Anjum's Eat Right for Your Body Type: the super-healthy diet inspired by Ayurveda [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Western culture centres around processed convenience foods, which we all know are bad for us and make us fat, but we keep eating them because they're, well, convenient... This book offers you a new way of viewing food, and enjoying the feeling of being really healthy.

It identifies three body types, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and it's very easy to relate to whichever you are. From there, you learn which foods are good or bad for your body type; certain foods are badly digested by certain body types, and can affect your general wellbeing in subtle ways that you may never have guessed could be down to your diet. You also learn small lifestyle changes which enhance the positive effects of cutting out bad foods and eating good ones, for example sitting or lying still for five minutes to boost your metabolism. This is a wonderfully illumating book which puts you back in touch with your physical health, without being preachy or patronising. It makes you want to embrace the advice it offers, because you know as you read it that this is true, sensible, good advice that will transform your health.

Anjum's fresh uptake on Ayurveda is very enlightening. There is many books on the subject but she has brought a more modern & more complete cover of the subject. It is as if she has brought the subject to a new generation; one that is more "digestible" (!) for the modern man... (forgive the pun)

I find this book is very thorough & informative on all areas of Ayurveda.
The first part of the book talks about the 3 different body types, a test to determine which one you are (although I found some of the questions unclear), a lot of advice & info about the different doshas (body types) & what is good for each (including what to eat, lifestyle, exercise etc).I find some the food qualities confusing even though she describes them one by one but there is an index at the back of the book describing each foods one by one, their qualities (e.g. astringent, pungent, salty),recommendations for each type(if they should avoid, have little of each) etc.
Of course all the above leads to the main topic, using Ayurveda to lose weight. She talks about Ayurveda & weight loss in a few pages but mainly she talks about the fact that once you recognise your body type or dosha, & then redo the test to find which dosha is out of balance & you go about "balancing" that dosha which leads to weight loss ( she tells you how you can balance that dosha).
What I liked about this approach is that it doesn't tell you to go on a "diet" but rather change the way you eat which is best for your body type. This, for me, is the best diet as everyone knows "diets" don't work in the long run.
The second part is mostly recipes which seem very appetising. For each recipe she advises which doshas should eat it, avoid it, or change certain ingredients, so you know if that recipe is good for you or not.

If you are looking for a healthy long term eating plan, this book is excellent (which will naturally result in weight loss).
But I think holistically, weight loss goes deeper than just eating. It is an emotional imbalance & there are many other books which are also a good aid to understanding this topic. One being Losing Your Pounds of Pain by Doreen Virtue (I think she also does another book on the subject which I haven't read but should be also very good).

A beautifully presented book with equally beautiful pictures.

This is a beautiful book, easy to use and to understand - which is an achievement in itself as sometimes ayurvedic principles can appear complex and not easily explained. The descriptions of body types match well with self-assessment scales in other books.
The recipes are interesting and delicious and easy to follow. The ingredients are all readily available and adapted to western styles of cooking. Brilliant!