Why am I passionate about this?

At just fifty-four, my husband Steve was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2004. After practicing as a physician specializing in newborn intensive care for thirty years, I found myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, learning everything I could about Alzheimer’s. In 2008, Steve had a dramatic improvement in his symptoms lasting nearly four years from consuming ketogenic coconut oil and MCT oil, a low-carb whole food diet, and later a ketone ester developed at the NIH. I knew that if Steve improved many others would as well, and have been compelled to share this information by speaking and writing about ketones as an alternative fuel for the brain.


I wrote

Clearly Keto: For Healthy Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention

By Mary T. Newport,

Book cover of Clearly Keto: For Healthy Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention

What is my book about?

Clearly Keto provides the rationale, the evidence, and a detailed plan for adopting a whole-food ketogenic Mediterranean-style diet to overcome…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet

Mary T. Newport Why did I love this book?

I read the book twice from cover to cover.

We have been told for decades to eat a low-fat diet and to limit saturated fat, especially animal fat and tropical oils, to try to prevent coronary artery disease. We now have epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and dementia, and I personally struggled for years with constant carb craving and yo-yo dieting.

The author of The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz, is an investigative journalist who spent ten years trying to understand how the low-fat guidelines came about and discovered that the evidence just doesn’t support this advice. Teicholz discusses which fats are healthy and which are not.

By Nina Teicholz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Big Fat Surprise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times bestseller
Named one of The Economist’s Books of the Year 2014
Named one of The Wall Street Journal’s Top Ten Best Nonfiction Books of 2014
Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of 2014
Forbes’s Most Memorable Healthcare Book of 2014

In The Big Fat Surprise, investigative journalist Nina Teicholz reveals the unthinkable: that everything we thought we knew about dietary fat is wrong. She documents how the low-fat nutrition advice of the past sixty years has amounted to a vast uncontrolled experiment on the entire population, with disastrous consequences for our health.

For decades, we have been…


Book cover of Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine

Mary T. Newport Why did I love this book?

There has been a massive shift since the early twentieth century in our diets from the whole foods that served our ancestors well to ultra-processed foods that appear on shelf after shelf in our grocery stores, even in the infant and toddler section.

The author of Metabolic, Robert Lustig MD, is an endocrinologist with a passion for healthy nutrition, and he teaches us the many reasons why consuming a diet of ultra-processed foods is so damaging to the health of our bodies and our brains. Lustig explains how switching over from a convenience food diet to a whole food diet can help prevent type 2 diabetes and lead to many other health benefits.

His advice hit home with me because I went through that very process in 2006 and have reaped the benefits.

By Robert H Lustig,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Metabolical as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Did you know that 62% of the food in our supermarkets is not only processed but 'ultra-processed' (ingredients from other foods are combined to make something 'new', often in colours that do not exist in nature) and that data shows that by eating this kind of food over time we are literally slowly poisoning ourselves?

In the hard-hitting, ground-breaking tradition of his NY Times bestseller FAT CHANCE, which revealed the dangers of sugar, Dr Robert Lustig persuasively presents a stark expose of how our addiction to processed foods (aided and abetted by the food industry, big ag, big pharma, institutional…


Book cover of The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest

Mary T. Newport Why did I love this book?

The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner is a fascinating look at populations around the world with high concentrations of centenarians, including detailed interviews with these very elderly people, to learn what factors might explain their longevity and good health—what they eat and how they go about their daily lives.

I found it interesting and inspirational to get such an intimate peek into the lives of individuals from different cultures who have lived much longer than most of us can hope for.

By Dan Buettner,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Blue Zones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A long, healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes, but it also depends on good habits. If you adopt the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are you may live up to a decade longer. Buettner has led teams of researchers across the globe--from Costa Rica to Sardinia, Italy, to Okinawa, Japan and beyond--to uncover the secrets of Blue Zones. He found that the recipe for longevity is deeply intertwined with community, lifestyle, and spirituality. People live longer and healthier by embracing a few simple but powerful habits, and by creating the right community around themselves. In The…


Book cover of The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

Mary T. Newport Why did I love this book?

There are long-held misconceptions that the ketogenic diet is all bacon and eggs and that the diet isn’t palatable or sustainable for the long term. The Ketogenic Bible by doctors Ryan Lowery and Jacob Wilson blows those misconceptions away and provides comprehensive information for anyone who is considering the keto diet, how to plan the diet, and how to avoid common problems.

The recipes are delicious, nutritious, and beautifully illustrated in the book.

By Jacob Wilson, Ryan Lowery,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ketogenic Bible as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The ketogenic diet is emerging as one of the most popular diets for health and weight loss, and for good reason. No other diet has the same benefits for health concerns ranging from obesity and type 2 diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease to cancer—not to mention its positive effects on athletic performance. In The Ketogenic Bible, Jacob Wilson and Ryan Lowery offer a comprehensive look at the ketogenic diet and the fat-burning state it induces: ketosis. It’s the most complete source for information on keto—not only how to follow a ketogenic diet but also how it affects the bodily systems and…


Book cover of Keto for Cancer: Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy as a Targeted Nutritional Strategy

Mary T. Newport Why did I love this book?

The author of Keto for Cancer, Miriam Kalamian, became a nutritionist specializing in the ketogenic diet when her young son developed brain cancer, and, through her perseverance, he lived years beyond expectations.

Most people don’t realize that there is a connection between diet and cancer. Kalamian explains that many types of cancer cells love sugar, and depriving these cells of sugar by eating a ketogenic diet can slow cancer growth. Many clinical trials of the keto diet combined with standard treatment are in progress for various types of cancer. Kalamian explains the rationale and how to put this strict version of the keto diet into action.

I found the book to be very complete, highly informative, and easy to understand. 

By Miriam Kalamian,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Keto for Cancer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Keto for Cancer brings clarity to this emerging science and makes implementation of this information straightforward and uncomplicated."-David Perlmutter, New York Times bestselling author

"This book addresses every question or concern that cancer patients might have in using a ketogenic metabolic strategy for managing their cancer."-Thomas Seyfried ,PhD

THE comprehensive guide for patients and practitioners from a foremost authority in the emerging field of metabolic therapies for cancer.

Although evidence supporting the benefits of ketogenic diet therapies continues to mount, there is little to guide those who wish to adopt this diet as a metabolic therapy for cancer. Keto for…


Explore my book 😀

Clearly Keto: For Healthy Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention

By Mary T. Newport,

Book cover of Clearly Keto: For Healthy Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention

What is my book about?

Clearly Keto provides the rationale, the evidence, and a detailed plan for adopting a whole-food ketogenic Mediterranean-style diet to overcome insulin resistance and provide ketones as an alternative fuel to the brain. 

Lifestyle risk factors appear to account for at least 30% of dementia cases, including poor diet, inactivity, poorly controlled blood pressure, inadequate sleep, untreated sleep apnea, and others. Clearly Keto takes an in-depth look at these and many other things to do, and things to avoid, that may delay, slow down, or possibly prevent Alzheimer’s and other disorders of the aging brain. Finally, for doctors, researchers, and citizen scientists, Clearly Keto delves deeply into what goes wrong in the Alzheimer’s brain.

Book cover of The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet
Book cover of Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine
Book cover of The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest

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Book cover of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

Lyle Greenfield Author Of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

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Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by group dynamics, large and small. Why things functioned well, why they didn’t. It’s possible my ability to empathize and use humor as a consensus-builder is the reason I was elected president of a homeowners association, a music production association, and even an agricultural group. Books were not particularly involved in this fascination! But in recent years, experiencing the breakdown of civility and trust in our political and cultural discourse, I’ve taken a more analytical view of the dynamics. These books, in their very different ways, have taught me lessons about life, understanding those with different beliefs, and finding ways to connect and move forward. 

Lyle's book list on restoring your belief in human possibility

What is my book about?

We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike. 

My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and modern-day causes of our nation's divisive state. It then proposes easy-to-understand solutions—an action plan for our elected leaders and citizens as well. Rather than a scholarly treatment of a complex topic, the book challenges us to take the obvious steps required of those living in a free democracy. And it…

Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

By Lyle Greenfield,

What is this book about?

Lyle Greenfield's "Uniting the States of America―A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation" is a work of nonfiction and opinion. Incorporating the lessons of history and the ideas and wisdom of many, it is intended as both an educational resource and a call-to-action for citizens concerned about the politically and culturally divided state of our Union. A situation that has raised alarm for the very future of our democracy.

First, the book clearly identifies the causes of what has become a national crisis of belief in and love for our country. How the divisiveness and hostility rampant in our political…


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