A no-nonsense reference guide to healthy eating and getting your vitamins from the foods you eat. It explains why whole foods are much more effective than vitamin supplements and why you should avoid the latter. The book includes dietary guidelines, whole foods recipes and their nutritional content, Nutrition Facts Database and Food Analysis Worksheet (to help you analyze your meals), and information about good dietary sources for every nutrient you need.
Amazon Sales Rank: #4183113 in Books Published on: 1999-10-01 Original language: English Binding: Paperback 224 pages
Review "Before reading The Danger of Relying on Vitamin Supplements I thought that I had a sufficiently good idea about healthy eating and assumed that vitamin supplements were harmless or maybe even helpful. This thoroughly researched and easy-to-read book has cleared up my many misconceptions and proved very useful as a guide to improving my diet the fun, tasty way." -- Sally Reynolds, Raleigh, North Carolina"The author, Ben Y. Hecht, is an electrical engineer who shares a personal perspective regarding improved health based on eating a nutritious diet. As one might expect from his career background, he approaches nutritious eating from a well organized, logical and factual point of view. His work provides a good source for healthy adults who want more information and suggestion for eating nutritious diet. This book is a quick, easy to read reference for healthy eating." -- Eileen Mieras Kohlenberg, PhD, RN, CNAA Assistant Dean and Director Academic Programs and Graduate Study School of Nursing The University of North Carolina at Greensboro - April 1999 From the Author For years health-conscious people have been taking their daily vitamins by consuming vitamin pills, other supplements, and enriched foods, feeling confident that they have been doing their best to keep fit. However, new studies show that taking certain vitamin supplements is a wasted effort. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently released new studies showing that some important vitamins work only if we get them directly from our food. In fact, these studies show that some vitamin supplements actually increase the risk of cancer. In one study 18% more cancers were diagnosed and in another 28% more cancers were diagnosed in participants taking vitamin supplements than in those taking placebos. At the same time participants with higher levels of beta carotene in their blood, measured before the studies began, went on to have fewer cancers. The NCI states that these results are consistent with the possibility that different compounds in foods that have naturally occurring high levels of beta-carotene may be responsible for the protective effect of dietary beta-carotene indicated by these studies. The Danger of Relying on Vitamin Supplements: How to Improve your Health without them is a no-nonsense reference guide to healthy eating and getting your vitamins from the foods you eat. First it explains why whole foods are much more effective than vitamin supplements and why you should avoid the latter. Then it discusses many "super foods" including grapes and raisins which might be as effective as wine against heart disease and good dietary sources of tryptophan (an antidepressant). The book gives both general and detailed levels of dietary guidelines and it includes whole foods recipes and their nutritional content. In addition, using the Nutrition Facts Database and the Food Analysis Worksheet included you will be able to analyze the nutritional and caloric content of all your meals. The Nutrients Overview chapter will inform you of good sources for every nutrient you need. The Danger of Relying on Vitamin Supplements will help you learn how to prevent or resist disease by adapting a whole foods diet. This book grew out of a personal experience that the author had with a knee problem when he was thirty-seven years old. Two joint specialists recommended knee surgery where cartilage, which cushions the bones, would be removed. Because this would have certainly led to permanent damage later, he decided instead to search for natural ways, especially through diet, to alleviate his knee problem. After adopting a new whole foods diet, not only did his knee heal completely, but, surprisingly, other health problems including back pain, occasional digestive disorders, and eczema disappeared as well. From the Back Cover Although no one is recommending that food replace medicine entirely, whole foods diet can prevent disease or help us resist it. Instead of treating the symptoms, why not help your body fight off the problem in the first place? Unhealthy eating habits are the leading cause of many potentially preventable illnesses. So, take control over your health! Plan your diet! Reading this book, you will learn about: The danger of relying on vitamin supplements Why whole foods are much more effective than supplements How to get your vitamins from the foods you eat Food as medicine Why grapes, raisins, or grape juice might be as effective as wine Good dietary sources of tryptophan (an antidepressant) How stress effects your diet and health The medicinal value of herbs and spices Healthy recipes and their nutritional content The nutritional content, covering calories and 25 nutrients, in percentage Daily Values (not grams) of more than 300 common food items Nutrients overview, including symptoms for deficiencies and overdoses, and good dietary sources