Most of us eat (or incorporate into our bodies) quite a bit of stuff that does not look, act or function even remotely like us. Unless our food mysteriously disappears inside of us, this must mean we change its molecular structure in some way. In fact, we are constantly modifying our molecules through chemical reactions, which together constitute our Metabolism. At any given moment, we transform (metabolize) millions of molecules within our bodies, building new ones, breaking down others, and exchanging them with the world around us. Metabolism is much more than the reason you gain weight when you overeat, it is a process that is so central for life that it defines what a living being is. We will explore what metabolism is, how these chemical reactions that constitute Metabolism are organized and how they are regulated (including the effects of hormones). We will follow the transformations of each type of nutrient (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) within our bodies and cells, from the mouth, through our intestines and then within the different organs in our body. We will discuss metabolic and evolutionary reasons why so many people today struggle with excessive weight gain, and why some (rarer) people find it hard to gain weight, even when eating large amounts. We will also discuss changes in metabolism with diseases such as diabetes and heart attack, as well as conditions such as exercise and aging.

Provides a simple introduction to how the digestive system works.

This is a fun and engaging story about the creatures in a rain forest, which are stirred into action when they see a tourist coach approaching the park. They seek a good meal and see an opportunity to get one. When they realize their meal is on the way, they have to get ready and fine-tune their sneaky plans. The good planning leads to a good result for the animals but a bad one for the campers. This is a fun story and a great read.

Results from the National Research Council's (NRC) landmark study Diet and health are readily accessible to nonscientists in this friendly, easy-to-read guide. Readers will find the heart of the book in the first chapter: the Food and Nutrition Board's nine-point dietary plan to reduce the risk of diet-related chronic illness. The nine points are presented as sensible guidelines that are easy to follow on a daily basis, without complicated measuring or calculatingâ€"and without sacrificing favorite foods. Eat for Life gives practical recommendations on foods to eat and in a "how-to" section provides tips on shopping (how to read food labels), cooking (how to turn a high-fat dish into a low-fat one), and eating out (how to read a menu with nutrition in mind). The volume explains what protein, fiber, cholesterol, and fats are and what foods contain them, and tells readers how to reduce their risk of chronic disease by modifying the types of food they eat. Each chronic disease is clearly defined, with information provided on its prevalence in the United States. Written for everyone concerned about how they can influence their health by what they eat, Eat for Life offers potentially lifesaving information in an understandable and persuasive way. Alternative Selection, Quality Paperback Book Club

Power Food On the Go offers power foodies 49 quick, easy and portable recipes from cooking superstar Rens Kroes for healthy (and busy) lifestyles.

Today's culture has distorted the way we women view our bodies. We are hyper-critical, obsessed with weight loss, and distracted by the countless advertisements we see to eat, exercise, and dress differently. But God does not call you to be thinner or to follow a perfectly clean diet plan. Rather, God longs for you to embrace your body, eat with freedom, and live with a deep sense of confidence that you (and your body) are loved exactly as you are. In Fulfilled, nutrition expert Alexandra MacKillop explores physical, mental, and spiritual health through a non-diet lens, encouraging you to respect your body, honor your hunger, and embrace the unique size and shape that God created for you. Fulfilled provides tangible steps toward changing your beliefs about food and your body. After examining the ways dieting harms a person's physical and spiritual health, the book lays out a more intuitive framework for eating that emphasizes mindfulness, satisfaction, and surrender. As you learn to embrace your body, you'll be set free from the fear of losing control. As you grow in your understanding of God's love for you and your natural shape, you'll be released from the shame of not conforming to a certain physical type. As you develop your knowledge of intuitive eating, you'll realize that you can love and eat foods of all types. With Alexandra as your guide, you'll learn how to enjoy food without sabotaging your fitness goals, honor the unique body God created for you, and live out a life of love and freedom--all under the umbrella of grace.

We've all been there-angry with ourselves for overeating, for our lack of willpower, for failing at yet another diet that was supposed to be the last one. But the problem is not you, it's that dieting, with its emphasis on rules and regulations, has stopped you from listening to your body. Written by two prominent nutritionists, Intuitive Eating focuses on nurturing your body rather than starving it, encourages natural weight loss, and helps you find the weight you were meant to be. Learn: *How to reject diet mentality forever *How our three Eating Personalities define our eating difficulties *How to feel your feelings without using food *How to honor hunger and feel fullness *How to follow the ten principles of Intuitive Eating, step-by-step *How to achieve a new and safe relationship with food and, ultimately, your body With much more compassionate, thoughtful advice on satisfying, healthy living, this newly revised edition also includes a chapter on how the Intuitive Eating philosophy can be a safe and effective model on the path to recovery from an eating disorder.

A rollicking exploration of the history and future of our favorite foods When we humans love foods, we love them a lot. In fact, we have often eaten them into extinction, whether it is the megafauna of the Paleolithic world or the passenger pigeon of the last century. In Lost Feast, food expert Lenore Newman sets out to look at the history of the foods we have loved to death and what that means for the culinary paths we choose for the future. Whether it’s chasing down the luscious butter of local Icelandic cattle or looking at the impacts of modern industrialized agriculture on the range of food varieties we can put in our shopping carts, Newman’s bright, intelligent gaze finds insight and humor at every turn. Bracketing the chapters that look at the history of our relationship to specific foods, Lenore enlists her ecologist friend and fellow cook, Dan, in a series of “extinction dinners” designed to recreate meals of the past or to illustrate how we might be eating in the future. Part culinary romp, part environmental wake-up call, Lost Feast makes a critical contribution to our understanding of food security today. You will never look at what’s on your plate in quite the same way again.

Due to its centrality in human activities, food is a meaningful object that necessarily participates in any cultural, social and ideological construction and its qualification as 'traditional' is a politically laden value. This book demonstrates that traditionality as attributed to foods goes beyond the notions of heritage and authenticity under which it is commonly formulated. Through a series of case studies from a global range of cultural and geographical areas, the book explores a variety of contexts to reveal the complexity behind the attribution of the term 'traditional' to food. In particular, the volume demonstrates that the definitions put forward by programmes such as TRUEFOOD and EuroFIR (and subsequently adopted by organisations including FAO), which have analysed the perception of traditional foods by individuals, do not adequately reflect this complexity. The concept of tradition being deeply ingrained culturally, socially, politically and ideologically, traditional foods resist any single definition. Chapters analyse the processes of valorisation, instrumentalisation and reinvention at stake in the construction and representation of a food as traditional. Overall the book offers fresh perspectives on topics including definition and regulation, nationalism and identity, and health and nutrition, and will be of interest to students and researchers of many disciplines including anthropology, sociology, politics and cultural studies.