Are you trying to figure out how to maintain a healthy you? It is time to tease sense out of the nonsense when it comes to eating smartly. This book offers advice on how to eat nutritiously every day without all the guilt, money, and discomfort wasted on the latest, greatest fad remedy.

Acknowledgments viPreface 11. Animal, Vegetable or Mineral: Food and Health 5Diet and Nutrition Confusion  5Nutrition Science, Nutritional Experts and Reputable Sources  9Nutrients  12U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans  15Food Labels  18Food Justice  20Best Ways to Prepare Food  23Cooking Oils  25Superfoods  26Yogurt  27Blueberries  27Cranberries  28Tomatoes  28Dark Chocolate  29Coffee, Caffeine, Tea and Theophylline  30Red Wine  31Cinnamon  32Turmeric and Curcumin  33Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Integrative Health and the Placebo Response  332. The GI Tract Is Not in the Army: Digestive System and Health 36Anatomy and Physiology  36Digestive Organs and Some Key Functions  39Hormones  45Nutrition and Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders  48Nutrition and Lower Gastrointestinal Disorders  50Inflammation  51Food Allergy  53Colon Cleansing  55Microbiome, Prebiotics and Probiotics  553. It's a Whale of a Time: Weight Control and Calories 58Weight Control  58Fat and Obesity  60Weight Control and Calories  63Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Body Mass Index (BMI) and Healthy Weight  64Strategies for Weight Loss  67Bariatric Surgery  68Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and ­Binge-Eating Disorder  68Cachexia  704. How Sweet It Is: Carbohydrates—Sugar, Glycogen and Fiber 73Dietary Carbohydrates  73How the Body Uses Carbohydrates  74Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome  83­Carbohydrate-Related Diets  86Ketogenic Diet  88Paleo and Ancestral Diets  90Sweeteners and Added Sugar  92Sugar Substitutes  945. Those Are Love Handles: Lipids—Fats and Cholesterol 97Dietary Fats  97Diets Related to Fat and Cholesterol  104Butter or Margarine?  106Chickens and Eggs  108Nuts, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet and the Mediterranean Diet  110Almonds and LDL  112Garlic and Blood Pressure  114Fish Oil Supplements  1146. Packing a Punch: Proteins 116Dietary Proteins  116Meatless Monday and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)  122Cooking and Cancer  126More Muscle, More Mass: Anabolic Steroids  127Quinoa and Soy  129Mediterranean Diet  130Atkins Diet  132Vegetarian and Vegan Diets  132Blood Type Diet  134Amino Acid Supplements  1367. Alphabet Soup and Dietary Mining: Vitamins and Minerals 137Micronutrients  137­Water-Soluble Vitamins  138Vitamin B3 (Niacin)  141Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)  143Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)  145­Fat-Soluble Vitamins  147Vitamin D, Calcium and Osteoporosis  148Vitamin K  154Major Body Minerals  154Trace Body Minerals  156Salt  157Iron  159Magnesium  1608. The Sustenance of Life: Water, Fluid Balance and the Environment 162Water  162Planetary Water  166Milk  169Cow's Milk Alternatives  172Breast Milk  173Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetically Modified (GMO, GM) Food  174Poisons in Our Food  177Sustainable Farming Practices  1799. The Skinny: Other Popular Diets, Fads, Wonderments and Myths 182Popular Diets  182Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem  183South Beach Diet  183Raw Food Diet  183Mediterranean Diet  184­Gluten-Free Diet  184Fasting  186Blood Pressure Lowering Diets—High Dairy Diet and DASH Diet  188Grapefruit Diet  188Cabbage Soup Diet  189Zone Diet  189The Freshman Fifteen and Quarantine 15  190Noom and Health Apps  191Supplements and Herbal Remedies  19210. Weight a Minute: Eating Well for Life 199Aging and Diet  199Beverage Alcohol  200Milk Thistle  205Aspirin  206Exercise  207Mustard for Cramps  210Pomegranates  211Eggplant  212CBD  212Sleep and Sleep Aids  213Balanced Diet  219Bibliography 221Index 245