The first and most important way to benefit from this book is to familiarize yourself with the World’s Healthiest Foods. On page 21, you will find the Nutrient-Richness Chart, which presents a list of the foods in order of their nutrient-richness, a reflection of their nutritional value in relation to their caloric content. Nutrient-richness is the primary criteria I used in the selection of the World’s Healthiest Foods because their concentration of nutrients is your assurance that the foods you eat will provide you with the foundation of optimal health. (For more on nutrient-richness, see pages 24 and 805.)
Beginning on page 11, you will find a list of over 500 delicious Mediterranean-style recipes that will help you include the World’s Healthiest Foods in your “Healthiest Way of Eating.” Rather than one chapter dedicated to recipes, you will find the recipes—including “Flavor Tips” and “Quick Serving Ideas”—featuring specific World’s Healthiest Foods in each of the individual food chapters along with color photographs. If you want to learn more about the “Healthiest Way of Cooking” the World’s Healthiest Foods, see page 45.
The “Healthiest Way of Eating” Plan on page 29 is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you to jumpstart your “Healthiest Way of Eating.” It takes the guesswork out of how to begin incorporating the World’s Healthiest Foods into your lifestyle by providing you with four weeks’ worth of menus. After four weeks on the Plan, you’re likely to feel the benefits of enhanced vitality and wellness. It is also a healthy way to lose weight that works, if that is your goal. The Plan and the World’s Healthiest Foods are great ways to boost your immune system, fight free radicals, curtail inflammation and support a healthy heart.
If you want information about how to select the safest and most environmentally-sustainable fish and shellfish, see the Fish & Shellfish Guide on page 457. It provides information on the sustainability rating, omega-3 fatty acid content and mercury level of many different varieties of seafood.
Because we all have different needs when it comes to health, the section on Biochemical Individuality, starting on page 717, will provide you with information on compounds such as oxalates, purines and sulfites, that may be difficult for some individuals to tolerate. Also included in this section is information on food allergies and intolerances.
If you are looking for the foods that are the most concentrated source of specific nutrients (such as calcium, iron and B vitamins) that you need for optimal health, the charts found in each of the individual Health-Promoting Nutrient chapters, starting on page 733, will help you determine which foods are the best for you. These chapters also include an extensive review of information relating to each nutrient including how it promotes health, deficiency causes and symptoms, public health recommendations and more. Information about what nutrients we need and why we need them can be found on page 71 in the section on Eating for Healthier Cells.
For information about Healing with the World’s Healthiest Foods, see page 807.
On page 821, you will find information about the Food Sensitivity Elimination Plan. I believe every person should read this section because people often do not realize that the food they eat can be the source of many of their everyday health concerns.
To make it even easier for you to select the World’s Healthiest Foods, I have included a Shopping List on page 879 and 880 that you can copy and use when you go to the market.
You will also find Q+As throughout the book. These are answers to questions submitted by readers of the whfoods.org website. I’ve included them since they may help to answer questions that you have about food, nutrition and healthy cooking. A list of Questions of Interest can be found on page 17.
I have organized this book so that it is very easy to use. My recommendation for the best way to benefit from this book is to start by reading about five or six of your favorite foods. This will familiarize you with how the chapters are organized and what is covered in each of the food chapters. You can use this as a reference book. The World’s Healthiest Foods chapters start on page 83. Enjoy!