- Author: Nathaniel Altman
- Publisher: Healing Arts Press
- Publication Date: 13 January 2026
- RRP: (UK) £15.99 / (US) $29.99 / (CAN) $37.50
- ISBN: 979-8-88850-309-6
- Reviewed by: Andrea Laughton
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I leapt at the opportunity to review this book as food and diet play a huge part of my life due to my husband’s medical conditions, so I am always keen to research and learn more about the foods we eat.
This book has a lovely soft touch silky cover and is packed with 376 pages of information including colour photos and diagrams. Nathaniel Altman gives a brief introduction of why he felt called to write this book. He states that he had written several books about food and nutrition, but had decided to learn more about the origins of the food consumed in North America – and discovered they came from all areas of the world.
The book is separated into 7 areas: fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds, and other foods. Before embarking on these chapters, Nathaniel gives the reader a foundation for understanding the book with two chapters. The first of these being Botany 101 – Taxonomy and Cultivation, in which he explains in uncomplicated terminology botanical terms such as the genus, family and species of plants, and what hybrid and grafted plants are. The second chapter Nutrition 101 – Key Dietary Components is where he gives a brief overview of what makes up a healthy diet, such as fibre, carbohydrates and vitamins, and how these relate to the food we eat.
For me, this book became a bit of an addictive read; I loved the way it is laid out almost like an encyclopaedia, meaning that you can pick it up and start reading from anywhere, not necessarily in order page by page. Each plant is illustrated with a colour photograph, with more information on the plant’s origins and use both historically and currently, as well as the nutritional benefits. The book also gives suggestions on how foods can be prepared in meals, and how different cultures have used them over the years, which I found very interesting. Nathaniel also weaves folklore and religious beliefs into the pages, which for me, brings the plants to life, and how they have become a symbolic part of our mixed cultures. Here are a couple of examples:
In India, basil was sacred to the Hindu gods Krishna and Vishnu, and it was believed that if a leaf of basil was buried with the dead, the deceased person would go to heaven.
According to a Chinese legend dating from 2737 BCE, the Emperor Shen Nung was sitting near a bush, while his servant was boiling his drinking water, and some leaves from the bush fell into the water. The Emperor, who was also a herbalist decided to try the infusion…that resulted and is now known as tea.
I especially liked the inclusion of further resources with each food, and I did find myself falling down a rabbit hole of further research on several occasions, and may now know more information on peaches than I ever needed to.
Overall this book is a great introduction and easy starting point for learning more about the foods we eat, how these foods have migrated across the world over several thousands of years, and how certain foods have become part of our traditions, culture and diet.
About the author
Born in 1948 in New York City, Nathaniel later studied at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia and at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Whilst in Columbia he also became interested in Palmistry and has been reading hands since 1969.
Nathaniel has written over fifteen books including The Honey Prescription, Healing Springs, The New Oxygen Prescription, Palmistry the Universal Guide and many other books covering diet, alternative healing, metaphysics and nature.
You can find out more about Nathaniel on his website:
The book is currently on sale for US$25.49 here: https://www.innertraditions.com/the-genealogy-of-plant-foods
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