Nutrition For Dummies

Updated with the latest available research and the new 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines

It's a scientific fact: You really are what you eat. Good nutrition is your meal-ticket to staying sleek, healthy, and strong—both physically and mentally. Nutrition For Dummies, 7th Edition is a complete guide that shows you how to maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent chronic disease. This book gives you the know-how to put together a shopping list, prepare healthy foods, and easily cut calories. Along the way, there's up-to-the-minute guidance for building a nutritious diet at every stage of life from toddler time to your Golden Years. Enjoy!

Introduction 1

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

Chapter 2: Digestion: The 24/7 Food Factory 21

Chapter 3: How Much Nutrition Do You Need? 31

Chapter 4: Bigger But Not Better 41

Chapter 5: Calories: Powering Up the Body 53

Part 2: The Good Stuff in Your Food 63

Chapter 6: Protein Power 65

Chapter 7: Facing Facts on Fat and Cholesterol 77

Chapter 8: Carbohydrates: A Complex Story 93

Chapter 9: Alcohol: Another Form of Grape and Grain 109

Chapter 10: Validating Vitamins 121

Chapter 11: Making Mineral Magic 139

Chapter 12: The Wonder of Water 155

Chapter 13: Added Attractions: Supplements 167

Part 3: Hunger, Health, and Habits 179

Chapter 14: Why You Eat When You Eat 181

Chapter 15: Why You Like the Foods You Like 193

Chapter 16: Building Your New and Improved Healthful Diet 207

Chapter 17: Choosing Wisely with Pyramids, Plates, and Patterns 221

Chapter 18: Eating Smart When Eating Out 237

Part 4: Food Processing 249

Chapter 19: Praising Food Processing 251

Chapter 20: Healthful and Delicious Heat 265

Chapter 21: How Freezing, Canning, Drying, and Zapping Protect Your Food 283

Chapter 22: Better Eating through Chemistry 295

Part 5: Food and Medicine 309

Chapter 23: When Food Fights Back 311

Chapter 24: Brain Food 321

Chapter 25: Food and Drug Interactions 341

Chapter 26: Using Food as Medicine 349

Part 6: The Part of Tens 359

Chapter 27: Ten Reliable Food and Nutrition Websites 361

Chapter 28: Ten Northern Nutrition Rules 367

Chapter 29: Ten Superstar Foods 371

Chapter 30: Ten Ways Coffee (and Tea) Make Life Better 377

Chapter 31: Ten Terrific Foods Starting with the Letter P 383

Appendix: Glossary of Nutrition Terms 391

Index 401

Carol Ann Rinzler is a former nutrition columnist for the New York Daily News and the author of more than 30 health-related books, including Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies, Heartburn and Reflux For Dummies, The New Complete Book of Food, the award-winning Estrogen and Breast Cancer: A Warning for Women, and Leonardo’s Foot, which the American Association for the Advancement of Science described as “some of the best writing about science for the non-scientist encountered in recent years.”

Eat, drink, and be healthy!

A healthful diet helps with, well, everything! With Nutrition For Dummies, you can tweak what, when, and how you eat for a feel-better lifestyle. You’ll make friends with your insides as you learn about digestion, brain foods, gut health, and all the cutting-edge nutrition science. This latest edition provides guidance for all ages and stages, including pregnant women and infants, and arms you with the know-how to reach for the right stuff when hunger strikes. Food pyramid? Nutrition labels? Supplements? Calories? We’ve got you covered.

Inside. . .

• Make healthier choices without sacrificing the fun of eating
• Feel your best by balancing carbs, protein, vitamins, and minerals
• Discover research on how diet affects aging and mental health
• Follow the new 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans