The Vitamin Book

This consumer guide to supplements is comprehensive, objective, and jam-packed with helpful descriptions and tables on vitamins, minerals, and herbal remedies. The authors have synthesized the research in scientific journals, presenting it in a concise and digestible manner. The entries explain Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) tables, Daily Value (DV) charts, and the newer Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) tables. They also explain how to read food labels, and cover special issues such as pregnancy, seniors, and the young, with sections on antioxidants and on specific diseases. The central part of the book is a vitamin-by-vitamin profile, followed by one for minerals and one for herbal medicines. Each profile contains information on function, requirements, deficiencies, food sources, toxicity, and unsubstantiated claims. Most helpfully, consumers can look up a product by its brand name. The appendix includes tables of vitamins in food, along with an extensive bibliography. While the sources and delivery of this material are from a scientific viewpoint, the presentation is clear, providing a solid education on the topic. THE VITAMIN BOOK is a helpful reference that can be returned to again and again. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.