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Staying Healthy with Nutrition by Elson M. Haas & Buck Levin Review: A Sweeping, Encyclopedic Nutrition Reference
Staying Healthy with Nutrition, revised edition, is a comprehensive nutrition reference guide co-authored by integrative medicine physician Dr. Elson M. Haas and Dr. Buck Levin, published by Celestial Arts in 2006. Drawing on decades of clinical and research experience, the volume covers everything from the biochemical building blocks of diet to lifestage-specific programs and medical treatment protocols, making it one of the most wide-ranging single-volume nutrition guides available. This review is based on published sources and the book's documented contents — not hands-on use.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Integrative medicine practitioners, nutritional therapy students, and serious health researchers who need a single, systematically organised reference spanning macronutrient science, global dietary traditions, environmental health hazards, and condition-specific clinical protocols.
Worth it if
Worth consulting if you want a rigorous, practitioner-authored reference — co-written by a physician with four decades of integrative medicine experience and a research-focused colleague — that covers everything from macronutrient biochemistry to environmental toxicology and mood-health protocols under one spine.
Skip if
Skip it if you need quick, targeted answers to a single health question, or if you require supplement and treatment-protocol guidance that reflects post-2006 nutritional research — at 944 pages and nearly two decades old, it rewards committed reference users rather than those seeking fast, up-to-date clinical specifics.
What readers & critics say
Publisher and retailer listings retrieved from penguinrandomhouse.com and barnesandnoble.com both describe the revised edition as presenting "authoritative health and nutrition information available in an easy-to-use format and a friendly, engaging tone," highlighting its expanded chapters on lifestage programs, special supplements, and treatment protocols for conditions including anxiety, ADHD, and depression. The author's own site, elsonhaasmd.com, characterises the volume as "an improved and expansive look at nutrition and health," noting that decades of practical experience and scientific research have been compiled into a 1,000-plus-page encyclopedic work.
Sources: Penguin Random House, Barnes & Noble, elsonhaasmd.com4.6from 381 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Actually Is and Contains
- The Authors and Their Credentials
- Scope, Significance, and Notable Endorsement
- Genuine Strengths
- Limitations and Who May Find It Challenging
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Encyclopedic four-part structure covers nutrient science, global dietary traditions, environmental nutrition, and condition-specific protocols in a single volume
- Authored by two experienced practitioners — Dr. Haas with 40 years of integrative medicine practice and ten prior books; Dr. Levin adding research depth
- Rare integration of environmental health topics (food additives, irradiation, electro-pollution) alongside conventional nutrition content
- Endorsed by Andrew Weil, M.D., who calls it 'an excellent guide for those wishing to make smarter dietary choices'
- Revised edition features expanded chapters on lifestage programs, special supplements, and mental/mood health protocols including anxiety, ADHD, and depression
What Doesn't
- At 944 pages, the encyclopedic scope and density can make navigating a specific question time-consuming for readers seeking quick, targeted guidance
- Published in 2006, meaning some supplement recommendations and treatment protocols predate nearly two decades of subsequent nutritional research and should be cross-referenced with current literature
A genuinely ambitious nutrition reference, this revised edition earns its encyclopedic billing through sheer breadth and the clinical depth its authors bring to bear.
What the Book Actually Is and Contains
Staying Healthy with Nutrition, rev: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine by Elson M. Haas, Buck Levin front cover
Staying Healthy with Nutrition is a comprehensive nutrition reference guide — not a diet book in the popular sense, but a systematic, four-part examination of diet, nutrients, and health. Part One delivers a detailed analysis of the fundamental building blocks of nutrition: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Part Two broadens the lens to evaluate food groups and diets from around the world. Part Three addresses a topic rarely integrated into mainstream nutrition guides — the relationship between environment and nutrition — with coverage of food additives, industrial chemicals, food irradiation, and electro-pollution. Part Four moves into applied territory, providing specific nutritional and lifestyle protocols. Newly expanded chapters in this revised edition focus on special supplements, lifestage programs, and treatment protocols for fatigue, viruses, weight management, and mood and mental health conditions including anxiety, ADHD, and depression.
“an excellent guide for those wishing to make smarter dietary choices.”
The Authors and Their Credentials
The breadth of this volume is grounded in the backgrounds of its two co-authors. Dr. Elson M. Haas is an integrative family medicine practitioner with four decades of healthcare experience, the founder and director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin — a multidisciplinary clinic in San Rafael, California — and the author of ten books on health, nutrition, and detoxification, including Staying Healthy with the Seasons and The Detox Diet. Dr. Buck Levin brings complementary research depth to the collaboration. The pairing of long-form clinical practice with academic rigor is reflected in the book's structure: it is written to function as both a consumer reference and a working tool for those with a professional interest in nutritional medicine.
Scope, Significance, and Notable Endorsement
The publisher positions this as a twenty-first-century edition of a groundbreaking work, and the volume's scope supports that framing. Few single-reference guides attempt to cover macronutrients, micronutrients, global dietary traditions, environmental health hazards, and condition-specific protocols within a single spine. The book has drawn praise from prominent voices in integrative medicine: Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Healthy Aging, describes it as "an excellent guide for those wishing to make smarter dietary choices." That endorsement carries particular weight given Weil's standing in evidence-based integrative nutrition, and it signals the book's appeal to readers who want rigorous, practitioner-informed guidance rather than trend-driven advice.
Genuine Strengths
The revised edition's most tangible asset is its systematic organization. By separating foundational nutrient science (Part One), dietary evaluation (Part Two), environmental context (Part Three), and applied protocols (Part Four), the guide allows readers to use it as a reference rather than demanding a linear read. The inclusion of a dedicated chapter on environmental and ecological nutrition — covering food additives, irradiation, and electro-pollution — is notably uncommon in books of this type and reflects the authors' integrative philosophy. The expanded focus on lifestage programs and condition-specific protocols for mental and mood health conditions also distinguishes the revised edition from its predecessor, bringing practical clinical application into what might otherwise read as a purely theoretical reference.
Limitations and Who May Find It Challenging
The very qualities that make this guide distinctive also define its limits as a practical resource. A 944-page volume covering the full arc from macronutrient biochemistry to global dietary traditions and environmental toxicology is, by design, dense — and readers seeking quick, actionable guidance on a single health concern may find the encyclopedic format requires significant navigation. Because this review is grounded in published sources rather than hands-on use, specific assessments of clarity, usability, or accuracy in practice are best sought from practitioners or readers who have worked directly with the text. Additionally, any nutrition reference published in 2006 will reflect the research landscape of that era; readers and practitioners should cross-reference specific supplement recommendations and treatment protocols with current clinical literature, as nutritional science continues to evolve.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Staying Healthy with Nutrition, rev: The Complete Guide to Diet by Elson M. Haas, Buck Levin worth reading or is it too dense?
It depends on what you're looking for — the review describes it as genuinely encyclopedic at 944 pages, covering everything from macronutrient biochemistry to global dietary traditions and environmental toxicology, which makes it a powerful reference but a challenging read for anyone seeking quick, actionable answers to a single health question. If you want rigorous, practitioner-informed guidance rather than trend-driven advice, it's well worth it; if you need fast, targeted help, the encyclopedic format may require more navigation than you'd like.
What is this book actually about — is it just another diet book?
It's explicitly not a diet book in the popular sense — the review describes it as a systematic, four-part examination of diet, nutrients, and health that covers everything from the biochemical building blocks of nutrition (water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils, vitamins, minerals) to global dietary traditions, environmental health hazards like food irradiation and electro-pollution, and condition-specific protocols for issues like fatigue, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. The revised edition in particular expanded its chapters on lifestage programs and treatment protocols, making it function as both a consumer reference and a working tool for those with a professional interest in nutritional medicine.
Is this book good for beginners or is it more for health professionals?
The review says it's written to function as both a consumer reference and a working tool for those with a professional interest in nutritional medicine, so it genuinely straddles both audiences — but its systematic, four-part structure means a curious layperson can navigate it without reading linearly. That said, the clinical depth and breadth co-authors Dr. Elson M. Haas and Dr. Buck Levin bring may feel more rewarding to readers who already have some grounding in nutrition or integrative medicine.
Does this book cover environmental stuff like food additives and chemicals or is it strictly about nutrients?
It goes well beyond nutrients — Part Three is entirely dedicated to the relationship between environment and nutrition, covering food additives, industrial chemicals, food irradiation, and even electro-pollution, which the review notes is notably uncommon in books of this type. The review highlights this as a reflection of the authors' integrative philosophy and one of the features that genuinely sets it apart from other single-volume nutrition guides.
Is this book outdated — it was published in 2006
The review honestly flags this as a real limitation: any nutrition reference published in 2006 will reflect the research landscape of that era, and readers and practitioners are advised to cross-reference specific supplement recommendations and treatment protocols with current clinical literature, since nutritional science continues to evolve. That said, the foundational coverage of macronutrients, micronutrients, and global dietary traditions remains a solid reference base even if some cutting-edge recommendations may need updating.
Is this book similar to Andrew Weil's books on integrative nutrition?
Andrew Weil, M.D. — author of Healthy Aging — actually endorsed this book directly, calling it "an excellent guide for those wishing to make smarter dietary choices," and the review notes that endorsement carries particular weight given Weil's standing in evidence-based integrative nutrition. Both share an integrative medicine philosophy, though Staying Healthy with Nutrition is considerably more encyclopedic and reference-oriented compared to Weil's more accessible consumer-facing titles.
Who wrote this book and are they actually qualified?
The book is co-authored by Dr. Elson M. Haas, an integrative family medicine practitioner with four decades of healthcare experience and founder of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and Dr. Buck Levin, who brings complementary academic research depth to the collaboration. The review describes their pairing as combining long-form clinical practice with academic rigor — Dr. Haas alone has authored ten books on health, nutrition, and detoxification, including Staying Healthy with the Seasons and The Detox Diet.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
elsonhaasmd.com
- 6
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