Nutrition For Dummies - Softcover

Rinzler, Carol Ann

3.71

600 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764551809 ISBN 13: 9780764551802

Publisher: For Dummies, 1999

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Once upon a time, people simply sat down to dinner, eating to fill up an empty stomach or just for the pleasure of it. No longer. Today, the dinner table can be a battleground between health and pleasure. You plan your meals with the precision of a major general moving his troops into the front lines, and for most people, the fight to eat what's good for you rather than what tastes good has become a lifelong struggle.

This book is designed to end the war between your need for good nutrition and your equally compelling need for tasty meals. In fact (listen up, here!), what's good for you can also be good to eat – and vice versa. Nutrition For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is for anyone who wants to:

Prepare quick, nutritious meals
Understand why some diets work and others don't
Interpret nutritional labels
Distinguish "good" fat from bad

Nutrition For Dummies, 2nd Edition, isn't going to overwhelm you with a strict regimen of what to put on the table every day from now until you are 104 years old. Instead, this book means to give you the information you need to make wise food choices – which always means choices that please the palate and soul, as well as the body. This book covers all these topics, and more:

Figuring out how many calories you need
How your body uses protein, fat, and carbs
Whether or not to take vitamin and mineral supplements
Maintaining the right amount of water in your body
Understanding why you eat when you eat
How an allergic reaction occurs
Using food as medicine

This book will also introduce you to the newest flash in the nutrition sky: phytochemicals, a group of fascinating compounds in plant foods. You may already be familiar with one such substance, carotene, the deep yellow pigment in fruits and vegetables that your body can convert to a form of vitamin A. Nutrition For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help you become more aware of this and other areas of the latest nutritional research.

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Review:

Butter or margarine? Regular or decaf? Wanna supersize those fries? Each of us makes dozens of dietary decisions a day and consumes 1,500 pounds of food a year, but nutrition is one of those topics in which many people--including the majority of physicians--are not well versed. Fortunately, reading Nutrition for Dummies is like watching That's Incredible!: there's no shortage of fascinating tidbits. Read it if you've ever popped a multivitamin and figured it would compensate for not getting your five fruits and veggies.

Longtime health journalist Carol Ann Rinzler clearly walks you through the anatomy of the digestive system (including the difference between a duodenal and a peptic ulcer), the roles of the six basic groups of nutrients, the highs and unfortunate lows of metabolism, and the links between diet, aging, and disease. While these topics could be dry and dull, she spices them up with clear charts and illustrations, lively writing, and fascinating facts: "Megadoses of vitamin A {as retinol} may cause symptoms that make you think you have a brain tumor"; "Fluoride levels higher than 6 milligrams a day are considered hazardous"; the mineral copper "prevents your hair from turning gray prematurely"; oysters are correctly reputed to be aphrodisiacs, as they're high in zinc, which helps produce testosterone.

Rinzler then covers food processing, how cooking affects nutrition (yes, cooking in an iron pan will add iron to your food), how to read food labels and choose supplements, and how to cope with food allergies and intolerances. She also lists common food-drug interactions (taking aspirin increases your folate and iron requirements). There's plenty in here that will benefit dieters--a food listed as "fat-free!" for example, can still contain up to half a gram of fat. Rinzler also lists her top 10s: Web sites, superstar foods, and easy ways to cut calories. An appendix listing nutritional information for hundreds of common foods is also included. --Erica Jorgensen

From the Back Cover:

"Shows you how to put together a healthy diet that is simple — and fun." Barbara Seaman, Cofounder, National Women's Health Network "Before you eat your next meal, read this book." Dr. Manfred Kroger, Professor of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University Praise for Carol Ann Rinzler "Quite simply, Carol Ann Rinzler is one of the most trustworthy — and lucid — reporters on food and nutrition in the world." — Barbra Seaman, Cofounder, National Women's Health Network "Everything she writes is worth reading." — Cindy Pearson, Executive Director, National Women's Health Network

Updated with new tips on healthy eating and cutting calories

Includes advice on eating smart when eating out

Can broccoli prevent cancer? Is fat always bad? What's necessary for a healthful diet? Packed with sensible advice on eating and savvy cooking tips, this friendly guide answers these and many other questions — and serves up a full menu of information to help you decide what to have for dinner tonight. Dig in!

Discover how to: Prepare quick, nutritious meals Use nutrition charts to improve eating habits Understand why some diets work and others don't Interpret nutritional labels Distinguish "good" fat from bad

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