Rating: 
Summary: Jolly good book!
Review: Extremely informative and attractively laid out. Excellent for those who don't have the slightest clue how to put together a healthy diet (like me, once upon a time). Lots of interesting recipes as well. The only drawback is that the author is British and originally aimed this book at the UK market, so you'd better brush up on your metric skills for the recipes! Also, I've never understood the English love for beans on toast, although I've tried it and it's not half bad. If you're just starting to read about nutrition, this book is an excellent place to start.
Rating: 
Summary: consult this book as preventive medicine
Review: I bought this book for my mother (a 60 year old woman with kidney failure), who required to know the exact potassium, phosphorous and sodium content of every food she considered eating. It worked wonders for her diet, but I also found it very interesting myself. I was going through a pitiful stage of immune and animic depression, and following the "boost your immune system" diet definitely did away with it. The information contained in every section ("food as medicine", "food for the time of your life": a description of the nutritional needs for every age, and a suggestion on how to fill them) is serious and well fundamented -no fad diet writer exegesis of why you should adopt his/her eating plan-. As a biologist, I have become especially skeptic of those (like the Diamonds in the Antidiet) who justify eating carrots by asking the reader when s/he has seen a rabbit wearing glasses... This book is not nonsense, keep it close to your kitchen or dining room, consult it daily. Your body will be grateful.
Rating: 
Summary: There are better food guides and cookbooks
Review: I bought this book to supplement Corinne Netzer's The Complete Book of Food Counts (which I recommend) because I needed a book that gave not only nutritonal information on the number of grams of total fat in listed foods ( Netzer's book does this and is more comprehensive), but the amount of saturated (bad-cholesterol raising) fat in foods (Netzer's book doesn't provide information on saturated fat in particular and I neede this too ) because I had had high cholesterol and need to limit my intake of fats in general and saturated fat in particular. Together with a calculator this book has helped me to count calories, protein grams and fat grams and exercise portion control to maintain a balanced, healthy diet as I understand it, although now that I have a good idea of the number of calories, grams of protein and fat grams ( I don't count carohydrates-I just have enough servings) that are in the foods that I generally eat I need to do this less since I already know it. The part of the book that I was most interested in and that I have used most is that part of the book in which the nutritional information is given for various foods. One virtue of this section is that everything is listed on nice big pages and the nutritional information for each food is spread across both pages (facing each other-across) making it super easy to read and understand. One super annoying drawback to the presentation is that although the author lists the protein, carbohydrate, fat and fiber content of the foods listed in GRAMS, when she breaks down the fat into saturated and unsaturated she gives the information in PERCENTAGES (for a book that DOES do all of this in GRAMS, with a very brief, excellent intoduction containing sound nutrtional advice, see The American Dietetic Association's's guide to the foods we eat, available on this website-if I had to choose between this book and that one, I'd choose that one) You may know, as I do, approxiamtely how many grams of fat to allow yourself generally speaking on a daily basis before you buy the book and what percentage of that total number of fat grams, at most, should come from saturated fat, but that doesn't mean that you want to have the information on the saturated fat content of any particular food presented as a bloody percentage!I mentioned above that I have used this book to compute, with the aid of a calculator, calories, grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in particular. As it happens, a couple of years ago, because after not having smoked cigarettes quite a few years, I had,, started not just smoking but smoking very heavily and not only, as stated above, was my cholesterol high, but my doctor advised me that because I was smoking too much and not eating enough, my protein was too low and that I should quit smoking and develop better eating habits. Not only was he right (I had even considerably lost my appetite because of this) he helped me to accomplish this. Since obtaining this information on various foods and generally monitoring my intake of the nutrients mentioned in particular was my primary purpose for buying this book it took me quite some time to get around to reading various other parts of it of which there are several. There is advice of hers that I would not take and advice that I think is fine and what's wrong with that is that you do have to know something about this before buying the book to know which advice of hers it would be better not to take. Some of it may be common sense. I learned, prior to buying this book, for example, from the website of Dr. C. Everett Koop how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber I should have on a daily basis for my age, sex, height, frame size and activity level and that is what I go by. Of protein I already knew need at least 58 grams daily and I would not get anything like enough were I to use the formula that she gives (and neither would you) with which I think there is someting wrong. To be avoided also is "the elimination diet"; to be discussed with you doctor before taking any are herbal supplements ( I've never been interested and don't ). These are too flakey for me. Best part of the book-the nutritional information. Better cookbooks (available here)-The American Heart Association's cookbooks, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook and Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, and At Home with the French Classics, and The French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking. Dietary diversity is more impotant than superfoods.
Rating:
Summary: A bit lightweight, somewhat hypocritical
Review: If you are looking for a straighforward book on nurtrition, sadly this is not the one for you. This book is aimed more toward people looking to lose weight than those who just want to improve their health. Also, the author refers to some foods as "Superfoods! " a concept which, to me, anyway, is somewhat outdated and in opposition to the idea of eating a very diverse diet.Don't get me wrong, there is lots of information in this book, its just offered in a really strange way. The book is also very attractive and easy to read, it just strikes me as really strange sometimes... My examples, you can judge for yourself.... The author presents curry powder as a viable source of iron for vegetarians(how much curry powder does she eat? ), and poppy seeds as one for calcium. (again....) Also, throughout the book she discusses cutting fat (but not too much...) but in the recipe section in the back an alarming number of the recipes have over 20gs of fat per serving, some have over 30gs of fat! The overemphasis on superfoods and things like antioxidants reads like the conflicting and sensationalized news reports that nutritional books should be helping people watch critically (or better yet, ignore...). That, combined with the conflicting and often impractical information, makes for a book I simply cannot recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: The first thing that pulled me in is it is colorful and easy to read. I started reading through it and the content is just as excellent as the astheticly pleasing look and feel. It has many superfoods listed. And it follows the USDA Food Pyramid, however supplements for vegitarians, etc... Has sections on best nutrition for each phase of your life (childhood, teen, for women--preconception and pregnancy, menopause, etc). Also great section of foods that cause common ailments and foods that cure them. Excellent choice and easy to read. :)
Rating:
Summary: helpful..
Review: The Food Bible is a very helpful nutrition book if you need a guide to start living healthier. I, however, would not have called it the food bible. I might have settled more along the lines of "a start to eating and being healthier." While it was interesting and helpful, it seemed to only skim the surface of the change to a healthier diet. Still, I found that the book did have some strong points. For instance in the back of The Food Bible there is a blue nutritional information guide in regards to almost every meat, fruit, vegetable, Baked good, Breakfast cereal, Dairy product, condiment,and oil, as well as basic alcocholic and non-alcocholic drinks. The book also has information about herbal substitutes, which proved to be helpful.The Food Bible contained a "food as medicine" section but I found the solutions preliminary and unconvincing at times. Overall, this book was an interesting and colorful guide to a more effective way of living. I would recommend it if you need a push into better health and diet.
Rating:
Summary: helpful..
Review: The Food Bible is a very helpful nutrition book if you need a guide to start living healthier. I, however, would not have called it the food bible. I might have settled more along the lines of "a start to eating and being healthier." While it was interesting and helpful, it seemed to only skim the surface of the change to a healthier diet. Still, I found that the book did have some strong points. For instance in the back of The Food Bible there is a blue nutritional information guide in regards to almost every meat, fruit, vegetable, Baked good, Breakfast cereal, Dairy product, condiment,and oil, as well as basic alcocholic and non-alcocholic drinks. The book also has information about herbal substitutes, which proved to be helpful.The Food Bible contained a "food as medicine" section but I found the solutions preliminary and unconvincing at times. Overall, this book was an interesting and colorful guide to a more effective way of living. I would recommend it if you need a push into better health and diet.
Rating:
Summary: Great for browsing - lots of color photos
Review: This book has a LOT of nutritional information, and I found that either browsing or using the index to look up a specific condition or food is the best way to find what I'm looking for. The author is English, so a few of the recipes and food recommendations have a definite British slant (curry, beans on toast), but most of them use readily available ingredients, are easy to follow, and have complete nutritional information. I especially like the author's comparison of meals/snacks, which she calls "meal makeovers". For example, she shows (with photos and a complete nutritinal analysis) that a small plate with a few crackers with butter and a bit of cheese has a lot more calories/fat than a full plate of tuna/veggies.
Rating:
Summary: Great for browsing - lots of color photos
Review: This book has a LOT of nutritional information, and I found that either browsing or using the index to look up a specific condition or food is the best way to find what I'm looking for. The author is English, so a few of the recipes and food recommendations have a definite British slant (curry, beans on toast), but most of them use readily available ingredients, are easy to follow, and have complete nutritional information. I especially like the author's comparison of meals/snacks, which she calls "meal makeovers". For example, she shows (with photos and a complete nutritinal analysis) that a small plate with a few crackers with butter and a bit of cheese has a lot more calories/fat than a full plate of tuna/veggies.
Rating:
Summary: Eloquent, Scholarly and Easy to Understand
Review: This book is absolutely the best (and prettiest) nutrition books I have. I will never sell it. If you are trying to understand nutrition and healthy eating, this book is for you!
This book combines a lot of nutritional and food information in a detailed, sophisticated, yet down-to-earth editorial style.
Discussed and analyzed (with beautiful pictures)are of course: fruits, vegetables, seafood, red meats, legumes, dairy, vitamins, minerals, etc... but also: balanced diets, organic foods, different types of vegetarians, food preservation, additives, food labels, food poisoning, ailments and solutions, special diets for certain ailments, supplements, herbs, detoxing, age group nutrition, weight control, popular dieting methods, healthy recipes and the nutritional breakdowns of various foods within various food groups, amongst many other well-researched nutritional topics that fits under these categories.
The Food Bible contains no dietary political gestures nor suggests that one mineral or vitamin is better or more important than another. I could tell that Judith Wills has either spent many years or has well-spent her years learning about food and nutrition. She writes like she knows her stuff from every angle without need for approval by any government or health agency. And this is the kind of food/nutrition author from which you want to read. Absolutely a FOOD BIBLE.
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