Eat, Drink and Be Healthy Review

Twenty-five years ago the popular press began spreading the word that eggs were unhealthy. Serious nutrition researchers were appalled, since there was no clear evidence to support this claim and others like it. They set up several large-scale studies following the diets of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, then correlated the subjects' food habits with their health over time. As the decades passed, the researchers amassed a huge amount of in-the-trenches knowledge. Now that knowledge has been summarized in Dr. Walter Willett's book, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy.

This book is my new all-time favorite for its strong structure, impeccable research, compelling information, and simple readability. The book starts with an interesting explanation of the types of studies carried out by nutrition researchers. Willett explains why different studies create such a mass of conflicting directives, and how to be an educated judge of new studies or media articles. He also savages that bedrock device of US nutrition information, the USDA food pyramid, exposing its endless flaws and revealing that, in his studies, those who followed its dictates were not generally healthier than others.

Then Willett plunges into the core of his message, running through—in descending order—the eight most important things we can do to safeguard our health. Each of the eight topics has its own chapter, laying out Willett's points then backing them up with copious examples from long-term studies. The eight points are:

1. Exercise daily and maintain a healthy weight
2. Eat good fats; avoid bad fats
3. Eat whole grains and foods with a low glycemic index
4. Choose a healthy mix of (largely plant) proteins
5. Eat copious amounts of fruits and vegetables
6. Drink plenty of liquid—and a little alcohol
7. Nurture your bones—but be wary of dairy
8. Take a multivitamin for insurance

There are no surprises here; we've heard most of these points before (except, perhaps, for Willett's new doubts on dairy). But Willett makes these topics more compelling by arranging them in priority order and telling us, "If you can do only one, do the first. Only two, do the first and second..." and so on. Suddenly, the swirl of conflicting nutrition information has a strong hierarchy, backed up by thorough research and relayed in an engaging style.

Dr. Willett summarizes his views on healthy diet with a new food pyramid of his own device. (Check it out at the website of the Harvard School of Public Health ) The information in this new pyramid is sound, but its graphic representation may be confusing. Willett puts exercise and weight maintenance at the base, with whole grains and healthy fats taking up the next broad swath of the pyramid. At first glance you might say, "Whoa! I'm supposed to eat just as much good fat as I am good grains?" But it must be clarified that Willett is not talking volume—he only means to drive home that good fats should be a top priority for a healthy body. So think PRIORITY, not volume, as you study Dr. Willett's new pyramid.

Eat, Drink and Be Healthy finishes off with about fifty recipes and a set of weekly menus that illustrate Willett's approach to good eating. All the recipes I've tried so far were huge winners with my family, especially the Chicken Enchilada Casserole and the Pad Thai Style Fried Rice. The recipes may seem complex at first glance, but the long ingredient lists are often made so by judicious combinations of spices and seasonings, not by obscure foods or components requiring tedious preparation.

Buy this book. Read it today. It's a voice of reason, drowning out the competing clamor of nutrition noise in the media.

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Review © 2002 Cynthia Harriman.
All nutritional information on this website is as accurate as current research allows—though complex issues are often simplified to make important points clear. GoodFoodBooks.com humbly invites all professionals to email us with their ideas for improving the accuracy of our information while still leaving it clear enough to help normal people.