Note: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher and editors of WholeFoods Magazine.

With so many health-transforming books being released, WholeFoods wanted to know what the experts are reading. Here, James Templeton, founder of the Templeton Wellness Foundation, shares his thoughts on a book he couldn’t put down.

Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy: A True Story of Discovery, Acting, Health, Illness, Recovery, and Life by Dirk Benedict

You may know Dirk Benedict from his role in the hit classics Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team, but I assure you he’s more than just an actor with a handsome face--he’s a natural-born writer. In this book, he takes you along on his journey from the big skies of Montana to the bright lights of Hollywood, from the moment of his big break to his biggest disappointment.

Benedict writes like he’s talking to you as a buddy; I felt like I was right there with him when he became a star, and I felt his pain at being diagnosed with what doctors thought was aggressive prostate cancer at the young age of 30. What stood out for me was how he completely changed his life – he walked away from everything he knew and went for broke – and came out a winner.

If you’re dealing with cancer and looking for hope, then this is the book for you. Benedict’s humor and insight reached me in ways no other book has, and his knowledge of the macrobiotic diet and its anti-cancer properties is impressive. I came across this book at a pivotal point in my battle with cancer more than 30 years ago and it completely changed the direction I went on my healing path. Dirk Benedict has a lot to teach all of us about the place for healthy eating in our lives and overcoming our battles with illness.

Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of the Nature, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of Cancer with Special Reference to the Value of Vitamin C The 21st Century Edition by Ewan Cameron, MB, and Linus Pauling, Ph.D., with Update by Stephen Lawson

When you think of Linus Pauling you think of vitamin C – and for good reason. His groundbreaking research on vitamin C was not only Nobel Prize-winning, but also brought hope to cancer patients during a time in our history when cancer was a death sentence. His reason for writing this book was to teach readers about the true nature of cancer and the role vitamin C can play in cancer treatment. Not only can you read this book and find ways you can take vitamin C at home, but you can also use it to reassure yourself that your doctor is giving you vitamin C in a way that’s research-based.

Cancer therapies, both mainstream and alternative, have come a long way since this book was initially written. Originally published in 1979, the research around vitamin C advanced so much that Pauling felt it necessary to update the book in 1993. And now, Stephen Lawson from the Pauling Institute just last year updated this book to reflect current molecular and clinical research being done on vitamin C everywhere from The Cleveland Clinic to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and beyond.

If you are facing cancer and want to understand how vitamin C can help you in your battle, this is the book I not only recommend but used for myself when I faced cancer – and won. I don’t know of any other book on cancer that includes 5 decades of solid scientific research within its pages and is as thorough as this one.

Recalled By Life: The Story of My Recovery From Cancer by Anthony J. Sattilaro, MD

Picture this: a well-known, big city hospital administrator and doctor feels so hopeless and depressed about his terminal cancer diagnosis that he goes out for a drive and picks up some “hippie” hitchhikers along the way, only to have them lead him to a new lifestyle that returns him back to good health. Dr. Sattilaro was understandably skeptical at first, but, feeling he had nothing left to lose, he agreed to meet their friends and was introduced to the macrobiotic diet through them. And as long as he stayed strictly on the macrobiotic diet he stayed well.

This is truly an “East meets West” journey of healing. This doctor had to leave his traditional medical model of curing disease and step outside his comfort zone to embrace a completely different lifestyle from the one he knew to find his healing. While this book is interesting, personal and easy to read, it also makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about health – just like he did. Anthony Sattilaro proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that we truly are what we eat.