Customer Reviews

Handbook of the Nutritional Value of Foods in Common Units

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is a book called "The Nutritive Value of American Foods in Common Units" which, except that has a plain blue cover, is, I believe, the same book. It is printed by the government printing office by the Department of Agriculture. It is also called "Agricultural Handbook no. 456."

I have a relative who, while waiting for a kidney transplant, must severely limit the phosphorus she eats. You will find that virtually no nutrition charts are detailed enough the glean that information. There are many books that will tell the user about fats and sugars and some, but not all vitamins. This 290 page book has the details you need to really find out what the nutritional value of a food is.

One table has figures for water, calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassiium, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin,niacin, and ascorbic acid. Vitamin D and E seem to be missing, and modern knowledge about antioxidents is completely absent. Another table has values for saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids. The appendices are also interesting to read.

Hunting on line for a more up to date book, I have found none. This one is from 1975. However, since I almost never use prepared foods, many of the newer books aren't useful. I really needed a book where I could look up recipe ingredients and do the math myself. I wonder if our government printing office no longer tackles big comprehensive books like this. Even more useful would be a data base on a CD where all the information from a recipe woiuld be spit out when I enter the recipe measurements and ingredients. I have found some, but they don't have nearly the variety of ingredients I use.

If you really need to be able to find out what is in your foods, you need to get this out-of-print book.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I had read alot of books about nutrition and wanted to seriously have a healthy pregnancy as well as a healthy baby.
I used this book every day during my pregnancy and wrote down everything that I ate, tabulating necessary grams of protein, carbohydrates, iron, sodium, vitamin K, etc. As a result, I learned an incredible amount and debunked many myths as to what nutritional value is or is not in many foods. I am ordering this book again, as I loaned it to someone and it "walked away." (That's alright--hope they got much benefit from it.)
I love this book because I could not find ONE source out there that listed all the federally mandated information about the foods we eat--they all seemed narrow in their focus, not broad in scope. This book really is complete. About the review from the other reader who said it is outdated: It could probably be due for an update, but the general basic nutrition information about foods does not change that much if at all. Today, with access to the internet, you can double-check to see if there are any updates on a specific food, if you want.
This book can also help you find other good foods to choose to eat that you might not normally think of.
Anyway--bottom line--I had an extremely healthy baby that grew up into a really healthy teenager. Nutrition really does matter.

A wonderful book but an updated version of this publication (2002) is available through the Department of Agriculture in a free download if you don't need it in book form - I couldn't find the print version in the Government Book Store, though the DoA says it's available there. If you need it in book form this would most likely be a great buy (used).

If you need to calculate food values for what you are cooking, this book is invaluable.

Processed foods list facts about the nutritional value (or hazards) of their product, but we have no such labels on the produce and meats we use to cook our real food. The book helps us calculate the nutritional value of what we prepare for ourselves and our loved one. I have a medical condition that I can control if I limit things like saturated fats. With this book, I have the information I need to keep myself healthy. The book is very well documented, stating the source and methods for all the data. I trust it, but it could use a revision to update it since we have learned a lot about nutrition since it was published.

Art Rathjen

My brother is starting dialysis and this book has items that aren't usually listed even on the food labels! This lists minerals and other compounds that he has to be aware of to stay healthy. Tiny print, but good info.

This book was old, out of date and not much help. I gave it to the local thrift shop.

I am very happy with this publication and the dealer. I would recommend using her.