This is a Haynes Manual. That will mean nothing to you if you have never owned an old car. Haynes will probably not ring bells if you have only taken your car to the service garage for a regular check. Haynes is THE word in auto manuals and now they are branching out to give advice on human insides and maintenance.
The author, Carina Norris isn’t a car mechanic but she is a registered nutritionalist, author of books on nutrition and health and contributor to radio, TV and newspapers. Carina introduces you to the nuts and bolts of a healthy diet and body fuel!
The Food Manual is a colourful, bright and attractive volume. Nutrition and health books are so often a struggle to understand. They tend to assume you know something about the subject and the advice is sometimes so off-putting that is encourages you to give up on a new life-style before you have even started. I found The Food Manual to be a commonsense guide with lots of information that is presented in an accessible fashion.
Carina not only directs us to healthy foods but talks about the food nasties. There are chapters devoted to particular age groups and their specific nutritional needs. As we age our bodies require more or less of those foods that we have become accustomed to. It’s good to know you can help yourself by changing your diet to counteract some of those less pleasant aspects of the passage of time.
Weight is always a weighty subject but The Food Manual gives hope to those of us who fear a life built around a close relationship with bathroom scales and elastic waist-bands. There are tips that will help when you just MUST have that meal at the Calcutta Curry House or Sorrento Bar and Grill. There are healthy options when eating out and you just need to know what they are to be able to spend a guilt-free evening.
The Food Manual is more impressive than I expected it to be. It’s easily read and understood and you’ll feel supported rather than patronised.
The Food Manual
Author: Carina Norris
Published by: Haynes
Price: £18.99
ISBN 978 1 84425 512 2
Nutrition, Health and Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker © 2018