Looking to deepen your understanding of the keto diet, discover keto-friendly recipes, and optimize this way of eating? There’s no better way to do it than with the best keto diet books.
We’ve compiled the best options written by industry experts and health professionals. By reading them, you can make educated decisions doing keto in a way that works for you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to lose weight, dispel myths, refine your current keto diet, discover delicious and healthy recipes, and improve your physique — one of these keto diet books will help.
We’ve picked these books based on category (or type of book) and author expertise.
1. Best ketogenic diet book overall: “Keto Answers: Simplifying Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Most Confusing Diet”
Written by Perfect Keto founder Anthony Gustin and Perfect Keto head of education Chris Irvin, this book explains the role of nutrition for improving health and avoiding disease and everything you should know about starting and staying on the keto diet.
Consider this one of the best keto books for beginners and those who need a refresher on keto. While it’s comprehensive, you’ll love that it’s easy to read and eliminates jargon. Plus, it has a chapter that teaches you how to self-experiment and track on keto for the best results.
Available for $17.99 on Amazon (paperback) or $8.49 on Barnes & Noble (ebook)
2. Best keto book for weight loss: “The Case for Keto: Rethinking Weight Control and the Science and Practice of Low-Carb/High-Fat Eating”
“The Case for Keto” reveals that the idea of restricting calories, exercising more, and eating less doesn’t work for everyone. If you’ve been relying too much on the advice of lean people but have not seen the weight loss results you desire, this book is for you.
This book is written by Gary Taubes, an investigative science and health journalist, and co-founder of the non-profit Nutrition Science Initiative. It’s a wonderful read not just for regular individuals, but also for health professionals and trainers interested in using keto for their clients.
Available for $12.80 on Amazon (paperback) or $17.00 on Penguin Random House (paperback)
3. Best evidence-based keto book: “Lies My Doctor Told Me”
Dr. Ken Berry is a family physician and has helped patients overcome obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. In his book, he exposes the dangers of eating whole grains, avoiding cholesterol, and relying only on “calories in, calories out.”
This book is honest and backs keto information with a lot of science and research. It has over 4,500 ratings on Amazon with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
Available for $19.49 on Amazon (paperback) or $9.99 on Barnes and Noble (eBook)
4. Best keto cookbook: “Quick & Easy Ketogenic Cooking”
Maria Emmerich, a nutritionist specializing in the keto diet, wrote this book to help people who are busy and stressed prepare meals that support ketosis without taking so much time. It features recipes for breakfast, snacks, soups, desserts, and more.
Like her other keto cookbooks, Maria starts by showing an introduction of the keto diet, its benefits, how you can become keto-adapted, and ways to test for ketones.
Available for $16.79 on Amazon (paperback) or $34.95 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
5. Best keto book for plant-based eating: “Ketotarian: The (Mostly) Plant-Based Plan to Burn Fat, Boost Your Energy, Crush Your Cravings, and Calm Inflammation”
If you prefer eating mostly plant-based on a keto diet, “Ketotarian” shows you how that can be possible. It combines both ketogenic and vegan diets to deliver an approach that lowers inflammation, supports weight loss, improves mental function, and encourages you to eat cleaner.
This book is written by Dr. Will Cole, a leading functional medicine expert and host of the The Art of Being Well podcast. If you’re interested in his other books, you can try “The Inflammation Spectrum” and “Intuitive Fasting.”
Available for $13.95 on Amazon (paperback) or $18.99 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
6. Best book on Type 2 Diabetes: “The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally”
Type 2 diabetes affects 90-95% of Americans, including children, teens, and young adults (*). In his book, Dr. Jason Fung discusses the fact that this disease can be fully reversed and prevented, and how conventional diabetes treatments actually make problems much worse.
His book educates you on the role of insulin, the calorie deception, metabolic syndrome, and intermittent fasting. Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist and a leading expert on low-carb diets and intermittent fasting.
Available for $14.41 on Amazon (paperback) or $16.95 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
7. Best keto book on meat-based eating: “Carnivore Cure: The Ultimate Elimination Diet to Attain Optimal Health and Heal Your Body”
Judy Cho is a certified nutritional therapy practitioner and she works closely with clients to create individualized plans that support their long term health. Her book, “Carnivore Cure,” teaches a meat-based elimination diet to individuals suffering from food sensitivities and other physical symptoms.
“Carnivore Cure” is one of the books on keto diet if you want to learn more about using animal foods for optimal nutrition. In addition, it shows you a list of plants you can safely reintroduce into your diet and how to eat them. You’ll love the colorful illustrations and tables in this book for easy reference on food lists, nutrient profiles of meat, and more.
Available for $36.95 on Amazon (paperback) or $20.49 on Barnes & Noble (audiobook)
8. Best unconventional keto book: “Unlocking the Keto Code: The Revolutionary New Science of Keto That Offers More Benefits Without Deprivation”
“Unlocking the Keto Code” offers a unique perspective on the keto diet. This book tells you that ketones are not a superfuel (contrary to popular belief) and discusses a biocellular process called mitochondrial uncoupling.
After showing you his keto code program, Dr. Steven Gundry shares delicious recipes, such as MCT-infused salad dressings and brownies, muffins, casserole, and more. Dr. Steven Gundry is a cardiologist, heart surgeon, medical researcher, and host of The Dr. Gundry Podcast.
Available for $19.19 on Amazon (hardcover) or $26.09 on Barnes & Noble (hardcover)
9. Best book on intermittent fasting for newbies: “The Complete Guide To Fasting (Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting)”
With more than 16,000 ratings on Amazon, “The Complete Guide To Fasting” explains the history, benefits, myths of fasting, and how to use it for various purposes — for example, weight loss, type 2 diabetes, and heart health. If you’re having difficulty with losing weight and controlling blood glucose — this is for you.
In addition to the science and methods of fasting, this book shares multiple recipes to try as part of your fasting plan. Nephrologist Dr. Jason Fung wrote this book along with veteran health podcaster Jimmy Moore.
Available for $15.39 on Amazon (paperback) or $23.95 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
10. Best keto cookbook for parents: “Sugar-Free Kids (Over 150 Fun & Easy Recipes to Keep the Whole Family Happy & Healthy)”
Created by Maria Emmerich, “Sugar-Free Kids” teaches parents how to cut sugar in their children’s diets through healthy recipes without sacrificing taste. Before diving into the recipes — which includes snacks, lunches, desserts, and chaffles — it explains the science behind eliminating sugar and common foods with added sugars.
While this book is dedicated to make kids healthier, anyone in the family can enjoy Maria’s recipes. It has easy-to-follow instructions and uses similar ingredients (that are widely available) across her recipes.
Available for $27.42 on Amazon (paperback) or $28.76 on Barnes & Noble
11. Best dairy-free keto cookbook: “Easy Dairy-Free Ketogenic Recipes (200+ low-carb family favorites for weight loss and health)”
Choosing to go dairy-free on keto? If you’re looking for the best keto books for beginners on a dairy-free eating plan, get “Easy Dairy-Free Ketogenic Recipes.” Maria Emmerich created this book for individuals who want to get past weight loss stalls on keto by avoiding dairy or are allergic to casein — a protein found in foods containing milk.
Through this cookbook, you’ll learn how to make everything from sauces to salads to vegetarian dishes. It has beautiful pictures of dairy-free recipes that taste wonderful, plus they’re easy to follow.
Available for $20.99 on Amazon (paperback) or $34.95 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
12. Best keto book on bodybuilding: “Ketogenic Bodybuilding: A Natural Athlete’s Guide to Competitive Savagery”
Consider this book if you’re interested in the sport of bodybuilding or you simply want to build muscle and improve your physique using a ketogenic approach. “Ketogenic Bodybuilding” has been recommended by industry experts like Chris Irvin, Dr. Jaime Seeman, and Shawn Wells.
Those who’ve read this book love its comprehensiveness and its personal feel. It’s written by Robert Sikes, a natural pro bodybuilder, ketogenic expert, and biohacking enthusiast.
Available for $23.95 on Amazon (paperback) or $23.95 on Barnes & Noble (paperback)
Read to Start Your Keto Journey?
You’ll have more than enough titles to choose from with these best books on keto diet. All these books can be found on Amazon (and most of them on Barnes & Noble). With their help, hopefully you’ll be able to implement the keto diet correctly for your health and well-being.
Aside from these books, we can get you started with our Perfect Keto Kickstart Program that has been used by over 92,000 people worldwide.