General Nutrition

I want to ask you about avocados. How bad are they? Aren't vegetables in general good for you? Avocados are a great food and one of my favorites! One-half an avocado contains about 15 grams of fat (10 grams monounsaturated, 1.8 poly and 2.2 saturated fat). This size serving contains more than 10% vitamin A,...

Thanks a lot. I was just wondering because if I go to like GNC and they have vitamins and stuff that are supposed to increase metabolism. So I was just curious is as to whether or not they are at all effective. Forget supplements unless you eat less than 1200 calories a day, then take...

I know that whole wheat bread is better than white bread. What about cooked cereal? Isn't it better than cold cereal? It depends on which cold and which cooked cereal you are comparing. I recommend any cereal that is not sugarcoated but is enriched with iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. These nutrients are usually lost...

Fish, pork, chicken, and beef - can you give me some advice on what amount (quantity) I should consume of these in a week. Also, I've had some people tell me to stay away from pork, but I thought that pork had less fat than beef did? General recommendations are to eat lean red (beef or...

I have a friend who constantly craves sugar even after she has eaten her regular meals. She craves ice cream and cookies (anything with sugar in it throughout the day). Is she lacking something in her diet? If so what is it? This person has a high metabolism. She works out a couple of hours...

I found your address on the dietitian's web page. I recently discovered jicima and absolutely love it chopped up raw as a snack during the day. I'm trying to find out what its nutritional qualities are and am coming up short. Could you tell me any resources where I can find what vitamins and minerals...

Which is the best bread to buy? Is dark bread better? The best bread depends on your personal taste. Whole wheat bread and enriched white bread have similar nutritional analyses. Bread is a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. However, whole wheat bread does provide significantly more fiber and iron. Read the bread label. I...

What does a diet mean? Is a diet important for a person? A person's diet is the food and beverages that you eat. It does not necessarily mean weight loss.

Can food be justified and rationalized to only what you need to sustain life? There is an expression - do you eat to live or live to eat?  That defines your dilemma. Yes, food can be just enough to sustain life as long as a person ate enough calories to sustain a healthy weight and ate...

I meant to mention that if there is a book that I could buy telling the nutritional values of various foods, I would be willing to buy it. If there were one that you recommend, I would appreciate your advice. Why don't you look at Edmund's Food Ratings For Dieters that I wrote? Basically, it...