Confused by the conflicting advice on nutrition?
Want to improve your diet but don’t know which ‘expert’ to believe?
Concerned by the increasingly alarming headlines on the state of the Nation’s health?
Finally, here is a book on nutrition written by an expert on the science that forms the foundations of modern nutritional research. After working at the forefront of chemical and biomedical research for over 20 years, exploring the fundamental, chemical mechanisms by which nutrients such as vitamins C and E affect our health, Dr Burkitt felt compelled to ‘speak out’ and set the record straight.
The overriding philosophy in this book is that a healthy diet cannot be achieved by the blind following of ‘rules’, touted by the proponents of what Dr Burkitt describes as the ‘single issue diets’. Indeed so many people have all but given up trying to eat a healthy diet. They say they are confused by the masses of information out there, with one ‘expert’ saying one thing only for another to come along and say the exact opposite. First it was cholesterol and eggs; now we are being told that vitamin supplements cause cancer! The truth is, there are no simple answers, but this does not excuse the sound bites, traffic lights and other all but useless, dumbed down messages on which we are expected to make rational decisions on what to eat. The answer to this mess, Dr Burkitt believes, is through improved understanding of the underlying principles of nutrition: through informed choice.
In this book, which is written for people with absolutely no prior knowledge or understanding of science, Dr Burkitt explains in everyday language the science that underpins modern nutrition. Described as a ‘specialist book for non specialist readers’, Healthy Eating Through Informed Choice will not only provide you with a solid grounding in nutrition, it will give you an insight into the exciting (and truly fascinating) developments that are occurring at the forefronts of nutritional research. Equipped with your newly found knowledge and understanding of nutrition, you will also be able to make wise, informed decisions on what to eat. You will be able to interpret and evaluate, with confidence, the various diets that are currently in the headlines. Ultimately, you will be able to see through the hype and begin to make sense of the mixed messages we are being given on diet and health, both today and in tomorrow’s headlines.
Topics covered include:
Making sense of the confusion over good and bad carbohydrates
The fundamental flaw in the glycemic index (GI): why it can be dangerously misleading
The response-to-injury theory of heart disease: why polyunsaturates can be more harmful than saturated fats
Free radicals and antioxidants: explained by an expert form the cutting edge of this field
Understanding trans fats: why they are no longer the problem they once were
The dangers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements
Understanding omega-3 and omega-6 oils: why seed oils are inferior to fish oils
Gamma linolenic acid (GLA)
The remarkable properties of DHA
Concerns over infant formula feeds – why breast is best
Why all substances are poisons: achieving a sense of balance
Cancer and diet
The problem with the single issue diets
The Fast Diet: why not all is necessarily rosy in the garden
What really constitutes a healthy diet
