A Whole Foods Primer: A Comprehensive, Instructive, And Enlightening Guide to the World of Whole Foods [Paperback]

Beatrice T. Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2007

"A Whole Foods Primer" demonstrates the wisdom of selecting whole foods for optimal intake of the nutrients essential for good health. In this book, readers will learn about the basic nutritional components of each whole food group and their specific functions and beneficial roles in the body. The text presents nutrient profiles and surprising facts about some hundred whole foods, their historical uses as food and medicine, and the latest research that identifies their health-bestowing quanlities. "A Whole Foods Primer" describes the special characteristics shoppers should seek so they can identify the peak of nutritonal value and flavor in whole foods. It also provides instructions on the best cooking techniques and storage conditons to help minimize nutritional losses, as well as the best methods to preserve fresh foods for future use. Useful tips to increase consumption of whole foods easily and to encourage emperimentation with unfamiliar ones are included, as are practical resources for recipes, cookbooks, and contact information for purveyors of quality whole foods.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beatrice Trum Hunter is the author of numerous books on cutting-edge food issues, including "Food & Your Health," "Water & Your Health," "The Great Nutrition Robbery," and "The Sugar trap & How to Avoid it." She has received many awards for her work, including the pretigious Jonathan Forman Award. Ms Hunter was honored by the International College of Applied Nutrition, and was a recipient of the President's Award from the National Nutritional Foods Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Basic Health Publications; 1st edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591200865
• ISBN-13: 978-1591200864
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,311,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy Reference, September 14, 2010

By 

Janice Winokur - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Whole Foods Primer: A Comprehensive, Instructive, And Enlightening Guide to the World of Whole Foods (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book to keep in the kitchen with all your recipe books. I use it as a reference all the time. The author has read the science and is highly regarded in her field. Is broccoli more nutritious raw or cooked? Should chicken be washed before being cooked? Is butter bad for your healthy? Why is wild salmon healthier than farmed? Some of the answers will surprise you.

1.0 out of 5 stars Rife with errors, January 17, 2012

By 

C. Holbein "C. Holbein" (Newton MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Whole Foods Primer: A Comprehensive, Instructive, and Enlightening Guide to the World of Whole Foods (Paperback)

The author has apparently ignored the last 30 years of nutrition science. For example, it embarrassingly repeats the claim that animal protein is better than plant protein because of amino acid profiles, when this has been thoroughly refuted over and over and over. (Nutritionists now know that eating a sensible mix of plant foods gives one all the amino acids we need, without the saturated animal fats and cholesterol in meat. There is a reason why, according to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians are less prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity than meat-eaters.)
Skip this book and choose something by Neal Barnard or John McDougall instead.

5.0 out of 5 stars THE IMPORTANCE OF WHOLE FOODS, August 19, 2011

By 

Marjorie Tietjen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Whole Foods Primer: A Comprehensive, Instructive, And Enlightening Guide to the World of Whole Foods (Paperback)

The importance of a whole food diet cannot be overstated. I would like to share a quote from A Whole Foods Primer which provides just one of the reasons why we should be consuming foods in their whole form rather than foods which have been processed and stripped of their cooperative properties.Speaking of the dangers of first processing foods and then trying to add back the vitamins and minerals which were removed, the author, Beatrice Trum Hunter, goes on to say..... "The enrichment program breaks numerous relationships that exist between nutrients, including dependencies and antagonisms. An example is cadmium and zinc. Cadmium in the whole grain is not well absorbed in the body in the presence of zinc. Zinc is concentrated in the germ and bran of the whole grain, where it is held until needed to grow roots before the young plant can obtain it from the soil. Cadmium, on the other hand, is distributed throughout the grain. The result of removing the germ and bran then, is that most of the zinc is removed, whereas the toxic cadmium remains in the grain. In the whole grain, cadmium's toxic effects are held in check by the zinc. However, the zinc is no longer available. The result is that the toxic cadmium remains unbuffered in the refined flour. (Sugar, too, in refining loses its supply of zinc, but the cadmium remains.)"

As I already mentioned, this is just one example of the synergistic effects of the different components in whole foods. There are also many components or elements in food that we are not yet aware of.....so when we rip these foods apart in an unnatural manner, we have no way to determine what all of the consequences may be.

A Whole Foods Primer is a compact book filled with helpful and interesting information to help the reader select and best utilize foods in their most natural state. The author divides the book into the following chapters..... A Cornucopia of Vegetables, Succulent Fruits, Wholesome Whole Grains, Nutrient-Dense Nuts and Seeds, and Quality Counts with Protein Foods. I have been interested in nutrition for all of my adult life but yet I still was able to glean many gold nuggets from the pages of this book. A few of my favorite discoveries are listed below.

1. Reasons why the soaking of grains is important

2. The different amino acids that make up protein and what their specific functions are. I can now realize how inadequate protein intake or poor digestion of protein could cause many of the health problems people face.

3. From page 119: "Antibodies, manufactured in the body to ward off infectious bacteria and viruses, are proteins. If protein supplies are low, antibody creation is limited and the body is more susceptible to infection and disease."

4. A component of tart red cherries is more effective in treating inflammation than aspirin.

5. Elderberry extract greatly reduces susceptibility to stress.

6. Certain forms of some natural foods are more effective at preserving the food they are added to than many of the chemicals we use.

Hunter shares many tips on how to select, store and prepare specific whole foods. Many health benefits are also discussed. Beatrice Trum Hunter bases her information on solid science, traditional methods which have benefitted folks for eons.....and on common sense. As a renowned author of many books on food, nutrition, infectious causes of disease, and hazardous toxins in our food and environment, she tells it like it is. Hunter is not one for promoting single magical food cures but instead believes in a well rounded whole food diet where each class of food plays a role in maintaining our health. We all yearn for a quick fix to our health problems but, restoring health and vitality often means giving up processed foods and balancing our diet by adding a variety of natural whole foods, prepared in more of a traditional manner.

I think that A Whole Foods Primer would be a great addition to anyone's food and nutrition library but I feel it is especially appropriate, as the title suggests, as a primer or concise introduction for those who have a newer interest in food, health and nutrition. Many people do not have the time or patience to wade through an in-depth book which contains too many irrelevant or complicated details. I think that A Whole Foods Primer would also make a wonderful gift. It is easy to read and contains many interesting tidbits to grip the reader's attention.