The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition [Hardcover]

Sheldon Margen M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1992

The single most authoritative guide to shopping and eating for better health and a longer life.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Margen, nutrition researcher and chair of the editorial board of the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter , has compiled a unique reference source. Unlike such references as A.H. and M.E. Emsinger's Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia (Pegus Pr. , 1983), which is geared to nutritionists, The Columbia Encyclopedia of Nutrition ( LJ 6/1/88) , which offers short articles on all aspects of nutrition but nothing on individual foods, or Nikki and David Goldbeck's The Supermarket Handbook ( LJ 10/15/73 ), which emphasizes the purchasing of foods, The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition combines the selection and storage of foods with nutritional information. This resource is well organized, easy to read, and nicely illustrated. Starting with a discussion of nutrition (fiber, fats, vitamins, etc. ), the text then concentrates on types of food (vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, meats and poultry, fish and shellfish, dairy and eggs) , covering over 500 fresh and whole foods that the average American cook would use, although not all regional varieties are included. Accompanied by photographs, each food and its varieties are described with availability information, shopping tips, storage information, preparation ideas, and serving suggestions (although there are no actual recipes). Scattered throughout the text are inset boxes and tables of information, the most important being the nutritional profiles and those giving interesting factual tidbits, e.g., that diabetics who eat a substantial amount of beans need less insulin to control their blood sugar. The appendixes include a cooking terms glossary, fats and oils discussion, and herbs and spices dictionary. The index is useful, but it would have been nice to have had cross references. (When readers are looking for prickly pear pads , for instance, nothing refers them to cactus pear , which is the term used.) This encyclopedia definitely fills a niche between the highly technical nutrition books and the basic how-to-shop books. Highly recommended.
- Bar bara Keen, Spokane Community Coll. Lib., Wash.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

The single most authoritative guide to shopping and eating for better health and a longer life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (September 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929661036
• ISBN-13: 978-0929661032
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 1.5 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Veterinary

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Couldn't Have Been Done Better, August 2, 2001

By 

David Juliette - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition (Hardcover)

This book is a must for anyone who loves food. Nine comprehensive chapters covering not only fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, but also meat and poultry, fish and shellfish and dairy and eggs.

The chapter on Nutrition Basics is essential for anyone who wants to come to terms with food and how it relates to good health. Appendicies include a Cooking Glossary (which describes in detail baking, boiling, braising, poaching, pressure cooking, roasting, simmering, steeping, stewing, and on and on ...), Fats and Oils, and Herbs and Spices.

Subsections of each item include topics such as availability, shopping tips, storage, preparations and serving suggestions. Nutritional information boxes are included indicating calories, fat content, protein, carbohydrate, fiber, cholesterol and sodium. Also listed are key vitamins and nutrients.

Fascinating information is also included .. for example, the fruit/vegetable argument about tomatoes is not only settled definitively (botanically a fruit, specifically a berry) but we are also informed that as the result of a tariff dispute, it was officially designated a vegetable in 1893 by the Supreme Court of the United States ... Proving that the court's having their collective head up their robes is nothing new.

If you are serious about learning how to improve your relationship with food (and who isn't?) you've simply got to have this book. I've had mine since 1995 (I got it in conjunction with a subscription to the University of California at Berkeley's Wellness Letter), and I still consult it regularly.

I think that this book, along with Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" would be an excellent foundation for anyone who is serious about health and nutrition.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is all you need to cook, shop or diet!, April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition (Hardcover)

This beautiful, great book is my "food bible". I use it to learn about different items, to know the nutritional value and to find out cooking procedures and times for various foods.

It is the best, all around nutrition book I have, and I am a food scientist (I attended University of California at Davis - I am surprised they don't recommend us to buy it!).

This is one of the best presents I have ever given to my parents too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent resource and teaching tool, August 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition (Hardcover)

as a health and wellness instructor with the government, i am constantly asked to provide nutritional information and cooking tips for healthy eating. the wellness encyclopedia is one of the best tools i have. with it's clear, concise,writing and colorful pictures i highly recommend it's use in both schools and at home.