Nutrition for Dummies (Paperback)

by Carol Ann Rinzler (Author) "Welcome aboard! You are about to begin your very own Fantastic Voyage..." (more)
Key Phrases: new food labels, diet pyramid, substitute sweeteners, United States, Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines (more...)

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

Product Description
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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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2nd edition (September 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: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #344,685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 147 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.

90 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Matthew E. Hill (boulder, co USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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!