Books that'll help you keep the kilojoule count down this Christmas

'Tis the season to overindulge, gorge yourself on treats, pickle your liver in libations and generally just enjoy yourself.

This kind of thing only comes around once a year, so bingeing is bound to happen. It does not take Tim Noakes to tell you that this isn't great for your body.

If you are looking for advice on how to minimise the damage you are about to do to your earthly temple, then try these:

1. THE LONGEVITY BOOK

by Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bark

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Body Book comes a personal examination of the art and science of growing older and a roadmap for better health and resilience as you age.

The gorgeous actress makes it her business to educate women about how their bodies function, empowering them to make better-informed choices about their health.

Diaz interviewed doctors, scientists, nutritionists and a host of other experts to find out everything she could about the ageing process, and then shared what she knows in this book.

2. GENES TO PLATE: NUTRITION MADE PERSONAL

by Yael Joffe, Judith Johnson and Alex Royal

Our genes determine the way our bodies respond to food and what we should eat, depending on our body types.

This recipe book tells you how you can choose nutrients and foods than help you make the most of your genetic inheritance.

It contains more than 100 simple recipes that are best suited to your unique genetic variations.

3. JAMES DUIGAN'S BLUEPRINT FOR HEALTH

by James Duigan

Celebrity trainer and fitness writer James Duigan writes about the four fundamental ''pillars" of health: nutrition, movement, mindset and sleep.

''Like the four tyres on a car, if one of these areas is neglected, it can have a knock-on effect on your whole health and wellbeing," he says.

4. THE TELOMERE EFFECT

by Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel

Blackburn is a molecular biologist who in 2009 won the Nobel Prize for medicine for her discovery of telomeres and the key enzyme associated with their functioning (telomerase), and Epel is an accomplished health psychologist whose research has focused on stress, ageing and obesity. Together they authored this book about the many simple changes you can make to your diet, sleep and mental wellbeing to look after your telomeres - length of our telomeres - the part of your chromosomes which determine how fast your cells age and die - and can have a direct effect on how quickly or slowly you age. 

• All of the above titles and many more are available from online wellness websitejoincircles.com.

• This article was originally published in The Times.