Understanding Nutrition

Sharon Rady Rolfes received her MS in nutrition and food science from Florida State University. She is a founding member of Nutrition and Health Associates, an information resource center that maintains a research database on more than 1,000 nutrition-related topics. She has taught at Florida State University and coauthored several college nutrition textbooks, including UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION, and UNDERSTANDING NORMAL AND CLINICAL NUTRITION. In addition to writing, she serves as a consultant for various educational projects. Her volunteer work includes delivering food to the hungry and homeless in her community. She maintains her registration as a dietitian nutritionist and her membership in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Ellie Whitney grew up in New York City and received her B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English and Biology at Harvard and Washington Universities. She taught at both Florida State University and Florida A&M University, wrote numerous newspaper columns on environmental matters for the Tallahassee Democrat, and coauthored almost a dozen college textbooks on nutrition, health, and related topics, many of which repeatedly reappear as new editions. She spent three decades exploring outdoor Florida and studying its ecology, and then co-wrote PRICELESS FLORIDA: NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS AND NATIVE SPECIES. Now retired, and more concerned about climate change than any other issue, she volunteers full-time for the nonpartisan national nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby.

1. An Overview of Nutrition
Highlight 1: Nutrition Information and Misinformation
2. Planning a Healthy Diet
Highlight 2: Vegetarian Diets
3. Digestion, Absorption and Transport
Highlight 3: Common Digestive Problems
4. The Carbohydrates: Sugars, Starches and Fibers
Highlight 4: Carbs, kCalories and Controversies
5. The Lipids: Triglycerides, Phospholipids and Sterols
Highlight 5: High-Fat Foods -- Friend or Foe?
6. Protein: Amino Acids
Highlight 6: Nutritional Genomics
7. Energy Metabolism
Highlight 7: Alcohol in the Body
8. Energy Balance and Body Composition
Highlight 8: Eating Disorders
9. Weight Management: Overweight, Obesity and Underweight
Highlight 9: The Latest and Greatest Weight-Loss Diet -- Again
10. The Water-Soluble Vitamins: B Vitamins and Vitamin C
Highlight 10: Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
11. The Fat-Soluble Vitamins, A, D, E and K
Highlight 11: Antioxidant Nutrients in Disease Prevention
12. Water and the Major Minerals
Highlight 12: Osteoporosis and Calcium
13. The Trace Minerals
Highlight 13: Phytochemicals and Functional Foods
14. Fitness: Physical Activity, Nutrients and Body Adaptations
Highlight 14: Supplements as Ergogenic Aids
15. Life Cycle Nutrition: Pregnancy and Lactation
Highlight 15: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
16. Life Cycle Nutrition: Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence
Highlight 16: Childhood Obesity and the Early Development of Chronic Diseases
17. Life Cycle Nutrition: Adulthood and the Later Years
Highlight 17: Nutrient-Drug Interactions
18. Diet and Health
Highlight 18: Complementary and Alternative Medicine
19. Consumer Concerns About Foods and Water
Highlight 19: Food Biotechnology
20. Hunger and the Global Environment
Highlight 20: Environmentally Friendly Food Choices