Nutrition for Dummies [Paperback]

Carol Ann Rinzler (Author)

Book Description

Series: For Dummies (Computer/Tech) | Publication Date: July 26, 1999

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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

Review

"...excellent fad-free, essential and accurate advice..." (Prizes Galore, Dec 05) "...a definitive guide for anyone who cares about what they eat..." (Doncaster Advertiser, 2nd December 2005) "...a very useful reference...everything you need to know about the subject..." (Newark Advertiser, 6th January 06) "...presents you with all the latest myth-busting research..." (Doncaster Advertiser, 02/12/05) "...the reference no kitchen should be without..." (England Weekly News, 7th January 2006) "...ignores every fad going and instead concentrates on giving accurate advice to help readers navigate the world of food..." (Scotland's Weekly News, January 27th 2006) "...an invaluable guide to navigating the maze of fashionable diets...provides solid, scientifically-based, easy to follow advice..." (Choice Magazine, Feb 06) "...it's finally here...a great read for both beginners and experts..." (Natural Products Magazine, April 2006) "...continues the brand's tradition of making knowledge accessible and fun, making food selection foolproof for ... us ..." (Pride, April 2006) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2nd edition (July 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764551809
• ISBN-13: 978-0764551802
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

158 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super book, best ever on easy to follow nut. for begginners., July 29, 1998

By 

Carrie (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nutrition for Dummies (Paperback)

Love the book. This book is perfect for the begginning dieter. Usually when someone starts a new lifestyle, which includes a change in activity level and/or diet, they do not know much about what they need to do, as far as exercise, and how they need to eat to accomplish the goals they want. I am a exercise sports science major with a minor in nutrition and I have reccommended this book to many of my personal training clients. Reason being b/c as everyone knows you can not just start an exercise routine, you must change and modify your diet to see good results. Your body needs the right type of fuel and the right amount. This book explains in easy to follow terms how to go about changing your diet to a more healthy one. If you are trying to change your diet, knowing what you should be doing and eating is the place to start. Knowledge is a great thing! Buy the book you will be glad you did.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Ms. Rinzler!, June 27, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nutrition for Dummies (Paperback)

I got this book as a wedding shower present less than 4 years ago and my copy is already bent back at the spine and dog-eared to beat the band. What this book is is a wonderful, sometimes funny and always informative guide to basic nutrition. Ms. Rinzler explains very complex ideas simply and competently in 'real people' language without pouring 'sugar' on them to make them more palatable - she explains things how they really are, which helps enormously in demystifying natural biological processes and how our body uses and then discards everything we put into it. Two years ago, I (5'6" female) made the scales groan at 171.6 american pounds. Thanks in part to this book, I now weigh a much healthier 129.8 pounds.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a handle on their own nutrition and who want to be in charge of what goes on their plate and into their mouth!

135 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars maybe accurate in 1950, September 27, 2004

By 

Mazursky (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nutrition For Dummies (Paperback)

This book contains a lot of information that seems so dated. The author seems like she's pretty out of touch with modern nutritional knowledge. What this book taught me: Food processing makes food safe and yummy. The US RDA is a respected guideline. Antibotics and hormones make livestock healthy and efficient. Wake up lady.

If you are looking for up-to-date health information on topics such as: natural vitamins vs. synthetic vitamins, the nutritional value of bleached flour, micronutrients, carcinogens, or food additives, don't bother with this book. It is like a text book from the 1950s, written with a cutesy style that grates on you when you realize how inaccurate the information is.