Rating: 
Summary: I love Sears but...
Review: I have really enjoyed all of Dr. Sears books so, naturally I thought I would enjoy this one. Unfortunately I wasn't able to and here is why: I was looking for a book that would solve my problems of unhealthy eating. I bought it because of the good reviews and was sure I was going to love it and eat better because of it. I am not willing to re-learn how to shop for, prepare and cook healthy food. If you already shop at organic stores and if you know what flax seed is, or if you are willing to devote a lot of energy towards this healthy lifestyle, then this book is for you. However, if you eat (and even enjoy) hotdogs and you didn't know tofu wasn't just for oriental cooking than you might want to borrow this book from the library rather than buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book On Nutrition
Review: I have really enjoyed this book. It is extremely informative and thorough, while managing to make nutrition very interesting. It is easy to read and understand. I've really enjoyed the fact that this book goes into such detail explaining why certain foods are great and others are bad - while holding my attention all the while! I have found the book very easy to use as a reference when I've come back to it and it is full of very useful suggestions. I'm not a really strict person when it comes to diet for my daughter - hey, I even let the grandparents give her chocolate and cookies sometimes. But I do like the fact that this book gave me a lot of information that helped make me a better parent [nutritionally speaking]. I follow what works for us and don't worry about what I can't incorporate into our diet right now. This book did not make me feel guilty - on the contrary it made me feel knowledgeable enough to make the choices right for our particular family. I feel pretty good about our diet in general, and on occaision when I find our menu falling prey to too much "convenience food", I go back and read a bit of this book and regain my motivation to work towards healthy food, regardless of how busy I am. I'm really glad I have this book! It is by far the most interesting and useful book on nutrition I've found.
Rating: 
Summary: Great advice...a little unrealistic on the nutrition
Review: I love Dr. and Martha Sears. I've read several of their books, and weekly refer to the Baby Book. I thought this book was very informative; great chapter on breastfeedings benefits. But, I found the "advice" on how to feed your children a bit unrealistic. I feed my daughter (what I thought) was very healthy. She's a vegetarian (as is mom) and eats a wide variety of veggies, fruits, beans and other legumes, tofu, and grains. I buy her organic animal crackers and snacks like guppies (the natural alternative to goldfish with lots of processing)and sesame whole wheat sticks. But I do occasionally give her white rice, non-whole wheat pasta, and I do feed her Cheerios and Nutra-Grain waffles. If I can't buy organic fruits and veggies, I scrub the ones I buy well with a veggie wash. But I felt a little criminal for not feeding her better. Most have commented that my daughter eats very well. I guess my point is there doesn't seem to be credit for doing what you can do, unless you do it all. Its almost impossible to eat perfectly organic, non-processed food ALL the time. And I had hope the book would give more IDEAS for preparing healthy food for your family.
Rating:
Summary: Great advice...a little unrealistic on the nutrition
Review: I love Dr. and Martha Sears. I've read several of their books, and weekly refer to the Baby Book. I thought this book was very informative; great chapter on breastfeedings benefits. But, I found the "advice" on how to feed your children a bit unrealistic. I feed my daughter (what I thought) was very healthy. She's a vegetarian (as is mom) and eats a wide variety of veggies, fruits, beans and other legumes, tofu, and grains. I buy her organic animal crackers and snacks like guppies (the natural alternative to goldfish with lots of processing)and sesame whole wheat sticks. But I do occasionally give her white rice, non-whole wheat pasta, and I do feed her Cheerios and Nutra-Grain waffles. If I can't buy organic fruits and veggies, I scrub the ones I buy well with a veggie wash. But I felt a little criminal for not feeding her better. Most have commented that my daughter eats very well. I guess my point is there doesn't seem to be credit for doing what you can do, unless you do it all. Its almost impossible to eat perfectly organic, non-processed food ALL the time. And I had hope the book would give more IDEAS for preparing healthy food for your family.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat disappointing
Review: I think the Sears family has reached the end of their expertise and should stop issuing new books on every aspect of parenting. This one seems like they are fulfilling a contractual obligation to their publisher. They are WAY too demanding about what you feed your child and don't seem to realize most of us don't have lots of money and help in the kitchen to achieve all the perfect meals they demand. The book was discouraging and unrealistic. I found that a much more useful book is Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health by Drs. Susan Roberts and M.B. Heyman. This book was written by doctors who specialize in child nutrition and who have scrutinized the literature on nutrients, metabolism, food allergies, etc. Yet the book is realistic and helpful, not guilt inducing like Dr. Sears.
Rating:
Summary: Good Nutrition for Good Health
Review: In the latest book in the Sears series, Bill and Martha Sears present information they have collected from over 500 scientific studies on nutrition. This information could have been presented in a dry, boring format with lots of confusing charts. The Sears have chosen instead to use a common sense down to earth approach that should appeal to parents wanting to know a little more about how and what to feed their families. Bill and Martha give readers and excellent introduction to nutrition basics, explaining what foods the body needs and what it does with the food you give it. There are also sections on organic foods, breatfeeding and picky eaters. The Sears are not afraid to depart from traditional nutrional advice and present information on "health foods" and herbs such as Echineacea. All in all I found this book extremely helpful, especially for finding ways to get my junk food addicted family interested in healthier food.
Rating:
Summary: Get your nutrition info straightened up
Review: The Searses have really outdone themselves this time. Knowlege is power, YOUR power to be healthy and raise healthy kids with sound eating habits. A definite MUST for all who are concerned and confused about what and how we eat and feed to our kids. The "Family Nutrition Book" opens all these little drawers in your brain full of jumbled-up bits and peices of incomplete information of dubious quality - and makes order. The book is superbly organised and easy to read, which doesn't make it any less scientific. No more mumbling a vague "it's good for you" when your kid asks why he should "eat this stuff", for now you actually KNOW why. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful, but not what I was looking for
Review: This book has a ton of comprehensive information on nutrients but I bought it thinking it would help me know what to feed my 9-month old at each stage of his development. All I would call this is a nutrition textbook. It's good to have on hand, but if you're looking for guidelines on what foods are safe and offer proper nutrition for young babies and toddlers, keep looking.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to understand
Review: This book is great, even if you didn't have kids and just wanted to learn about how to eat right! The stuff nobody ever tells you and food manufacturers don't want you to know! It's a very helpful, complete book.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting and eye opening nutrition book
Review: This book was interesting to read (and I am NOT a nutrition nut). I especially like the way it is divided into managable chapters that tackle a particular concept (fish, oils, brain foods, anti-cancer foods, vegetables, milk, yogurt, etc.) It takes potentially daunting concepts and makes them understandable to the layman. For example, the chapter on fats finally helped me understand all the jargon out there about saturated and unsaturated fats, hydrogenated oils, etc. This information has made me a better consumer and mother...now I know what to look for on labels. It is also very readable because it incorporates many lists and side bars that highlight key concepts and insights. These items make it easy to skim through and glean a bit of information about many things without feeling overwhelmed by a bunch of dry and boring facts. I also liked the way that Sears explains how certain foods impact our body. He uses many analogies to help the reader understand what occurs during the digestion process and why particular foods lead to optimum health. Although I could never incorporate all of their suggestions, the book does a great job of giving me some goals to shoot for. It has helped me understand why some foods are bad and others better. The book has inspired me to look at eating in an entirely different way and to make efforts to improve my family's health.
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