As someone who suffers from rosacea, an inflammatory skin disorder, often referred to as the red wine flush, I am aware of what I eat. Certain foods trigger my skin on my face to burn fiercely and in turn go a deep red. Unfortunately, those triggering foods are some of my favourite things to consume; wine, chocolate, and sugar among them. The connection between your gut and your skin is well known and much has been in the media over the last years educating people about how their diet affects their overall health.

The Australian Healthy Skin Diet’s aim is to kick you off on a four-week plan to help you improve your diet so that those of us, male or female, who suffer from afflictions that can affect your skin such as rosacea, psoriasis and eczema among others, can improve their skin and their overall health simultaneously. Georgeou lays out the connection between the gut and your body’s largest organ, the skin. She briefly explains how the skin operates and some common afflictions and tells us why we should feed it well to not only be healthy on the inside but to glow on the outside as well.

Predominantly though, this book is all about that four-week plan. It’s clearly laid out with a shopping list that even a brief look at will have you starting to feel healthier already. The plan lists each day with foods for each and the page number where you’ll find the recipe, which make up the bulk of the book.

For someone who tends to eat similar foods week to week, I found this a bit daunting but at the same time the recipes looked mouth-watering so temptation wins. Lamb skewers with pomegranate tabbouleh, make-at-home pad thai. Yum. All the food groups are covered from various meats, fish, fruit, dairy and so forth. There are curries to salads, frittatas and even the humble sandwich has a small section.

One quibble is the lack of information as to whether a recipe can be frozen and, in fact, most meals need to be made fresh, which is not always easy when trying to remain enthusiastic about an eating plan. But, on the plus side, the majority have short prep times and the ingredients are simple and easily accessible.

My body took one look at this book and says, yes, please.

Reviewed by Jenny Williams