How do we decide what foods to eat? In recent years, this simple question has become complicated beyond belief—as supermarkets have grown to warehouse size, and as the old advice to eat foods from four food groups has been overrun by questions about organic foods, hormones, pesticides, carbohydrates, trans fats, omega-3s, supplements, health claims, extreme diets, and, above all, obesity.
Fortunately, Marion Nestle is here to tell us what’s what—to give us the facts we need to make sensible choices from the bewildering array of foods available to us. With What to Eat, this renowned nutritionist takes us on a guided tour of the supermarket, explaining the issues with verve and wit as well as a scientist’s expertise and a food lover’s experience.
Today’s supermarket is ground zero for the food industry, a place where the giants of agribusiness compete for sales with profits—not nutrition or health—in mind. Nestle walks us through the supermarket, section by section: produce, dairy, meat, fish, packaged foods, breads, juices, bottled waters, and more.
Along the way, she untangles the issues, decodes the labels, clarifies the health claims, and debunks the sales hype. She tells us how to make sensible choices based on freshness, taste, nutrition, health, effects on the environment, and, of course, price. With Nestle as our guide, we learn what it takes to make wise food choices and are inspired to act with confidence on that knowledge.
What to Eat is the guide to healthy eating today: comprehensive, provocative, revealing, rich in common sense, informative, and a pleasure to read. Marion Nestle received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation—the food world's highest honor—as well as the foundation's book prize. She is the author of Food Politics and Safe Food, and was featured in the documentary Super Size Me. A native of New York, she raised her family in California and now lives in Greenwich Village, where she teaches at New York University. How should you decide what foods to eat? As supermarkets have grown to warehouse size, this simple question has become complicated beyond belief. Fortunately, Marion Nestle—renowned for her sage advice on food and nutrition—is here to cut through the confusion and lay out what you need to know. In What to Eat, she takes us on a guided tour of the American supermarket and shows us exactly how to feed ourselves and our families wisely and well.
With sharp humor, expertise, and a food-lover's delight, Nestle guides us through the supermarket sections—produce, dairy, meat, fish, breads, and juices, and then to the "center aisles," where big profits are made. Along the way, she reveals the big food companies' marketing practices, explains complex labels in clear language, and tells us what we need to know about:
· wild and farm-raised
· frozen and fresh
· organic, natural, and conventional
· carbs, omega-3s, and trans fats
· pesticides and the environment
· portion size, labeling, and nutrition claims
· supplements, additives, and preservatives
· food safety
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