Are You Eating Right?: Analyze Your Diet Using the Nutrient Content of More Than 5,000 Foods [Paperback]

Are You Eating Right? is time-tested and user-friendly. If you want to know how good-or bad-your diet is, or how much fiber is in a carrot or how much vitamin B12 is in a pork chop, this is the book to use. It has the latest dietary recommendations, nutrients for 5,000+ foods, a step-by-step guide to assessing your diet, and what you need to know to eat right.

The food composition table is unique and includes many ethnic and fast foods. It gives amounts for 23 nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are given as % of the Daily Values, as used on food labels instead of metric units. You can tell at a glance which foods are high or low in a nutrient: Is a food high in zinc if it has 15 milligrams (the daily recommendation)? When it's given as 100% of the Daily Value, you know it is. Having the nutrient values as they are on food labels also allows one to combine the label values with those in the book.

Many people take nutrient supplements simply because they don't know if they're getting enough, and often are surprised to find that the supplement has what they don't need and doesn't have what they do need. Some even find that their diet is better than they think, and decide to quit the supplement. We promote the idea that eating for health and pleasure can be the same.

If you're interested in eating right, this book's for you! Want to know how good--or bad--your diet is? How much fiber in a carrot? How much vitamin B-12 in a pork chop? This is the book! It has the latest dietary recommendations, nutrients for 5,000+ foods, a step-by-step guide to assessing your diet, and what you need to know to eat right.

The food composition table is unique. It includes amounts for 23 nutrients with no missing values and gives vitamins and minerals as % of the Daily Values used on food labels (instead of hard-to-understand metric units). You can tell at a glance which foods are high or low in a nutrient: Is a food high in zinc if it has 15 milligrams (the daily recommended amount)? When it's given as 100% of the Daily Value, you know it is. Many ethnic and fast foods are included, and the index of foods is extensively cross-indexed, making it easy to find even the most unusual foods.

The authors are teachers, received their degrees in nutrition from the University of California at Berkeley, and bring more than 30 years of experience to the subject. The book's been used since 1992 by thousands of students in health and nutrition classes, so it's time-tested, clear, and user friendly. You learn how to read food labels, and you combine the nutrient values on the labels with that in the book, giving you a far more accurate and useful analysis of your diet.

If you take nutrient supplements simply because you don't know if you're getting enough, you may be in for a surprise. Your supplement may have what you don't need, and not have what you do need. Or you may find that your diet is better than you think, and you don't need the supplement after all. Learn more about the food you eat. Learn how to eat right. Eating for health and eating for pleasure can be the same!

How much fiber in an orange? Is it true that oysters are high in zinc? What's meant by a good diet? Is my diet as bad as I think it is? How do food labels help me assess my diet? Can I eat a good diet and junk food? Does 30% or less of my calories come from fat?

Eat for health AND pleasure! Easy to use and chock full of helpful information. Nutrient values given as % of Daily Value, just like food labels. Step-by-step guide for comparing your diet to the recommendations. Learn how to estimate your calorie requirement and assess your weight. Nutrient values for 23 nutrients in 5,000+ foods, including many ethnic foods.

All three received their degrees in Nutrition from the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley. Suzanne Murphy, Ph.D., R.D., directs California's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. She also teaches and does research in the Dept. of Nutritional Sciences at the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley and is a nationally recognized expert on the compilation and uses of food composition databases. She has published extensively on the dietary adequacy of both U.S. and international populations, and speaks to both professional and community organizations on these topics. She's also an avid jogger and bicyclist.

Sheri Bakun, B.S., teaches computer classes at Hillview Middle School. She co-authored Play Together, Learn Together, an award-winning computer book and disk for parents and children to use together, and, while working for the Department of Agriculture, several food technology research articles. Creating food composition tables, including the one in this book, combines her computer skills with her nutrition background. Her interests include hiking, cooking, and gardening. Judi Morrill, Ph.D., teaches in the Dept. of Nutrition and Food Science at San Jose State University, specializing in teaching science to non-scientists. She wrote Science, Physiology, and Nutrition-A Primer for the Non-scientist, co-authored Realities of Nutrition, and has worked in several research labs, including those of the National Institutes of Health and the Experimental Nutrition Division of the Agricultural Research Center. She enjoys writing, cooking, and playing tennis.