Sunna van Kampen has enjoyed a blistering start to life as an author. The Tonic Health founder kicked off 2026 by taking his long-standing crusade against guileful product labels to print.
The Good, the Bad and the Healthy officially hit bookshelves on New Year’s Day — a timing that feels rather fitting considering its intent.
As the turn of the year traditionally rings in healthier habits, van Kampen asks his readers to make what’s in their shopping trolleys a key resolution.
Building Smarter Habits with The Good, the Bad and the Healthy
Describing our weekly grocery hauls as a “snapshot of our life”, the debut author warns that seemingly trivial patterns — the same brands, recipes, and default pickups on rotation — could in fact prove seismic to our wellbeing.
Determined to help people build label literacy, each chapter focuses on a different aspect of your routine, from the breakfast foods you consume right down to the way you wash your clothes.
With every page, van Kampen peels back the “marketing veil” and reveals what’s really in the products you buy, while showing you how to choose better.
Billed as “practical, myth busting, and refreshingly doable”, the illuminating read isn’t calling for perfection in every trolley.
Instead, it focuses on recognising the best options, avoiding the worst, and making smarter health choices that don’t require a full-scale lifestyle overhaul.
And by all accounts, the message has landed. In under two weeks, The Good, the Bad and the Healthy has rocketed to second spot in The Sunday Times Bestsellers List for paperbacks.
Recognised as the oldest and most influential book sales chart in the UK — and the one every author wants to be on — it marks a huge achievement for the health-first entrepreneur.
“Still slightly speechless,” he wrote in wake of the news on LinkedIn.
“The Good, the Bad and the Healthy is now #2 on the Sunday Times Bestsellers List, with another double-page spread in The Times yesterday all about the book.
“Seeing it sitting there in Waterstones and across the Sunday Times Top 10 honestly stopped me in my tracks.
“I never set out to chase charts. I set out to write a real health book that could genuinely help people make better choices without diet plans, calories or difficult-to-follow recipes. To see that message landing at this scale has completely blown me away.”
The Good, the Bad and the Healthy was pipped only by Simon Squibb’s What’s Your Dream?, which also launched in paperback on 1 January following an initial release across hardback, audio, and ebook formats.
Not your typical entrepreneur, Squibb started his first business when he was homeless at 15. Now 51, he’s hit the headlines by giving away his self-made fortune to help the next generation of hopefuls realise their goals.
“What makes this even more special is seeing #1 and #2 on the list both driven by purpose,” van Kampen continued.
“At #1 is Simon Squibb, who is relentlessly passionate about changing the next generation of entrepreneurs and giving people belief, tools and the chance to follow their dream.
“And here I am at #2, trying to change the health of the UK one trolley, one label and one decision at a time.
“Different missions. Same energy.
“It’s a reminder that passion drives performance every single day of the week. When you truly care about the problem you’re trying to solve, people feel it.”
This is the second major milestone for The Good, the Bad and the Healthy in just a matter of days.
Following its release, the book, which was the first to be published by New River in 2026, was among the Top 10 bestselling across Amazon UK.
If you want to grab a copy, all 288 pages are currently available for £9.49 here.
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