Most of what shows on your face was decided at the dinner table.

This is a book about eating for your skin, built on more than 400 scientific sources. It works through skin detox, which foods to cut, how preparation changes what you actually absorb, and what to drink. Over 100 foods are matched to specific skin concerns, with Asian ingredients treated as normal food rather than novelty. There is a whole section on pairings that do more together than they do apart.

At the centre is the Nutritive System: Nutritive Mind, Nutritive Skin, Nutritive Food. First of a planned trilogy.

Dr Tasneem Bhatia, who wrote What Doctors Eat, says it merges Eastern and Western medicine and treats beauty as a reflection of your overall health rather than something surface deep.

Hardcover. The final chapter is an action plan, so you can start there and read backwards if that suits you better.