Eating well for optimum health : the essential guide to food, diet, and nutritio
Weil, Andrew.
Adult Nonfiction RA784 .W425 2000

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From Publishers' Weekly:

Now considered one of holistic medicine's most authoritative voices, Weil (Spontaneous Healing; 8 Weeks to Optimum Health) provides a common-sense approach to healthy eating. While much of this information can be found in other volumes, Weil illuminates the often confusing and conflicting ideas circulating about good nutrition, addressing specific health issues and offering nutritional guidance to help heal and prevent major illnesses. Of particular value is his examination of recent fads, such as low-carbohydrate, vegan and "Asian" diets, with an eye toward debunking the myths about them while highlighting their valuable aspects. Readers will appreciate the brief stories of individuals who have made big changes in their eating habits and solved chronic health problems, as well as recipes for foods that Weil feels will satisfy nutritional needs and the taste buds. Although not the first to link the rise of cancer, heart disease and obesity with the now-prevalent consumption of fast food and processed foods that contain a lot of sugar and few, if any, micronutrients, Weil's articulate plea to reflect on the consequences is convincing. Despite Weil's emphasis on a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed foods and much less meat and dairy products than most Americans are used to, readers will notice a profoundly realistic observation of what changes they can readily incorporate into their busy lives. And they will be heartened to learn that they can eat nutritious foods and still get much pleasure from them. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

From Library Journal:

The purpose of Weil's (Spontaneous Healing) latest book is to look at and clarify "the issues and controversies surrounding food and nutrition" and to "establisha sense of what eating well means." He accomplishes this nicely by first discussing in a long chapter the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, protein) and the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protective phytochemicals), outlining the role that each of these nutrients plays, the best kind of each, and suggested amounts of each. Weil also analyzes some of the currently popular diets and includes recipes for dishes that he feels provide the best kind of diet--low in carbohydrates, fats, and protein and high in fresh fruits and vegetables. Between each chapter are vignettes of patients who have altered the way they eat following Weil's suggestions and who are much healthier for making the changes. Well written and very understandable, this is a worthy complement to Dorothy Gault-McNemee's God's Diet (LJ 11/15/99). Highly recommended for consumer health collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/99.]--Mary J. Jarvis, Pampa, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.