Eat Betta Live Better

INTRODUCTION

Most people tend to think of healthy eating as a minefield of do's and don'ts, but Eat Better Live Better shows how food should be seen as something to be enjoyed as well as being good for you. Good health depends on what people eat and how much exercise they take. Using this book, you can get the balance right for you and your family

The British Diet

There are many good things about the typical diet people eat in Britain, malnutrition for example is extremely rare, but unfortunately the British diet also has its problems. Because we eat so many fatty foods, this country has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world - ten times the rate in Japan. In Britain, more people die from heart disease than from cancer, strokes and all accidents put together.

There has recently been a massive amount of research into diet and food safety. Eat Better Live Better gives a clear, up-to-date view on the real dangers - based on fact, not on alarmist claims and quirky theories. A clear message has emerged from all the confusion of what is, and is not, good for you - the best diet is a varied and well-balanced one. Very few foods are bad for you if they are eaten in moderation. It is perfectly all right to eat a bar of chocolate or have an extra roast potato, as long as your diet is balanced from day to day.

Recipes for Health

Most of this book is made up of over 300 delicious recipes specially created for Eat Better Live Better. All of them are written in easy-to-follow stages and are photographed in full colour. They cater for every occasion. Some can be made in five minutes, while more sophisticated dishes will impress your family and friends. There are many exciting new recipes to encourage a varied diet, and also traditional favourites made with all the flavour but with much less fat, cholesterol and sugar.

Apart from the recipes, there are four other sections in the book. The first section, Buying and Cooking for Health, gives advice on what to look for in shops and what to avoid, Confusing terms on food labels are explained and useful tips are given on how valuable nutrients can be kept in food when cooking or storing it.

Food and How to Enjoy It

After the recipes, Food and Our Bodies describes in simple language what the basic building blocks of food are and then goes on to tell the fascinating story of how food is converted to energy or to living tissue like skin, bone and muscle. There is also a large reference section giving basic nutritional information and handy tips on a wide range of food and drink. Eating and Exercise for a Healthy Life provides practical advice on living and eating sensibly. Food scares are put firmly into perspective, and you can check to see if you and your family have a balanced diet. You can read about how our diet affects the way we look and how well we sleep. Exercise is an important part of feeling healthy. There are simple exercises, designed specially for this book, which need no special equipment and are suitable for all ages.

Diets for Special Needs

The final section, Special Diets for Special Needs, is written for those with particular dietary requirements. These might include people who want to lose weight, vegetarians, diabetics and people who suffer from allergies or heart disease. There are dozens of delicious recipes for people with any of these special needs.

There is no magic diet to make excess weight fall off and there is no secret formula to prevent illness. But by eating sensibly and taking regular exercise, you will feel better, have more energy, be less prone to illness and be ready to enjoy life to the full. With this book you can choose to eat better live better, and maybe live longer too.