Part 4 of my book Conscious Spending, Conscious Life is about health, safety and integrity of the future. It covers food and toxics, among other things. People are often surprised that I included health in a book about consumerism. But the truth is, food has become the ultimate consumer good—commercially grown, highly processed, and heavily marketed.

Navigating the consumer culture—unharmed—is a tricky task these days. Remaining healthy is one of the challenges. Despite relative wealth and an abundance of food products in North America, we continue to become more and more unhealthy.

Much of what we call “food” really isn’t. The dictionary defines food as “material that is used by the body to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes, as well as to furnish energy.” In a consumer culture, it is so easy to make poor choices and eat a lot that fills us up but doesn’t support our bodies in carrying out vital life processes. The choices we make can end up haunting us sooner or later.

When we become conscious of what we eat and try to do the right thing, we’re faced with confusing and conflicting information to sort through. While I was writing my section about food and toxics, I was frustrated by not having enough space to say everything I wanted to.

So I’m happy to tell you about a book I discovered recently. Undiet: Eat Your Way to Vibrant Health gives more detail than I was able to—not just the theory, but practical guidelines and strategies for incorporating real food into your life along with 40 recipes to get you going.

Author Meghan Telpner is a certified nutritionist who comes at this from practical experience. At age 26, she was told she had an incurable autoimmune condition that would require major surgery. Instead, she decided to take her health into her own hands and reports that within a month she was free of symptoms. In a recent television interview, she said that she’s been well in the seven years since. When you see her, she exudes a vibrance that is striking.

Undiet  is a book after my own heart, taking a holistic perspective. It’s an excellent guide to what real food is, why you would want to eat it, and how to consume it daily, even if you are a busy person. It includes crucial information about what not to consume, including BPA and food additives. This is a book about health, not just food, so it also covers making non-toxic personal care products and being happy in how we live our lives.

Meghan Telpner writes in a lively style, backing up her statements with both personal experience and research references. Her book has useful information for all of us, and young people will find it much more interesting and relatable than many nutrition books. I highly recommend Undiet as a valuable resource for navigating the food-related areas of the consumer culture.