Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More

Author: Joanna Lynn (as vetted by Sheila Bicknell, Nutrionist-Dietitian)

Illustrator: Valerie Maynard

ISBN: 142511143-2

Anyone looking to gain a basic knowledge about food will be well nourished by Joanna Lynn’s Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More. Lynn informs us at the onset of her handbook that as a result of the curiosity shown by her niece, nephews and daughter about food and its importance, she was determined to garner information from the Internet and put together a handbook that would be accessible to all of us. This book is the first in a series of handbooks that is dedicated to the fuss about food.

Most of us will appreciate Lynn’s thorough, yet accessible, research as she enlightens us about key terms as nutrition, dietitian, calories, proteins, carbohydrates, probiotics, fibre, fats, water, vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, antioxidants, blood pressure, red and white blood cells, hormones, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and muscles. Moreover, with her inviting conversational tone and lighthearted approach she zeros in on her topics in such a way that she hits upon exactly the right combination of detail and nuts-and-bolts facts. And while not everyone can be a health or food scientist, most of us have enough curiosity and intellectual capability to easily grasp the informative material presented by Lynn in Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More.

Did you know that some bacteria could be friendly? There are millions of bacteria that live naturally in our digestive tract and a majority of these even protect us against different types of disease provided we have a proper balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria.

As Lynn points out and succinctly clarifies, there are certain foods that are a source of beneficial bacteria and these are call probiotics. Even though we all have probiotics in our digestive tract, sometimes due to stress, diet and medication we may not have enough to maintain proper health. According to Lynn, researchers are now reporting that probiotic food such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria that can help us with irritable bowel syndrome, urinary tract infections and yeast infections.

How many times have we purchased a bottle of vitamins and minerals, looked at the label describing its contents and still don’t have the foggiest notion as to what they are and what effect they have on your body? Lynn has now come to our rescue with her scoop on vitamins and minerals.We are informed that there are two kinds of vitamins, water soluble that our bodies absorb and get rid of through body water and the fat soluble that are bodies store after we absorb them through our body fat. From this starting point, Lynn lists the fat soluble vitamins with brief descriptions, namely vitamins A, D, E, and K. As for the water soluble, we are informed about vitamins C, B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic acid) B6 (Pyroxidine), B7 (Biotin), B12. 

As for minerals Lynn divides them up into macro and micro, the latter comprising calcium,  phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfur and the former comprising iron, copper, zinc, iodine, fluoride, chromium, selenium, manganese, and molybdenum.

Each chapter of Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More is only a few pages long and is accompanied by appropriate illustrations drawn by Valerie Maynard. Sprinkled throughout the handbook are sayings uttered by the famous and not so famous. My favorite is Orson Welles’ dictum: “My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” Lynn also provides a few empty useful pages where readers can write down their thoughts, keep track of their daily activities, jot down questions, and create or collect recipes.

The concluding chapter contains suggested interesting recipes as well as a very extensive list of Internet sites where readers can further their knowledge pertaining to the topics covered in the handbook.

Just a small important note and as Lynn makes it very clear in her opening pages of Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More is that she shares the information contained in the book not as a nutrionist or dietitian, but as a food lover, mother, aunt, consumer, and concerned environmentalist. Furthermore, as health professionals are an important ingredient in the “food mix,” the information contained in the handbook may prove to be very helpful in asking the right questions during a consultation. We are also counseled to seek out the help of a health professional before making any sudden changes to our diet or mixing herbal medicines and prescriptions that could pose health risks.

To read Norm's Interview with Joanna Lynn CLICK HERE

The above review was contributed by: The Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, Norm Goldman, B.A. LL.L, Retired Title Attorney: Norm is also a travel writer and together with his artist wife, Lily, the couple meld Norm's words with Lily's art. To check out their travel site click on Sketchandtravel.com   Click here to view Norm’s Reviews & Interviews.

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Let’s Fuss about Food: Part 1: Our Core and More