Nutrition For Dummies®, 2nd Edition [Paperback]

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

"...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.

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.

Eating right isn't always easy and making sense of nutritional information can feel like deciphering code. Where does one go for clear definite answers about food? You can make it all so easy with Nutrition For Dummies (2nd Edition). You are what you eat, and this is the book that tells you why.

Award-winning food and health author Carol Ann Rinzler leads you down the golden road to proper eating. She takes you beyond the four basic food groups and gives you the important breakdowns on protein, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and all the vitamins and minerals. You discover the foods to avoid, the items to stock up on, and the diet that can help clear your arteries, help prevent cancer and keep your bones from turning brittle. With the simple suggestions and friendly advice offered here, you'll be on your way in no time to improving your health and loving the way that your new eating habits will make you feel.

Carol Ann Rinzler is a noted authority on health and nutrition and holds an MA from Columbia University. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the National Women's Health Network. Her informative articles have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, American Health, Family Circle, Glamour, Health, Ladies' Home Journal, Mirabella, and Redbook. Rinzler is the author of a number of health-related books including the widely praised The Complete Book of Food.