Nutrition For Dummies

Description

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! Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 3 Copyright Page......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 7 About This Book......Page 17 Foolish Assumptions......Page 18 Where to Go from Here......Page 19 Part 1 Nutrition 101: The Basic Facts about Nutrition......Page 21 Chapter 1 Nutrition Equals Life: Knowing What to Eat to Get What You Need......Page 23 Discovering the First Principles of Nutrition......Page 24 Breaking nutrients into two groups......Page 25 Looking at essential nutrients......Page 26 Protecting the Nutrients in Your Food......Page 28 Knowing Your Nutritional Status......Page 29 Nutrition people......Page 30 Questions to ask about any study......Page 31 Introducing the Digestive System......Page 37 Your brain, eyes, and nose......Page 39 Your mouth......Page 40 Your small intestine......Page 41 Your large intestine......Page 43 RDAs: Guidelines for Good Nutrition......Page 47 Recommendations for carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, and alcohol......Page 48 Different people, different needs......Page 49 AIs: The Nutritional Numbers Formerly Known as ESADDIs......Page 50 DRI: The Totally Complete Nutrition Guide......Page 51 Chapter 4 Bigger But Not Better......Page 57 Observing the Obesity Map......Page 58 Weight charts and tables......Page 60 The BMI: Another way to rate your weight......Page 62 Understanding What the Numbers Really Mean......Page 64 Seeing red flags on weight and health......Page 65 Facing the Numbers When They Don’t Fit Your Body......Page 66 Chapter 5 Calories: Powering Up the Body......Page 69 Counting the Calories in Food......Page 70 Empty calories......Page 71 Every calorie counts......Page 72 Resting energy expenditure (REE)......Page 73 Sex, glands, and chocolate cake......Page 74 Energy for work......Page 76 Calculating Your Daily Calorie Needs......Page 77 Part 2 The Good Stuff in Your Food......Page 79 Understanding How Your Body Uses Proteins......Page 81 Moving Proteins from Your Dinner Plate to Your Cells......Page 83 Essential and nonessential proteins......Page 84 Evaluating proteins......Page 85 Calculating the correct amount......Page 89 Boosting your protein intake: Special considerations......Page 90 Avoiding protein overload......Page 91 Discovering How Your Body Uses Fats......Page 93 Pulling energy from fat......Page 94 Defining Fatty Acids and Their Relationship to Dietary Fat......Page 96 Looking at the fatty acids in food......Page 98 Getting the right amount of fat......Page 100 Cholesterol and heart disease......Page 103 Lipoproteins......Page 104 Diet and cholesterol......Page 106 Checking Out Carbohydrates......Page 109 Dietary fiber......Page 110 Carbohydrates and Energy: A Biochemical Love Story......Page 111 How glucose becomes energy......Page 112 Other ways your body uses carbohydrates......Page 113 Some people have problems with carbohydrates......Page 114 Some people need extra carbohydrates......Page 115 Defining the two kinds of dietary fiber......Page 117 Determining how much fiber you need......Page 118 Chapter 9 Alcohol: Another Form of Grape and Grain......Page 125 Distilled alcohol products......Page 126 The foods used to make beverage alcohol......Page 127 Following Alcohol through Your Body......Page 128 Understanding How Alcohol Affects Your Health......Page 130 The physical effects of excessive drinking......Page 131 Alcoholism: An addiction disease......Page 132 Who shouldn’t drink......Page 133 Alcohol and age......Page 134 Advice from the Sages: Moderation......Page 135 Understanding What Vitamins Your Body Needs......Page 137 Fat-soluble vitamins......Page 139 Water-soluble vitamins......Page 142 Too Much or Too Little: Avoiding Two Ways to Go Wrong with Vitamins......Page 147 Vitamin deficiencies......Page 148 Vitamin megadoses......Page 149 I’m pregnant......Page 151 I’m breast-feeding......Page 152 I have very light skin or very dark skin......Page 153 Chapter 11 Making Mineral Magic......Page 155 Getting the Minerals You Need......Page 156 The major minerals......Page 157 The trace elements......Page 160 Avoiding mineral deficiency......Page 164 Understanding the risks of overdoses......Page 165 You’re a strict vegetarian......Page 167 You’re pregnant or nursing......Page 168 Chapter 12 The Wonder of Water......Page 171 Maintaining the Right Amount of Water in Your Body......Page 172 The electrolytes’ primary job......Page 174 Getting the Water You Need......Page 175 Evaluating Electrolytes......Page 177 When you need more......Page 178 Dehydration: When the Body Doesn’t Get Enough Water......Page 180 The crash......Page 181 Introducing Dietary Supplements......Page 183 When food isn’t enough......Page 185 Using supplements as insurance......Page 186 Exploring Supplement Safety: An Iffy Proposition......Page 188 Choosing the Most Effective Supplements......Page 190 Getting Nutrients from Food Rather Than Supplements......Page 194 Part 3 Hunger, Health, and Habits......Page 195 Underlining the Difference between Hunger and Appetite......Page 197 Identifying the hormones that say, “I’m hungry” and “I’m full”......Page 199 The better way: Five or six small meals......Page 201 Maintaining a healthy appetite......Page 202 Baby, it’s cold outside......Page 203 Taking medicine that changes your appetite......Page 204 Obesity......Page 205 Bulimia nervosa......Page 206 Binge eating disorder......Page 207 Tackling Taste: How Your Brain and Tongue Work Together......Page 209 The five basic flavors......Page 210 Your health and your taste buds......Page 211 Listening to your body......Page 213 Loving the food you’re with: Geography and taste......Page 214 Taking offense to food and flavors......Page 216 Changing the Menu: Adapting to Exotic Foods......Page 217 Stirring the stew: The culinary benefits of immigration......Page 218 Discovering the Dietary Guidelines for Americans......Page 223 Finding What’s New in the 2020–2025 Edition......Page 225 Factor in the fats......Page 228 Subtract the added sugar......Page 229 Bring on the veggies......Page 230 Get up and go......Page 231 Do the Guidelines Work?......Page 234 Checking Out Basic Diet Pictures......Page 237 From pyramid to plate: The evolution of the Food Guide......Page 238 An assortment of pyramids and plates......Page 240 Tracking Food Patterns......Page 242 Understanding the Nutrition Facts Label......Page 243 Getting the facts......Page 244 Relying on labels: Health claims......Page 246 Navigating the highs and lows......Page 248 Using Pyramids, Plates, Patterns, and Labels to Choose Healthful Foods......Page 251 Reading a Restaurant Menu......Page 253 Apportion the portions......Page 254 Start simple......Page 255 Undress the veggies......Page 256 Minimize the main dish......Page 257 Satisfy your sweet tooth......Page 258 Writing Rules for Chain Restaurants......Page 259 Choosing wisely at the drive-through......Page 261 Finding a guilt-free, 300-calorie snack solution......Page 262 Managing the Mechanical Menu......Page 263 Part 4 Food Processing......Page 265 Chapter 19 Praising Food Processing......Page 267 Preserving Food: Five Methods of Processing......Page 268 Temperature control......Page 269 Controlling the air flow......Page 270 Irradiation......Page 271 Adding nutrients......Page 272 Faking It: Food Substitutes......Page 273 Alternative foods No. 1: Fat replacers......Page 274 Alternative foods No. 2: Substitute sweeteners......Page 277 A Last Word: Follow That Bird......Page 280 Chapter 20 Healthful and Delicious Heat......Page 281 Cooking with fire......Page 282 Changing food’s texture......Page 283 Enhancing flavor and aroma......Page 286 Shading the color palette......Page 287 Picking the Right Cooking Materials......Page 288 Copper......Page 289 Glass......Page 290 Stainless steel......Page 291 Protecting the Nutrients in Cooked Foods......Page 292 Keeping those volatile vitamins......Page 293 Keeping Food Safe by Cooking......Page 294 Naming the bad guys......Page 295 Heating to the appropriate temperature......Page 296 Cold Comfort: Chilling and Freezing......Page 299 How freezing affects the texture of food......Page 302 Refreezing frozen food......Page 303 Canned Food: Keeping Out Contaminants......Page 304 How drying affects food’s nutritional value......Page 305 When dried fruit may be hazardous to your health......Page 306 Irradiation: A Hot Topic......Page 307 Nature’s Beneficial Chemistry......Page 311 Hormonelike compounds......Page 312 Sulfur compounds......Page 313 Nutrient additives......Page 314 Color additives......Page 315 Flavor additives......Page 317 Other additives in food......Page 318 Explaining carcinogens......Page 319 Listing allergens......Page 321 Beyond Additives: Foods Nature Never Made......Page 322 Part 5 Food and Medicine......Page 325 Chapter 23 When Food Fights Back......Page 327 Understanding how an allergic reaction occurs......Page 328 Identifying food allergies......Page 330 Reading the food ingredient label......Page 331 Avoiding unusual interactions......Page 333 Recognizing Other Body Reactions to Food......Page 335 Nourishing the Developing Brain......Page 337 Fish and the teenage brain......Page 338 Avoiding malicious mercury......Page 339 Protecting the Adult Brain......Page 341 Introducing the natural enemies of thought and memory......Page 342 Choosing foods that boost the brain......Page 343 Minding your mind diet......Page 344 Altering the Emotional Brain......Page 345 Recognizing mood malfunctions......Page 346 Seeing how food can affect your mood......Page 347 Using food to manage mood......Page 351 Healing the Injured Brain......Page 352 The 5, 7, 2, 4, 100, 200 solution......Page 353 The (eventual) official word......Page 354 Eating to Benefit Your Brain and Your Body......Page 355 Chapter 25 Food and Drug Interactions......Page 357 Following Food and Drug Interactions......Page 358 Listing the Reactions of Drugs and Certain Foods......Page 359 Discovering Drug Interactions with Nutrients......Page 361 Using Food to Improve a Drug’s Performance......Page 362 Defining Food as Medicine......Page 365 Naming Diets with Absolutely, Positively Beneficial Medical Effects......Page 366 Using Food to Prevent Disease......Page 367 Reviewing the evidence on anticancer diets......Page 368 DASHing to healthy blood pressure......Page 370 Conquering the common cold......Page 371 Eating for a Better Body (And Brain)......Page 372 The Last Word on Food versus Medicine......Page 373 Part 6 The Part of Tens......Page 375 Chapter 27 Ten Reliable Food and Nutrition Websites......Page 377 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)......Page 378 The American Heart Association (AHA)......Page 379 Mayo Clinic......Page 380 Food Safety News......Page 381 Be Mindful of Your Eating Habits......Page 383 Eat Plenty of Vegetables and Fruits, Whole Grain Foods, and Protein Foods......Page 384 Check the Guidelines for Updates......Page 385 Avocado......Page 387 Beans......Page 388 Chocolate......Page 389 Nuts......Page 390 White Tea......Page 391 Whole Grains......Page 392 Chapter 30 Ten Ways Coffee (and Tea) Make Life Better......Page 393 Coffee Chases the Blues......Page 394 Coffee Lowers Your Risk of Stroke......Page 395 Coffee May Ward Off Type 2 Diabetes......Page 396 Coffee Drinkers Live Longer......Page 397 Papaya......Page 399 Peas......Page 400 Pineapple......Page 401 Pork......Page 402 Potato......Page 403 Prune......Page 404 Pumpkin......Page 405 Appendix Glossary of Nutrition Terms......Page 407 Index......Page 417