A Whole Foods Primer , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - Beatrice Trum Hunter

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

109 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

A Whole Foods Primer describes the special characteristics that consumers should seek when shopping so they can identify the peak of nutritional flavor and value in whole foods. It, also, provides instruction on the best cooking techniques and storage conditions to help minimize nutritional losses and the best methods to preserve fresh foods for future use. Useful tips and suggestions to increase the consumption of whole foods easily and to encourage experimentation with unfamiliar ones are included, as are practical resources for recipes and cookbooks.

Sujets

Santé et bien-être

Diététique

diététique

Nutrition

Fitness

Health

Diet

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 janvier 2007
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781591205685
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0798€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A W HOLE F OODS P RIMER
A Comprehensive, Instructive, and Enlightening Guide to the World of Whole Foods
B EATRICE T RUM H UNTER
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
28812 Top of the World Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-715-7327 • www.basichealthpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hunter, Beatrice Trum.
A whole foods primer : a comprehensive, instructive, and enlightening guide to the world of whole foods / Beatrice Trum Hunter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59120-568-5
ISBN-10: 1-59120-086-5
1. Natural foods. I. Title.
TX369.H84 2006
641.3 02—dc22
2006007775
Copyright © 2006 by Beatrice Trum Hunter
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Cheryl Hirsch
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction: A “Whole Food” Defined
1. A Cornucopia of Vegetables
2. Succulent Fruits
3. Wholesome Whole Grains
4. Nutrient-Dense Nuts and Seeds
5. Quality Counts with Protein Foods
Conclusion: Moving Forward with a Whole Foods Diet
Selected References
About the Author
Dedicated to Thomas S. Cowan, M.D., with homage .
I NTRODUCTION
A “Whole Food” Defined
W hole foods are recognized readily: cabbage, celery, carrot, and potato; apple, orange, strawberry, and watermelon; brown rice, barley, whole wheat berry, and rye berry; almond, pecan, pistachio, and walnut; sunflower seed, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, and flaxseed; egg, chicken, trout, yogurt, cheddar cheese, liver, lamb roast, beef steak, and pork chop. These are examples of foods that have been familiar to humans throughout the centuries.
Frequently, a “whole food” has been described as a food to which “nothing has been added, and nothing has been taken away.” The concept is clear: “Nothing has been added” assures that the common practice of using chemical additives, such as preservatives, texturizers, stabilizers, and other substances, has not been employed. Many of these additives are used primarily to suit the technical needs of food processors; they do not necessarily benefit consumers, and some may be harmful to health. “Nothing has been taken away” assures that the common practice of refining food, resulting in a loss of nutrients, has not been employed. In any refining process, such as the conversion of whole-wheat grain into white flour, many nutrients are lost or depleted.
Yet, this definition may be simplistic. For example, a yogurt manufacturer may produce an unflavored yogurt made from organically produced whole milk, and choose to add several beneficial strains of bacteria in addition to the Acidophilus bulgaricus that converts the milk into yogurt. The additional strains of bacteria are unnecessary to produce the yogurt, but they provide additional benefits in the intestinal tracts of consumers. Such an addition does not fit into the definition of a whole food with nothing added.
Nor is the phrase “nothing has been taken away” always applicable. For example, if we choose to eat chicken, we may opt to eat the skin along with the flesh and organs, but surely we discard the feathers and bones. We may choose to eat a roast or a steak from a steer, but we do not consume its hide or its hair. Similarly, we discard the exterior of a pineapple, the core of an apple, the skin of an avocado, and the shell of a peanut. In this sense, we are not choosing to eat a food “whole.” We exclude certain parts of foods that we regard as nonedible. Perhaps a more nuanced definition of a whole food is a food that is minimally processed.
With the industrialization of food, whole foods came to be regarded merely as raw materials for further processing and refinement. Processed foods, which have longer shelf lives, were more convenient and profitable than foods in their original whole state.
The movement began in 1874, with the invention of the steel-rolling mill that replaced the stone-grinding mill for grains. The steel-rolling mill allowed for large-scale milling and speedier grinding of grain into flour. The wheat berry was partitioned. The perishable wheat germ was removed from the flour to bestow longer life to the flour. The wheat germ—the embryo of the wheat berry—could be sold profitably. The bran—the outer coat of the grain—was removed from the flour, and sold as animal feed. Other fractions were also removed and sold as byproducts. The remaining white flour—the impoverished portion of the wheat berry—did not turn rancid readily and was used in bakery products for human consumption. Partitioning the wheat berry was practical and profitable.
Later, it became far more profitable to sell potatoes as potato chips than as a whole food for boiling or baking. Similarly, it became far more profitable to sell corn as cornflakes than as a whole food of corn on the cob. Similar fractioning of food has occurred throughout all the basic food groups.
The partitioning of food has gone on apace, and stores are now flooded with partitioned food products. They are convenient, have long shelf lives, and are profitable. Unfortunately, the partitioning must be viewed as a health hazard. It lowers important nutritional offerings and destroys vital nutrient relationships. This book will demonstrate, repeatedly, the wisdom of selecting whole foods for optimal intake of nutrients that are vital to good health.
Belatedly, the importance of whole foods is gradually receiving some attention in governmental policy. The United States government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans made two pertinent revisions: One, Americans should increase their consumption of whole grains; and two, Americans should consume more whole fruits rather than fruit juices. These modest recommendations represent a token recognition of the values of consuming whole foods.
C HAPTER 1
A Cornucopia of Vegetables
Eat your veggies!
—S AGE ADVICE FROM EVERY CAREGIVER TO EVERY CHILD
N utritionists tell us that it is wise to eat a wide variety of foods, every day. By doing so we have a good opportunity to obtain all the nutrients our bodies need to maintain health.
In all parts of the United States, we are blessed with a great assortment of vegetables from which to choose throughout the year. Regrettably, many Americans eat too few vegetables and limit their selection to only a few, such as white potatoes, tomatoes, and iceberg lettuce. Unfortunately, the white potato, which is consumed the most, is not apt to be eaten baked or boiled, but rather in less desirable forms as French fries and potato chips.
BEYOND NUTRIENTS: PHYTOCHEMICALS
For many years, nutritional researchers were in pursuit of basic nutrients in foods, including vegetables. They identified proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals. They assumed that they had discovered all that needed to be known to achieve an optimal diet. However, they began to find and identify other substances in foods that, like nutrients, could exert profound beneficial effects on health. These substances were phytochemicals (sometimes called phytonutrients). The name “phytochemical” is derived from phyto , the Greek word for plant, and is defined as a chemical that is synthesized from plants.
Identifying and understanding phytochemicals is an ongoing project. As more information is gathered, it becomes clearer that eating a variety of whole foods offers many health benefits, not only from nutrients, but from phytochemicals, too. Vegetables are especially rich sources of phytochemicals.
Remember the official 5-A-Day campaign promoted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), encouraging Americans to eat five servings of vegetables and fruits daily? Yet many Americans still fail to meet this modest goal, despite the fact that the National Cancer Institute doubled the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings to ten a day, because of newer, overwhelming findings about the benefits of these foods. Even the meager intake most Americans accomplish is apt to be made from choices that are not especially dense in nutrients or phytochemicals.
During evolution, plants developed the ability to synthesize certain chemicals to help them maintain their growth, as well as to protect them against threats such as damage from sunlight, insects, and diseases. In turn, animals that eat the plants benefit from many of the phytochemicals produced by the plants. The animals are able to maintain their own growth and protect themselves from damage, thanks to the phytochemicals in the plant food.
Certain food phytochemicals have no nutritional value but exert buffering actions, at one or more stages of cancer development. These inhibitory effects of phytochemicals on carcinogenic processes have been demonstrated in several animal models and in some experimental