Jonny Bowden

Bowden has the education, licensing, and experience to know what he's talking about. His "150 healthiest foods" are grouped into 15 categories: Vegetables; Grains; Beans and Legumes; Fruit; Nuts and Seeds; Soy Foods; Dairy; Meat, Poultry, and Eggs; Fish and Seafood; Specialty Foods; Beverages; Herbs, Spices, and Condiments; Oils; Flour; and Sweeteners. One or two pages is devoted to each food, listing its nutritional benefits backed up by research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. This is a handy source book for home cooks seeking to get the most value from their food, as well as a reference book that provides the information you need to assess the "miracle" foods that pop up in TV and internet promotions. Includes a handy glossary and index.… (mais)

Yes, thank you. This book helped me make sense of the many, seemingly contradictory follow-up comments I received from my doctor and lab results about watching my cholesterol. My health wasn't poor in the least, and I didn't know what to make of a few of the cholesterol indicators being too "high" whatever that meant. The Great Cholesterol Myth was an education and it helped me sort out not just what the numbers mean but it was also a short history of why this subject is fraught with conflicting information. I recommend this book to anyone who eats and ages—which is, well, everybody—because there's almost no escaping having to deal with the effects of eating processed food at some point.

The quick summary is that for far too long, due to a mix of bad PR, misinformation and misunderstanding, cholesterol took the blame for the rise in heart disease while countless studies for the past half century have demonstrably shown the real culprit to be inflammation which is caused by processed foods (bad carbs) and sugar.

When I'm asked about the specifics of the diet I put together as a result of reading this book along with many others, I say it's a mash-up of Atkins, Paleo and the Mediterranean diets. The trick for me was to find something that was backed by research, yielded measurable results for me in particular, and, most importantly, is one I could live with for the long term. I read food labels far more than I used to. I feel comfortable skipping 80% of the store while out grocery shopping. But I also allow cheat days, though I don't think of them as such. As long as those days are the exception and not the rule, then the benefits are sustained.… (mais)