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Preface

  • Page ID
    56091
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    Nutrition science has grown a lot in the 45+ years since the first edition of this book, but some things haven’t really changed. For one, people are still looking for “nutrition magic”—a dietary supplement, perhaps, to boost their immune system, athletic performance, or memory—and there are even more marketers anxious to sell it to them.

    The vast amount of nutrition information, particularly online, is both overwhelming and wonderful. But in the mix, there’s a vast amount of misinformation, making it all the more important for consumers to be armed with the basic realities of nutrition to meet the challenge of separating fact from fiction.

    The first edition was by Ronald Deutsch, who had long been a favorite author of mine—I loved the way he explained complex material clearly and creatively. He knew how to shape and sugar the pill to get it down. In fact, I learned to my surprise that it was used successfully as a college Preface textbook—it certainly was unlike any textbook I ever had! Ronald Deutsch died in 1988, soon after beginning the second edition.

    The first two editions were published by Bull Publishing, whose publications are known to be reliable sources of information, something that can’t be said of many companies that publish books on diet and health. Though David Bull was “simply” the editor and publisher, he became a cherished friend during the three years we worked together. He died soon after the second edition was published in 1993.

    My hope is that these subsequent editions continue what Ronald Deutsch and David Bull did so well—explain basic scientific principles and the fundamentals of nutrition simply and clearly, and keep the focus on what is both informative and interesting to those without a background in science.

    Judi Sakimoto Morrill

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