NUTRITION

The first of three new manuals from the Preventive Medicine Institute/Strang Clinic reviewed here, this will be welcomed by those overwhelmed by the plethora of information now available on food and diet; it provides a simple program for assessing one's own nutritional knowledge and diet, and then improving on it. The audience is carefully limited to the average American adult (i.e., not children, pregnant or lactating women, or people who need special diets); but the initial medical self-assessment could be used to identify any nutritionally related medical problems (high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure). Succeeding sections focus on the major areas of concern: calories, carbohydrates, fats, protein, sodium, and vitamins and minerals. Each of these begins with further self-assessment questions that indicate where diet can be improved (yes, there are blanks to fill in); guidelines follow for making those changes. A final section offers all-encompassing information on selecting and preparing food, and the extensive appendix includes calorie and additive charts, and menu plans. But the main attraction here (and throughout the series so far) is that a great mass of confusing material has been converted into a solid, basic self-help program.