Amazon.com (ISBN 0684856921, Paperback)

"What you eat and what you drink really are vital parts of what you are--and what you will become," writes British nutritionist and weight-loss expert Judith Wills in The Food Bible. "Food is not only vital fuel but also vital medicine." This book is packed full of nutritional information. Section 1 details how to get the modern version of a balanced diet, including the latest information on fiber, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals (health-protecting compounds in fruits and vegetables), food safety, and how to put all this together with food and menu choices. In section 2, we get a discussion of food as medicine. Specific ailments are paired with helpful foods, herbs, and vitamins, plus foods to avoid; Wills also gives menu suggestions for avoiding certain conditions and discusses supplements, herbs, and detoxification. In the next section, Wills explains what foods to eat at different stages of your life to meet different nutritional challenges. Section 4 is a sensible discussion of weight-control strategies with a four-week plan. Cooking tips, charts, and about 100 recipes comprise section 5. Each recipe comes with an extensive nutritional breakdown (calories, fat, saturated fat, fiber, protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals) and information about whether the recipe is helpful in disease prevention and whether it is vegetarian, low-calorie, quick, budget, or free of gluten/wheat, yeast, or dairy. Section 6 offers the nutritional components of 400 foods, designating 50 of these foods as "superfoods."

Whatever your dietary constraints or goals, this is an essential book to own and read often. It's also a pretty book, with creative food photos and an attractive layout, making this a good gift. --Joan Price