What to Eat | 
| Author: Marion Nestle
Publisher: North Point Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $3.99
You Save: $12.01 (75%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 6704
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0865477388
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.2
EAN: 9780865477384
ASIN: 0865477388
Publication Date: April 17, 2007
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Condition: GREAT Bargain Book Deal - like new, some may have small remainder mark - Ships out by NEXT Business Day - Over ONE MILLION Amazon orders filled - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
How do we choose what to eat? Buffeted by health claims--should we, for example, restrict our intake of carbs or fats or both? Is organic food better for us?--we become confused and tune out. In supermarkets we buy semi-consciously, unaware that our choices are carefully orchestrated by sophisticated marketing strategies concerned only with the bottom line. That we should confront such persuasion is the major point made by nutritionist-consumer advocate Marion Nestle in her extraordinary What to Eat, an aisle-by-aisle guide to supermarket buying and thus an anatomy of American food business. "The way food is situated in today's society discourages healthful food choices," Nestle tells us, a fact that finds literal representation in our supermarkets, where food placement--dependant on "slotting fees," guaranteed advertising and other incentives--determines every purchase we make. Nestle walks readers through every supermarket section--produce, meat, fish, dairy, packaged foods, bottled waters, and more--decoding labels and clarifying nutritional and other claims (in supermarket-speak, for example, "fresh" means most likely to spoil first, not recently picked or prepared), and in so doing explores issues like the effects of food production on our environment, the way pricing works, and additives and their effect on nutrition. What Nestle reveals is both discouraging and empowering. Through ubiquitous advertising, almost universal food availability, the growth of portion size, and unchecked marketing to kids, we're encouraged to eat more than we need, with consequent negative impact on our health. Knowledge is indeed power, and Nestle's lively, witty, and thoroughly enlightening book--the work, readers quickly see, of a food lover intent on increasing sensual satisfaction at table as well as promoting health--will help its readers become completely cognizant about food shopping. It's a must for anyone who eats and buys food and wants to do both better.--Arthur Boehm
Product Description
Since its publication in hardcover last year, Marion Nestle’s What to Eat has become the definitive guide to making healthy and informed choices about food. Praised as “radiant with maxims to live by” in The New York Times Book Review and “accessible, reliable and comprehensive” in The Washington Post, What to Eat is an indispensable resource, packed with important information and useful advice from the acclaimed nutritionist who “has become to the food industry what . . . Ralph Nader [was] to the automobile industry” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
How we choose which foods to eat is growing more complicated by the day, and the straightforward, practical approach of What to Eat has been praised as welcome relief. As Nestle takes us through each supermarket section—produce, dairy, meat, fish—she explains the issues, cutting through foodie jargon and complicated nutrition labels, and debunking the misleading health claims made by big food companies. With Nestle as our guide, we are shown how to make wise food choices—and are inspired to eat sensibly and nutritiously.
Now in paperback, What to Eat is already a classic—“the perfect guidebook to help navigate through the confusion of which foods are good for us” (USA Today).
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 This book has a split personality ... July 11, 2008
This is really two books that would have been better separated. The author takes us through a supermarket, showing us what to look for on the shelves and what various labeling means. Much of this information is very interesting (she has one of the clearest explanations of what a calorie is that I've ever read; she explains how mercury in fish becomes so toxic to humans). Unfortunately, even though the book is only two years old time has not been kind in other areas. She advises us that after going through a processing plant she has fewer concerns about pre-packaged salads and vegetables (oops!) and she still subscribes to the mostly-debunked link between dietary fat and heart disease (recommending nonfat milk [shudder]).
However, commingled with the useful information are rants about how politics have corrupted our food supply. Again, some of this is very interesting (for instance, due to the efforts of the sugar trade association, in the U.S. getting 25% of our calories from added sugars is considered okay; most other countries cap it at 10%). However, this information isn't helpful as you're wandering the supermarket; it belongs in a separate book and in fact can be found in her book Food Politics. That's where it should be, and removing this would have made the book a much more manageable length.
 A must have for your nutritional library July 9, 2008
At last, an easy to read, comprehensive book that explains the ins and outs of the food industry. The author delivers the information without any kind of prejudice, just facts. Food is big business, and your health is not a priority to these companies; they vie for premium shelf space to appeal to you and your children, are allowed to misrepresent nutritional value in their products in the hopes of fooling you into buying it, and answers all those little questions that go around in your mind as you shop, wondering what's healthy and what's not. This book is for everyone who cares about what goes into their bodies , and having read it, you can enter any grocery store with confidence and know exactly what to buy and what to avoid.
"Eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, go easy on junk foods." February 9, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Marion Nestle's What to Eat is a scientific examination of the health claims that food manufacturers and marketers use to move products. Organized by supermarket aisle, the book covers every food product in the produce, diary, meat, fish, frozen, processed, baby and specialty food aisles. Nestle helps the reader decipher both nutrition labels and marketing claims such as `certified organic,' `fair trade,' and `American Heart Association certified.' She exposes the food industry's role in our national nutrition and food policy and roots out the truth the sound bite headlines for scientific studies on diet.
What to Eat serves up 600 pages of indispensable advice, but the author is also willing to sum it up quickly: "Eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, go easy on junk foods."
A Great Food Guide December 28, 2007
This book was informative and organized very well. I was impressed with how the author gave real examples of what she was able to find in grocery stores in her area. She gives the real facts on what terms like organic food, vegetarian fed hens, grass fed vs. grass finished, and sustainably farmed really mean. She's not preachy, either. In fact, she understands that many people can't afford to always buy organic. Her information on choosing fish was particularly helpful to me. If you read and liked "The Omnivore's Dilemma," you will probably like this book, although is more informational and has no background story.
All I have ever wanted! November 25, 2007
This is the book I have always wanted. The modern day guide to food that we all need -- I have friends that are nutritionists and scholars in the field and these are all the questions answered that I have been picking their brains about. Marion Nestle is honest and personal without being judgemental -- great information presented and an easy to read style. I love this book and have recommended it to many.
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