J. of Nutr. Educ. Vol. 23, No.4

Rowland's book is easy-to-read and has a very comprehensive reference list. If you can get past the author's biased Darwin­ian perspective, you'll enjoy this one!

Karen M. Koehler, EdD., Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Ed­ucation, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383.

CONSUMER Perfectly Pregnant, Smith, P. and C. Coates, 1988. From Carolyn Coates Bestsellers, NCS-615 E. Princeton, #1l5, Orlando, FL 32803, spiral bound, 174 pp., $10.95.

At first glance, the unique format and style of this book, written by a registered dietitian, on the nutritional needs during pregnancy make it an exciting find among the books written on this topic. How­ever, at closer look, Perfectly Pregnant is rather disappointing in content.

This cute, little (5-O/i' X 7-%/1) book is primarily a guide to good nutrition dur­ing pregnancy. The book takes a unique approach to introducing 10 key points re­lated to maintaining optimal nutritional status during pregnancy. These 10 points are listed as "The 10 Commandments for Healthy Eating," and are explained and repeated throughout the text. The book also uses simple language and some good analogies to explain complex nutrition concepts. Unfortunately, some of the analogies and explanations are oversim­plified to the point of being inaccurate. For example, the author provides lists of the ten best and the ten worst foods, but gives only the rationale for foods included on the "worst foods" list. The book also describes a non-dairy whipped topping as a "chemical non-food," states that "washing food down with water dilutes the digestive function and allows fast eat­ing," and claims that "anything that comes from a plant is a carbohydrate." This style may appeal to consumers, since it pre­sents nutrition in a simple, catchy man­ner, but some of the information pre­sented in this way is questionable in its accuracy.

Perfectly Pregnant also is not a com­plete guide to pregnancy, as the title might suggest. The book does include a random selection of common complica­tions that occur during pregnancy and treatment options, as well as information about the need for sleep, exercise, and what to take to the hospital, but the in­formation presented in this segment is very brief. The last sections of the book include a general nutrition guide for eat­ing healthfully at fast food restaurants, and a selection of quick menus and rec­ipes. This information seems rather out of place, and results in a book that lacks cohesiveness.

The book's other flaw is its printing style. Most of it is handprinted, which I found very difficult to read. Although the print is neat and large (approximately 14 point), it is somewhat inconsistent and the words were sometimes too close to­gether. The last sections (fast foods, menus and recipes) were typed.

In summary, I would not recommend this book to the general public. It has useful information, tips and ideas, par­ticularly in the fast food, menu and recipe sections, but includes some inaccuracies. Nutrition professionals may find some of the ideas and recipes useful, but the in­formation should be reviewed before us­ing.

JoAnn Daehler-Miller, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Consultant, 407 Schilling Circle, Forest Lake, MN 55025.

CONSUMER The 50+ Wellness Program, McIlwain, H., L. Steinmeyer, D. Fulghum Bruce, R. Fulghum, and R. Bruce, 1990. From John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158, 316pp., soft­cover, $12.95. ISBN 0-471-50686-9.

Are you 50 or more years old? Do you want to learn about the changes that ac­company aging and how you can prevent certain health problems? Then this is the book for you! The 50 + Wellness Program provides a comprehensive discussion on the changes that accompany aging, health problems, physical symptoms, and finan­cial planning during mature years.

The book is organized int~ three sec­tions. The first section discusses the no­ticeable signs of aging; for example, the changes in skin tone and body compo­sition, and hair loss during aging. It also includes discussions on the prevention and early detection of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, and the need for routine medical examina­tions for the detection of these diseases.

The second section provides a plan for healthful living and briefly covers the di­etary guidelines, exercise, and nutri­tional management recommended to re­duce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and digestive dis-

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eases. This section also includes an in­depth discussion on the interactions be­tween food and medications; for exam­ple, nutrient losses, medications that must be taken with or without food, and diet management of the symtoms caused by medication.

The final section includes a compre­hensive discussion on how to respond to some of the health problems that arise during aging, social support, coping with family stress such as death, financial planning, and retirement. A major strength of this book is that the authors include in the discussions their experi­ences from their varied professions. McIlwain is a physician and gerontolo­gist; Steinmeyer is a registered dietitian; Fulghum Bruce is a marketing consul­tant; Fulghum is a health administrator; and Bruce is a pastoral counselor. A ma­jor weakness is the exclusion of the 1989 RDAs. The publication of the 1980 RDAs is included but only briefly discussed.

The book is an excellent resource for mature adults, as well as those younger than 50 years of age. It is easy-to-read and contains many practical suggestions, including recommendations for follow-up after normal and abnormal blood pres­sure readings, helpful tables listing cor­onary risk factors and nutrient content of foods, and several checklists. Tables are also used to emphasize key points and to provide the reader with important infor­mation.

Charlotte Pratt, PhD., RD., Associ­ate Professor, Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, Virginia Poly­technic Institute and State Univesity, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0430.

PROFESSIONAL Premenstrual Syndrome: A Clinical Manual, Chihal, H., 2nd Ed., 1990; From Essential Medical Information Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 811247, Dallas, TX 75381, 180 pp., softcover, $12.95. ISBN 0-929240-10-3.

The book is a comprehensive overview of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The topic is treated in three sections: etiol­ogy, diagnosis, and therapy. The possible etiology ofPMS, which includes psycho­geniC and social influences, nutrition, and hormonal and neuroendocrine factors is discussed. The review of the literature on these topics is broad and appears to be complete.

A major difficulty when studying PMS is the lack of a standard definition, which results in the lack of a clear diagnosis. The author stresses the importance of de­termining the relation of specific symp­toms ofPMS to the menstrual cycle. Em­phasis is placed on collecting information in the form of a complete diary rather