Table of Contents
To my older son Spencer for inspiring me to write a third book, to my younger son Eli for
following in my footsteps with his amazing Back to Africa books, to my true love Brian
for his unwavering love and support, and to my wonderful parents.
INTRODUCTION
Nutrition is more of a hot topic in the media and on peoples minds than ever before. Not a day goes by when there arent countless articles written in magazines, newspapers, and on the Web or television news segments aired that focus on some aspect of nutrition. While interest in nutrition is widespread, many people dont know whether the information comes from a reliable source, is based on sound science, or can be applied to their lives in a practical way.
Nutrition at Your Fingertips provides all the information you need to understand the science of nutrition and incorporate healthful nutrition practices into your life and that of your family. Whether you have always taken an interest in and have a general understanding of nutrition or youre new to the world of nutrition, this book is organized to help you find accurate, easy-to-understand information youre looking for quickly and easily.
How This Book Is Organized
Nutrition at Your Fingertips is organized like this. First, the key nutrients your body needs and that are found in the diet, including carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals, are covered. Then I show you how to determine your daily calorie needs and create your own daily eating plan no matter your age or stage of life. Whether youre trying to manage your weight, a diet-related medical condition, or a food allergy or sensitivity, youll find how-to nutrition strategies throughout the book. The book also includes information to help you navigate the aisles of your local grocery store in a more informed way, read and understand food labels, and ultimately fill your cart with the most delicious and healthful items from all the basic food categories.
The SEE ALSO references sprinkled throughout the chapters help you easily locate cross-referenced material in other chapters.
SEE ALSO 1.1, Functions of Carbohydrates
WORDS TO GO...WORDS TO GO...WORDS TOGO
Words to Go appear at the end of each chapter to give you quick and readily available definitions to help you better understand the material covered in that chapter.
Heres a brief description of each of the chapters:
Chapter 1, Carbohydrates: This chapter explains the functions of carbohydrates, covers the various sources of them in the diet, and provides recommendations for daily intake.
Chapter 2, Fats: This chapter explains the functions of fats, covers the different types in the diet, and provides recommendations for daily intake.
Chapter 3, Proteins: This chapter explains the functions of proteins and amino acids, covers the animal and plant sources in the diet, explains the effects of too little and too much dietary protein, and provides recommendations for daily intake.
Chapter 4, Vitamins: This chapter provides an overview of the 13 vitamins and their functions and provides daily recommendations.
Chapter 5, Minerals: This chapter provides an overview of the various types of vitamins in the diet and their functions and provides daily recommendations.
Chapter 6, Creating a Daily Meal Plan: This chapter helps you determine your daily calorie needs and create an individualized meal plan based on the USDAs MyPyramid food guidance system.
Chapter 7, Weight Management: This chapter provides an overview of energy balance, reviews the causes of and risks associated with being overweight or underweight, and provides dietary and physical activity tips to help you achieve and maintain a healthier body weight.
Chapter 8, Eat to Beat Disease: This chapter reviews common diet-related diseases and conditions and provides dietary and lifestyle prevention strategies.
Chapter 9, Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities: This chapter explains common food allergies, food additive sensitivities, lactose intolerance, and gluten sensitivity and provides prevention and treatment strategies for each. It also provides a broad overview of food poisoning.
Chapter 10, Healthy Food Shopping: This chapter helps you read and understand food labels and the various claims made on food packages, and provides an overview of functional foods, fat replacers, and sugar substitutes. It also includes an overview of dietary supplements.
Chapter 11, Healthy Eating Tips: This chapter provides tips for increasing your fiber intake, and decreasing your intake of added sugar, saturated and trans fat, dietary cholesterol, and sodium.
Chapter 12, Foodborne Illnesses and Food Safety: This chapter provides an overview of foodborne pathogens and other harmful substances in food. It also includes strategies to help you prevent foodborne illnesses as well as tips to help you safely shop, store, prepare, and cook food. In the back of this book, youll find three appendixes:
Appendix A, Words to Go Glossary: This is a glossary of terms.
Appendix B, Useful Resources: This is a list of websites and organizations you can use or contact for more information.
Appendix C, Whats a Portion?: This is a reference to help you estimate portion sizes for foods using common objects.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Ruth Winter for recommending me for this project, Alison Fargis at The Stonesong Press for choosing me for this project, and my supportive literary agent Stacey Glick. To my wonderful sons, Spencer and Eli, who always encourage me to pursue the work I love and never make me feel guilty when I do. To Linda Arevalo for all she does to help me keep my home and life in order. To Andy Bellati and Sherina Wan for their wonderful research assistance for this project. To my one-of-a-kind parents Ron and Barbara Sickmen who are always first in line to brag of my accomplishments even though I repeatedly ask them not to. Finally, to my husband, Brian Zied: No words can express how I feel about him, an amazing person who never fails to love, encourage, and support me immensely, even when I get in my own way.
Special Thanks to the Technical Editor
Nutrition at Your Fingertips was reviewed by an expert who double-checked the accuracy of what youll learn here, to help us ensure that this book gives you everything you need to know about nutrition. Special thanks are extended to the wonderful (and thorough) Susan Male Smith, M.A., R.D.
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
CARBOHYDRATES
