Eating for the Health of It: A New Look at Nutrition

Arlene Gryfe is a Toronto-based professional nutritionist and home
economist.

At last, there is a nutrition book available that is factual enough to be recommended to the lay public, and with enough humor to make the reading of it an enjoyable pastime.

Helen Bishop MacDonald has a Master’s degree in nutrition and initially thought that her newly acquired knowledge would be directed to teaching in a formal academic setting. She soon discovered, however, that the public-at-large is also avidly seeking nutrition information. Unfortunately, there is a plethora of misinformation in the marketplace, where many faddists are touting the benefits of weird dietary regimens. At best, some of these are merely useless, but at worst, they can be actually harmful. Eating for the Health of It presents correct information in a highly readable format, liberally sprinkled with humour.

Ms. MacDonald has a regular column in the Calgary Herald, appears regularly as a guest on CBC Radio in Calgary, and is in demand as a popular speaker. From these many public contacts, she has become aware of major areas of concern, including breast feeding, osteoporosis, vitamin and mineral supplementation, the effect of additives on our food supply, and nutrition for the athlete.

The main drawback to this book is its lack of an index, which virtually eliminates its usefulness as a reference text. One can seek out specific topics by reading the individual listings on each chapter heading page, but this can be discouraging and still does not provide cross-referencing.

Poor proofreading failed to catch the multitude of spelling errors, especially in the scientific terms. However, it is better to learn proper facts, humourously presented, whether correctly spelled or not, than to have to depend on health food faddists who are peddling a plan or product for personal gain.