Pretty much digested this 500+ page hardcover in a week - a great book by Marion (who also wrote Food Politics, Safe Food) who approaches the American landscape of food & nutrition from both a scientific & consumer-oriented angle with a stroke of humor. (and no, she's not related to Nestle Corp.)
The way the chapters set up is interesting too, like a supermarket, from the peripheral sections of produce, fish, meats to the dreaded "center aisles" of processed, refined & frozen foods - concluding with special sections such as supplements, prepared meals & the bakery.
She's by no means a food purist, but she definitely scoffs at the way the food industry is marketing junk foods as something healthy (e.g. flavored yogurts sugared up the wazoo, highly-sugared cereals and breakfast bars, soy-based products as a panacea for all sorts of ailments,) the lobbying for dubious health claims, not putting stuff on labels, increasing portion sizes to way beyond sensible, and of course, their way of passing the buck by continually insisting that it's the consumer's personal choices that are making them unhealthy and that no foods are really bad. Yes, I know a good deal of responsibility about our bodies lies with us, but her point is that they act as if their billions of marketing/ad/
pr/product placement/incentive campaigns have nothing to do with it.
It also contains consumer-savvy advice about what to look for in food (nutrition & ingredient labels), what exactly is a portion, and how to side-step marketing lures to buy junk ("stay away from center aisles!"). Not particularly geared towards any type of diet, but she favors whole foods & a reasonable caloric intake and a general balance/moderation for everything else
In other words: great food common sense about what to eat!
Marion Nestle's "What to Eat?" - great read
