Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Nutrition 101: The Basic Facts about Nutrition 5
Chapter 1: Nutrition Equals Life: Knowing What to Eat to Get What You Need 7
Discovering the First Principles of Nutrition 8
Breaking nutrients into two groups 9
Looking at essential nutrients 10
Protecting the Nutrients in Your Food 12
Knowing Your Nutritional Status 13
Fitting Food into the Medicine Chest 14
Finding Nutrition Facts 14
Nutrition people 14
Questions to ask about any study 15
Chapter 2: Digestion: The 24/7 Food Factory 21
Introducing the Digestive System 21
Digestion: One Step at a Time 23
Your brain, eyes, and nose 23
Your mouth 24
Your stomach 25
Your small intestine 25
Your large intestine 27
Chapter 3: How Much Nutrition Do You Need? 31
RDAs: Guidelines for Good Nutrition 31
Proteins, vitamins, and minerals: The essentials 32
Recommendations for carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, and alcohol 32
Different people, different needs 33
AIs: The Nutritional Numbers Formerly Known as ESADDIs 34
DRI: The Totally Complete Nutrition Guide 35
Chapter 4: Bigger But Not Better 41
The Obesity Epidemic 42
Observing the Obesity Map 42
Determining How Much You Should Weigh 44
Weight charts and tables 44
The BMI: Another way to rate your weight 46
Understanding What the Numbers Really Mean 48
Increasing the odds of accuracy 49
Seeing red flags on weight and health 49
Facing the Numbers When They Don’t Fit Your Body 50
Chapter 5: Calories: Powering Up the Body 53
Counting the Calories in Food 54
Empty calories 55
Every calorie counts 56
Determining How Many Calories You Need 57
Resting energy expenditure (REE) 57
Sex, glands, and chocolate cake 58
Energy for work 60
Calculating Your Daily Calorie Needs 61
Part 2: The Good Stuff in Your Food 63
Chapter 6: Protein Power 65
Understanding How Your Body Uses Proteins 65
Moving Proteins from Your Dinner Plate to Your Cells 67
Differentiating Dietary Proteins 68
Essential and nonessential proteins 68
Evaluating proteins 69
Figuring Out How Much Protein You Need 73
Calculating the correct amount 73
Dodging protein deficiency 74
Boosting your protein intake: Special considerations 74
Avoiding protein overload 75
Chapter 7: Facing Facts on Fat and Cholesterol 77
Discovering How Your Body Uses Fats 77
Understanding what fats do for you 78
Pulling energy from fat 78
Defining Fatty Acids and Their Relationship to Dietary Fat 80
Focusing on the Fats in Food 82
Looking at the fatty acids in food 82
Identifying the foods with fats 84
Getting the right amount of fat 84
Considering Cholesterol and You 87
Cholesterol and heart disease 87
Lipoproteins 88
Diet and cholesterol 90
Chapter 8: Carbohydrates: A Complex Story 93
Checking Out Carbohydrates 93
Simple carbohydrates 94
Complex carbohydrates 94
Dietary fiber 94
Carbohydrates and Energy: A Biochemical Love Story 95
How glucose becomes energy 96
How pasta ends up on your hips when too many carbs pass your lips 97
Other ways your body uses carbohydrates 97
Finding the Carbohydrates You Need 98
Some people have problems with carbohydrates 98
Some people need extra carbohydrates 99
Dietary Fiber: The Non-Nutrient in Carbohydrate Foods 101
Defining the two kinds of dietary fiber 101
Getting dietary fiber from food 102
Determining how much fiber you need 102
Chapter 9: Alcohol: Another Form of Grape and Grain 109
Creating Alcohol Beverages 110
Fermented alcohol products 110
Distilled alcohol products 110
The foods used to make beverage alcohol 111
Checking How Much Alcohol Is in That Bottle 112
Following Alcohol through Your Body 112
Understanding How Alcohol Affects Your Health 114
The physical effects of excessive drinking 115
Alcoholism: An addiction disease 116
Who shouldn’t drink 117
Alcohol and age 118
Advice from the Sages: Moderation 119
Chapter 10: Validating Vitamins 121
Understanding What Vitamins Your Body Needs 121
Fat-soluble vitamins 123
Water-soluble vitamins 126
Discovering Where to Get Your Vitamins 131
Too Much or Too Little: Avoiding Two Ways to Go Wrong with Vitamins 131
Vitamin deficiencies 132
Vitamin megadoses 133
Acceptable Exceptions: Taking Extra Vitamins as Needed 135
I’m taking medication 135
I’m a smoker 135
I never eat animals 135
I’m pregnant 135
I’m breast-feeding 136
I’m approaching menopause 137
I have very light skin or very dark skin 137
Chapter 11: Making Mineral Magic 139
Getting the Minerals You Need 140
The major minerals 141
The trace elements 144
Knowing What’s Too Much and What’s Too Little 148
Avoiding mineral deficiency 148
Understanding the risks of overdoses 149
Figuring Out When You May Need More than the RDA 151
You’re a strict vegetarian 151
You live inland, away from the ocean 152
You’re a man 152
You’re a woman 152
You’re pregnant or nursing 152
Chapter 12: The Wonder of Water 155
Investigating the Many Ways Your Body Uses Water 156
Maintaining the Right Amount of Water in Your Body 156
The electrolytes’ primary job 158
Other tasks electrolytes perform 159
Getting the Water You Need 159
Evaluating Electrolytes 161
Sodium 162
Potassium and chloride 162
When you need more 162
Dehydration: When the Body Doesn’t Get Enough Water 164
First signs 165
Worsening problems 165
Really bad trouble 165
The crash 165
Chapter 13: Added Attractions: Supplements 167
Introducing Dietary Supplements 167
Examining Two Reasons to Use Dietary Supplements 169
When food isn’t enough 169
Using supplements as insurance 170
Exploring Supplement Safety: An Iffy Proposition 172
Choosing the Most Effective Supplements 174
Getting Nutrients from Food Rather Than Supplements 178
Part 3: Hunger, Health, and Habits 179
Chapter 14: Why You Eat When You Eat 181
Underlining the Difference between Hunger and Appetite 181
Refueling: The Cycle of Hunger and Satiety 183
Recognizing hunger 183
Identifying the hormones that say, “I’m hungry” and “I’m full” 183
Beating the four-hour hungries 185
The better way: Five or six small meals 185
Maintaining a healthy appetite 186
Responding to Your Environment on a Gut Level .187
Baby, it’s cold outside 187
Exercising more than your mouth 188
Taking medicine that changes your appetite 188
Revealing Unhealthy Relationships with Food 189
Obesity 189
Anorexia nervosa 190
Bulimia nervosa 190
Binge eating disorder 191
Chapter 15: Why You Like the Foods You Like 193
Tackling Taste: How Your Brain and Tongue Work Together 193
The five basic flavors 194
Your health and your taste buds 195
Tricking your taste buds 197
Determining Deliciousness 197
Listening to your body 197
Loving the food you’re with: Geography and taste 198
Taking offense to food and flavors 200
Changing the Menu: Adapting to Exotic Foods 201
Learning to like unusual foods 202
Stirring the stew: The culinary benefits of immigration 202
Chapter 16: Building Your New and Improved Healthful Diet 207
Discovering the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 207
Finding What’s New in the 2020–2025 Edition 209
Factor in the fats 212
Subtract the added sugar 213
Get adequate essential nutrients 214
Go fish for good food 214
Bring on the veggies 214
Get up and go 215
Do the Guidelines Work? 218
Chapter 17: Choosing Wisely with Pyramids, Plates, and Patterns 221
Checking Out Basic Diet Pictures 221
The original USDA Food Guide Pyramid 222
From pyramid to plate: The evolution of the Food Guide 222
An assortment of pyramids and plates 224
Tracking Food Patterns 226
Understanding the Nutrition Facts Label 227
Getting the facts 228
Relying on labels: Health claims 230
Navigating the highs and lows 232
Listing other stuff 235
Using Pyramids, Plates, Patterns, and Labels to Choose Healthful Foods 235
Chapter 18: Eating Smart When Eating Out 237
Reading a Restaurant Menu 237
Apportion the portions 238
Ask for proof .239
Editing Your Menu Choices 239
Start simple 239
Elevate appetizers to entrees 240
Skip the fat on the bread 240
Undress the veggies 240
Minimize the main dish 241
Sideline sauces 242
Satisfy your sweet tooth 242
Writing Rules for Chain Restaurants 243
Exploring the Healthful Side of Fast Food 245
Choosing wisely at the drive-through 245
Finding a guilt-free, 300-calorie snack solution 246
Managing the Mechanical Menu 247
Part 4: Food Processing 249
Chapter 19: Praising Food Processing 251
Preserving Food: Five Methods of Processing 252
Temperature control 253
Removing the water 254
Controlling the air flow 254
Chemical warfare 255
Irradiation 255
Improving Food’s Appeal and Nutritional Value 256
Intensifying flavor and aroma 256
Adding nutrients 256
Combining benefits 257
Faking It: Food Substitutes 257
Alternative foods No 1: Fat replacers 258
Alternative foods No 2: Substitute sweeteners 261
A Last Word: Follow That Bird 264
Chapter 20: Healthful and Delicious Heat 265
Exploring Different Methods of Cooking 266
Cooking with fire 266
Cooking with electromagnetic waves 267
Understanding How Cooking Alters Food 267
Changing food’s texture 267
Enhancing flavor and aroma 270
Shading the color palette 271
Picking the Right Cooking Materials 272
Aluminum 273
Copper 273
Ceramics 274
Enamelware 274
Glass 274
Iron 275
Nonstick 275
Stainless steel 275
Plastic and paper 276
Protecting the Nutrients in Cooked Foods 276
Maintaining minerals 277
Keeping those volatile vitamins 277
Keeping Food Safe by Cooking 278
Naming the bad guys 279
Heating to the appropriate temperature 280
Chapter 21: How Freezing, Canning, Drying, and Zapping Protect Your Food 283
Cold Comfort: Chilling and Freezing 283
How freezing affects the texture of food 286
Thawing frozen food 287
Refreezing frozen food 287
Canned Food: Keeping Out Contaminants 288
Dried Food: No Life without Water 289
How drying affects food’s nutritional value 289
When dried fruit may be hazardous to your health 290
Irradiation: A Hot Topic 291
Chapter 22: Better Eating through Chemistry 295
Nature’s Beneficial Chemistry 295
Antioxidants 296
Hormonelike compounds .296
Sulfur compounds 297
Exploring the Natural and Synthetic Nature of Food Additives 298
Nutrient additives 298
Color additives 299
Flavor additives 301
Preservatives 302
Other additives in food 302
Determining the Safety of Food Additives 303
Defining toxins 303
Explaining carcinogens 303
Listing allergens 305
Beyond Additives: Foods Nature Never Made 306
Part 5: Food and Medicine 309
Chapter 23: When Food Fights Back 311
Diagnosing Food Allergies 312
Understanding how an allergic reaction occurs 312
Investigating two kinds of allergic reactions 314
Identifying food allergies 314
Coping with Food Allergies 315
Reading the food ingredient label 315
Avoiding unusual interactions 317
Practicing pragmatic protection 319
Recognizing Other Body Reactions to Food 319
Chapter 24: Brain Food 321
Nourishing the Developing Brain 321
Fats and the fetal brain 322
Fish and the teenage brain 322
Determining how much DHA a body needs 323
Avoiding malicious mercury 323
Protecting the Adult Brain 325
Introducing the natural enemies of thought and memory 326
Dieting to keep your brain in shape 327
Choosing foods that boost the brain 327
Minding your mind diet 328
Altering the Emotional Brain 329
Recognizing mood malfunctions 330
Seeing how food can affect your mood 331
Using food to manage mood 335
Healing the Injured Brain 336
The 5, 7, 2, 4, 100, 200 solution 337
Protein possibilities 338
The (eventual) official word 338
Eating to Benefit Your Brain and Your Body 339
Chapter 25: Food and Drug Interactions 341
Following Food and Drug Interactions 342
Listing the Reactions of Drugs and Certain Foods 343
Discovering Drug Interactions with Nutrients 345
Using Food to Improve a Drug’s Performance 346
Chapter 26: Using Food as Medicine 349
Defining Food as Medicine 349
Naming Diets with Absolutely, Positively Beneficial Medical Effects 350
Using Food to Prevent Disease 351
Battling deficiency diseases 352
Reviewing the evidence on anticancer diets 352
DASHing to healthy blood pressure 354
Conquering the common cold 355
Eating for a Better Body (And Brain) 356
The Last Word on Food versus Medicine 357
Part 6: The Part of Tens 359
Chapter 27: Ten Reliable Food and Nutrition Websites 361
U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Composition Website 362
U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 362
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) 363
The American Heart Association (AHA) 363
American Cancer Society (ACS) 364
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) 364
Mayo Clinic 364
Science Daily .365
WebMD 365
Food Safety News 365
Chapter 28: Ten Northern Nutrition Rules 367
Be Mindful of Your Eating Habits 367
Cook More Often 368
Enjoy Your Food 368
Eat Meals with Others 368
Eat Plenty of Vegetables and Fruits, Whole Grain Foods, and Protein Foods 368
Limit Highly Processed Foods 369
Make Water Your Drink of Choice 369
Use Food Labels 369
Be Aware That Food Marketing Can Influence Your Choices 369
Check the Guidelines for Updates 369
Chapter 29: Ten Superstar Foods 371
Avocado 371
Bananas 372
Beans 372
Celery 373
Cheese 373
Chocolate 373
Nuts 374
Sardines 375
White Tea 375
Whole Grains 376
Chapter 30: Ten Ways Coffee (and Tea) Make Life Better 377
Coffee Lights Up Your Brain 378
Coffee Chases the Blues 378
Coffee Powers Endurance Exercise 379
Coffee Is Cholesterol-Safe 379
Coffee Lowers Your Risk of Stroke 379
Coffee Lowers Your Risk of Some Cancers 380
Coffee May Ward Off Type 2 Diabetes 380
Coffee Doesn’t Keep Everyone Awake 381
Coffee Lowers a Man’s Risk of ED 381
Coffee Drinkers Live Longer 381
Chapter 31: Ten Terrific Foods Starting with the Letter P 383
Papaya 383
Pear 384
Peas 384
Pineapple 385
Plantain 386
Pork 386
Potato 387
Prawns 388
Prune 388
Pumpkin 389
Appendix: Glossary of Nutrition Terms 391
Index 401
