessed foods are crucial for strong bones, healthy teeth, and a robust immune system. An eye-opener on the impact of processed foods. Price traveled the world to study indigenous peoples and found that modern diets lead to dental problems, degenerative diseases, and weak bone structures. This book offers a deep dive into how nutrition influences our genetic expression and shows how we can radically improve our health with the right food choices. The key takeaways? Stay away from white flour, seed oil, and sugar for optimal health and ensure sufficient fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK), which can be found in animal products.
3. Period Repair Manual – Lara Briden
Lara Briden explains how you can naturally address hormonal complaints such as PCOS and PMS. This book helps women understand their cycle and restore hormonal balance without medication. Briden shows how hormonal health is a reflection of your overall well-being and how nutrition, exercise, and stress management play a crucial role. The book also provides insight into how the pill and other hormonal contraceptives disrupt the natural cycle and how women can support their hormones naturally.
4. Jaws: A Hidden Epidemic – Sandra Kahn & Paul Ehrlich
Modern eating habits and breathing patterns have worsened our jaw development. This book shows how underdeveloped jaws lead to crooked teeth, sleep apnea, and other health problems—and what you can do about it. The authors show that a lack of chewing due to processed foods and poor breathing techniques contribute to this epidemic. They advocate for early intervention in children and offer practical advice, such as training jaw muscles and improving breathing, to prevent future problems.
5. Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
Sleep is the superpower that drastically improves your performance and health. Matthew Walker explains why sleep is essential and how to optimize your sleep habits for maximum energy and focus. He reveals the scientific mechanisms behind sleep and why sleep deprivation is linked to diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and depression. This book offers valuable strategies to improve the quality and duration of your sleep, from sleep hygiene to avoiding caffeine and screens before bedtime. With this insight, you can significantly boost your productivity, health, and mental well-being.
6. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art – James Nestor
Breathing has a huge impact on your health. James Nestor reveals how poor breathing contributes to stress, fatigue, and health problems, and provides practical techniques to improve your breathing. He investigates how ancient breathing techniques such as the Buteyko method and Wim Hof technique influence our nervous system, immune system, and performance. By making small adjustments in how you breathe, you can improve your oxygen uptake, reduce stress, and even enhance athletic performance. This book offers a deep dive into how conscious breathing techniques can transform your health.
7. Guts and Physiology Syndrome – Natasha Campbell-McBride
Gut health affects much more than just your digestion. Natasha Campbell-McBride links an unhealthy gut to neurological, hormonal, and immune problems. A must-read for anyone who wants to improve their overall health. She discusses how a leaky gut and a disturbed gut flora can contribute to conditions such as autoimmune diseases, depression, and chronic inflammation. The book offers an in-depth insight into how nutrition and lifestyle can support gut health and how you can restore your body through the GAPS diet.
8. Dopamine Nation – Anna Lembke
We live in a world full of constant dopamine stimuli: social media, junk food, and screen time. This book helps you understand how addiction mechanisms work and how to balance dopamine to experience more control and happiness. Lembke explains why our brain struggles with moderation and how we can deal with pleasure stimuli more consciously. She provides practical strategies to reset your dopamine sensitivity, so you get more satisfaction out of life without being dependent on external stimuli.
9. The Molecule of More – Daniel Z. Lieberman & Michael E. Long
Dopamine drives our urge for ambition and success but can also keep us in an endless pursuit of 'more'. This book shows how dopamine influences your behavior and how you can find a healthy balance between striving and enjoying. The authors discuss how dopamine not only affects motivation but also relationships, politics, and technology. They explain how an excess of dopamine can lead to obsessions and addictions and how you can deal more consciously with this powerful neurotransmitter.
10. Sacred Cow – Diana Rodgers & Robb Wolf
Is eating meat really bad for the environment? This book debunks myths surrounding meat consumption and advocates for regenerative agriculture as a sustainable solution. An indispensable guide for anyone who wants to understand the role of animal nutrition in a healthy diet. Rodgers and Wolf show how well-managed livestock actually contributes to soil health and biodiversity. They discuss the nutritional value of animal products and why a balanced diet with responsible meat can be essential for optimal health.
We hope you'll check off a few more from this list. Which book will you read first?
