An A to Z on foods (Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal - Reader's Digest)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal - Reader's Digest
Date:	21/03/09 (192 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Detailed but easy to read

Disadvantages: Expensive

Readers Digest books have always been quite expensive but excellent quality and we bought this book when it was published in 1996, at the cost of £25, which was a lot of money back then! But as someone who is intolerant to several foods I thought this would be helpful and I have to say it has been.

Contributors and consultants are either doctors or other professionals with lots of letters after their names and the information given is easy to read and understand. There are two opening pages with general facts about Food and Health and some tips on how to use the book. At the end of the book is a glossary with explanations on unfamiliar terms and an Index with cross references. It is in alphabetical order starting with Acne and ending with Yoghurt.

In each topic on ailments it tells you what to eat plenty of, what to cut down on, a section with general information and a case study and sometimes what to avoid. In the sections on foods it may give the benefits, the drawbacks and general information.

I enjoy reading the sections all about Vitamins, minerals, herbs, fruit and foods from the countryside etc. In one it tells you about Cancer and how diet can help. I was interested to read that in China studies seem to suggest that Garlic may neutralise cancer causing chemicals and reduce the risk of tumours. Diet can be really important in helping prevent cancer.

In Balancing your diet the colourful pages split up the different food groups and tell you what you should try to eat and what you should try not to eat! There are photographs of healthy meals showing that eating healthily doesn't have to be dull. In a little section on the Mediterranean diet it says that the relatively high levels of fish, olive oil, vegetables and fruit makes the Mediterranean diet healthy, several areas eat far less meat than the average British person and less saturated fat and sugar but more carbohydrates like pasta, bread and rice. Research shows that there are lower death rates from coronary heart disease and some cancers, so may be we could improve our diets by following these ways.

A neighbour who works in the theatre at a nearby hospital was telling us he had to do CPR on a patient during an operation as his heart had stopped. Afterwards he had asked the surgeons why it happened, and it was due to a lack of potassium. I was interested to see in the section about minerals that potassium is in Avocados, fresh and dried fruit, seeds and nuts, bananas, citrus fruits, potatoes and pulses. One of the symptoms of deficiency is heart problems, so eating a banana everyday can be helpful and bananas contain a high level of natural sugar which is released quickly into the bloodstream, which is why you see tennis players and cyclists eating bananas. Incidentally the man lived and was operated on successfully the next day.

One topic I know works is the BRAT diet for people with Diarrhoea, when you feel like eating after the first 24 hours following a diet of Bananas, rice (boiled), Apples (grated) and white toast eaten in small amounts helps people recover.

I was interested to read in the section about Vegetarian and Vegan diets that the body needs vitamin C to convert iron from non meat products into a usable form, so fruit, vegetables or fruit juice should be included with meals that supply iron.

The book has nearly 400 pages and although not cheap it is well written, informative and interesting, an excellent companion for all ages, a book I delve into time and time again.

Summary: Book with information on foods that harm and foods that heal.