When did eating become so complicated? "An extraordinary first book for author Joanna Lynn" read the complete review Let's Fuss About Food. Part 1: Our Core and More is the first in a series of books dedicated to the fuss about food. Diet recommendations and food science are best left to the experts, but understanding how food matters is best left to us. This book answers questions about the effects of food on our bodies. To understand the fuss about building muscle, shedding fat, becoming vegetarian, organic foods, and more, we first need to digest the basics. That's what the Let's Fuss about Food series is all about. I share this information as a food lover, consumer, and concerned environmentalist. Now You Can Fuss Too! Excerpt Let's Fuss about Food is for those of us who want to understand how food matters. Food allows us to be healthy, get through the day, look great, and feel fantastic... Today, eating seems so complicated. All I ever heard was how sugar would rot my teeth and spoil my appetite. Well, that and how my parents walked miles to scholl every day, uphill, in bad weather!

Professional Reviews
An extraordinary first book by Jane Gellert Ph.D., psychologist
Let's Fuss about Food is an extraordinary first book for author Joanna Lynn. Written for those who have a general interest in nutrition,
those looking for information which will help them design a workable diet and/or those who would like information which they can share with
adolescents or adults who are struggling with weight issues, the book is user friendly and easily "digestible".

Ms. Lynn is to be congratulated on her heroic success at organizing a massive amount of information in a format which is quite accessible. While written in straight-forward jargon-free language, the book respects the intellectual level of all its readers. Make no mistake, however; it is not an "easy" read. It is meant to be read and pondered in small bites. To this end, Ms. Lynn has organized her book into clear topics and sections and provided the reader with diary pages on which they can record relevant facts and their own reflections on the material.

In fact, the book is so well organized, that it could easily be used as a textbook in high school and university settings. Each topic such as Vitamins, Minerals, Fats, or Carbohydrates is divided into smaller
sections which give the reader an overview, definitions, facts about
how the body uses these nutrients, why we need them and what happens when we don't get enough or get too much and then a small summary of what has been covered. Indeed, I would suggest that it is an educator's dream of how we can best access, learn and use material.

Ms. Lynn has been thorough and yet judicious in her choice of the
information she presents. Knowledgeable readers will find new tidbits that are encouraging and useful. I was delighted to discover that my efforts at walking would indeed reduce that fat which collects around one's tummy more effectively than intense high activity which burns
carbs! All in all, this book provides an experience far greater than its slim size would suggest.

Let's Fuss about Food by Joanna Lynn, Trafford Publishing (2007), ISBN
142511143-2, may be found in local bookstores and on-line at Amazon.com. I recommend it to you without reservation, and since this is a review written for an academic community, I would also say that
Ms. Lynn deserves an honorary Ph.D. Certainly this book is the equivalent, if not superior to, most doctoral dissertations. Kudos, Ms. Lynn. I await the next book in the series.

Well nourished by Norm Goldman of Bookpleasures.com
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.

Thumbs up on this one by Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA), Amazon.com
This is a simply written but not "I'm talking DOWN to you' book, part of a series on nutrition for the rest of us. Since nutrition in the US is pretty difficult these days, what with weird additives, on-the-go food that fails to meet the nutritional grade and poor habits for kids, this is a must-read. For one thing, if you are falling into the "my kids will probably only eat MacNuggies" then you should take a look in this book. I know plenty of parents who absolutely won't give in to this noxious habit of feeding kids easy stuff like fries and chickin-donuts, or whatever they are. You can get ideas on what makes nutritious meals and adapt your home and car eating habits accordingly. Especially good for new moms and persons exiting college, you can find just about anything you need to know about fiber, vitamins, foods and basic nutrition. It's a slim book, and maybe that is just what we all need.
Thumbs up on this one.

Reader Reviews for "Lets Fuss about Food. Part 1: Our Core and More"

Reviewed by John Domino	4/24/2009
What's all the fuss about? This is a MUST read!!!!!!!!

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