SIMPLE REMEDIES
Those who struggle to find meals that won't wreak havoc on their digestive system–and actually have flavour–will want to check out Kendall Conrad's Eat Well Feel Well (Potter, $30). Subtitled Meals to Help Manage Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, Diverticulitis, and Other Digestive Conditions, the book contains more than 150 recipes based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Biochemist Elaine Gottschall developed the diet, which includes only certain carbs: those that are easily absorbed and require minimal digestion. So while most vegetables are allowed, for instance, potatoes, yams, and sweet potatoes are not. And by no means are the meals appropriate only for those with intestinal problems. With recipes for Thai beef salad with papaya and toasted coconut, French three-onion soup with Gruyère, and skewered shrimp in mint pesto on offer, you could have a full-on dinner party that would leave all your guests pleased.

THE BIG O DIET
Celebrity endorsements don't get much more influential than when they come from Oprah Winfrey. The zillionaire talk-show host credits Bob Greene with not only helping her lose weight but teaching her how not to turn to food whenever she felt sad or stressed. An exercise physiologist and personal trainer, Greene has written several books on fitness and healthy eating, the latest being The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster, $29.99). He doesn't focus solely on what types of food to consume; rather, he discusses the importance of working on your whole self, including increasing your activity level, gauging and understanding your hunger, and eliminating "emotional eating". Of course, Greene offers basic advice on eating well, like his list of six unhealthy foods to remove from your diet pronto: pop, trans fats, fried foods, white bread, "regular" pasta (made with semolina), and high-fat dairy products. And the recipes he shares are yummily creative: he tosses edamame into shrimp rotini, "melts" lemons over chicken with artichokes, and tops a black-bean chipotle burger with corn salsa.

EAT YOUR GREENS
Vancouver's Brendan Brazier claims to be one of the few professional athletes in the world whose diet is 100 percent plant-based. Brazier, the 2003 and 2006 Canadian 50-kilometre Ultra Marathon champion, has a new book on his approach to food and fitness. As he explains in The Thrive Diet: The Whole Foods Way to Losing Weight, Reducing Stress, and Staying Healthy for Life (Penguin, $24), people who are constantly stressed do not burn body fat as efficiently as those who aren't. Excessive stress can cause specific, unhealthy food cravings, he writes, while an improved diet is the most effective way to reduce overall stress. He recommends stocking up on nutrient-dense, natural whole foods. Staple ingredients in The Thrive Diet are vegetables, legumes, seeds, "pseudograins" (like amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa), fruits, oils, nuts, and grains. He also suggests "next-level foods" such as chlorella, a green alga; maca, a root vegetable; and rooibos, also known as red tea, which can supposedly help reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. Some of Brazier's recipes, like the one for popped-amaranth rooibos pizza, require time and planning, while others, like those for zucchini pasta and an almond-flaxseed burger, are deceptively simple.