You Are That Temple

Taryn DeLong reviews You Are That Temple! A Catholic Guide to Health and Holiness, a new book by Dr. Kevin Vost from Sophia Institute Press.

There is so much health advice on the internet and in bookstores. If you look, you can find a diet and an exercise plan that recommends just about anything you want it to. So, how do you know which recommendations are actually based on science? And how do you know if they are aligned with a Catholic worldview?

Dr. Kevin Vost’s newest book, You Are That Temple! A Catholic Guide to Health and Holiness, aims to answer those questions. It’s a detailed, research-based guide to nutrition and fitness, written from a Catholic perspective. Vost is a clinical psychologist and experienced weightlifter, and he’s written on these topics before. Published just last year, though, You Are That Temple! includes up-to-date information based on the latest studies.

You Are That Temple

A Thorough Guide

You Are That Temple! gets into the nitty-gritty of what to eat, what not to eat, and how to exercise to stay healthy and live a long and full life. It explores topics such as what Vost believes are the biggest health issues facing our culture (obesity and diabetes/insulin resistance), the importance of eating real foods, whether or not we should cut back on fat and carbohydrates, and different types of strength and endurance training.

Unique among health advice books, You Are That Temple! looks at these topics through a Catholic lens. Vost talks about the importance of caring for our body—not so that we look good or to fit our culture’s standards of health but for the simple reason that God made it. He talks about the role of virtue and vice in building and maintaining health. And, he talks about how being healthy helps us to love God and love others.

Charity is the ultimate "virtue of fitness" as well. We should all strive to become veritable dynamos of charity, so that in growing strong, enduring bodies, we will be better able to actively serve God and the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbor.

Vost includes a helpful level of detail in discussing both nutrition and exercise. He even includes a lengthy (perhaps too lengthy) appendix of health journeys shared by men and women. My only complaint is that his chapters on exercise, particularly those that discuss strength training, would have benefitted from some helpful illustrations or diagrams.

A Great Gift for Men

An emerging area of research is the previously unexplored differences in nutrition and fitness between men and women. Vost touches on one or two of these differences, particularly in a chapter dedicated to women and children. However, perhaps since this area of research is still so new, he doesn’t go into it in depth. As a result, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book as a strict guide for a woman wanting to improve her health.

However, You Are That Temple! is a great gift idea for a husband, father, or other male family member or friend. For any man who is interested in health science or wanting to learn more about how to improve his health, Vost’s book is a fantastic read. It’s detailed but straightforward, compassionate and thoughtful. He cites everyone from St. Thomas Aquinas to Mark Rippetoe (a name probably familiar to anyone interested in strength training).

If you’re looking for a birthday or Father’s Day present for a man in your life, I highly recommend You Are That Temple!

Ask for You Are That Temple! at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Sophia Institute Press.

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