1970s necessitate a program of nutri­tional "supersupplementation" to insure good health. The authors obviously en­vision one gigantic vitamin pill as the panacea to all the ills of society!

Fraught with much misinformation, the book is written in an alarmist and sensationalist manner and preys on the most personal of fears held by a scien­tifically-unsophisticated audience. The writing style combines several authorita­tive references (incompletely or incor­rectly cited) from reputable medical and nutrition journals with volumes of per­sonal anecdotes, lengthy philosophical dissertations, and even superstitions, e.g., "sassafras tea is a good blood purifier" or "beet juice acts as a liver cleaner."

The book first presents a rather sim­plistic overview of the nutrients and their functions, interspersed with statements extolling the virtues of "natural" over synthetic vitamins and routine supple­mentation of diets. Recognizing that each occupational category has its own special stresses, the authors advise spe­cific regimens of "supernutrition" for homemakers, blue collar workers, office workers, students, executives, and per­forming artists. The authors obviously do not recognize the dangers involved in prescribing large doses of the fat-soluble vitamins nor that supplementation with "digestive enzymes" is totally ineffectual.

The discussion on "Nutrition and Drugs," while deploring their use, pro­vides "advice on the nutritional antidotes for users of specific drugs." Such advice includes "Large amounts of the B-com­plex are necessary to offset the effects of speed," and "Take 500 mg vitamin C for every marijuana joint smoked."

Unfortunately, for the cost and the time involved in reading this book, most of the information it contains is not only worthless but dangerously misleading. To misinform the American public by leading them to think that vast vitamin­mineral supplementation rather than the promotion of sound food habits is the only way by which their physical, as well as psychological, problems can be over­come is an unethical, if not immoral, treatment of the field of nutrition. The book cannot be recommended to any reader of this journal nor for the lay public.

Laura S. Sims, Ph.D., Assistant Pro­fessor, Dept. of Home Economics, In­diana University, Bloomington, Ind.

Nutr:tion Problems in a CLanging World, Hollingsworth, D. and Russell, M., Eds., Halsted Press, John Wiley & Sons, 605

114 I Journal of NUTRITION EDUCATION

Third Ave., New York, NY 10016, 1973, 309 pp., $32.50.

This book publishes papers presented at the British Nutrition Foundation In­vitational Conference in April, 1973, on nutritional challenges in affluent socie­ties. Although this instructive mono­graph focuses primarily on nutrition ex­periences of the U.K., the principles relate to any affluent nation. The new scientific data which are presented and interpreted, especially on vitamin D and calcium, have no national boundaries.

The four plenary lectures presented as Chapters 1 to 4 include "Obesity" by W. J. H. Butterfield, a stimulating paper once one recalls that a British stone equals 14 lbs; Britain's entry into the Common Market will affect her food supply and G. A Elton presents a fas­cinating paper on this with predictions on trends to anticipate and some baseline data. D. P. Burkitt's enthusiasm for fiber as a dietary requirement is something we will be hearing much more about-hope­fully as objectively as a later paper in the book "Non-assimilable Components of Food" by D. A T. Southgate.

Part 1 consists of four brief and excel­lent chapters on nutritional surveillance in Britain, Czechoslovakia, the U.S. and Canada. Part 2 examines infant feeding with special reference to breast feeding, artificial feeding, special problems of low birthweight infants, and possible effects of incorrectly prepared formulas. Nutri­tion educators working with prenatal pa­tients and the newborn wiII find these chapters helpful.

Part 3 (two chapters) describes the British National Child Development Sur­vey, a longitudinal study of 17,000 chil­dren born in 1958. Part 4, presenting nine papers on foods for adults, is intro­duced by an excellent review of energy and energy foods. Novel protein sources including leaf and grass protein, gluten, isolates from oilseeds, and the single cell proteins are discussed. One chapter deals with future fat consumption and one with carbohydrates.

Part 5, "Implications of Modern Nu­trition Thought for the Food Industry," includes three papers. Especially note­worthy is A W. Hubbard's paper com­paring nutrient levels in chicken, beef, eggs, bread, and potatoes before and after major changes in animal husbandry or processing methods. Part 6 gives con­clusions and recommendations.

Each one of the 29 chapters in this book is superbly readable. This mono­graph will be of interest to all those with serious concerns in nutrition and those

involved in establishing guidelines for nutrition action in affluent societies.

Ann L. Burroughs, Dr.P. H., Associ­ate Director, Del Monte Corporation Research Center, Walnut Creek, Calif.

The Nutrition Factor: Its Role in Nation­al Development, Berg, A, The Brook­ings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036, 1973, 290 pp., $8.95.

Malnutrition is a major obstacle to national development. This book exam­ines the consequences of malnutrition and the importance of national nutrition policies from an economic, social and political perspective. The author (cur­rently with the Population and Nutrition Projects Department, World Bank) has had extensive nutrition policy experience in India, and his insights permeate the book as well as forming the basis for an entire chapter.

Berg critically examines some tried and untried solutions to malnutrition­induding agricultural advances, nutri­tion education, new foods, and interven­tion by government and industry. INE readers will be especially interested in his conclusions about nutrition education, not all of them are complimentary. He laments the lack of evaluative efforts in past nutrition education programs and urges a more hard-headed, cost/benefit approach if nutrition education is to be taken seriously as a component of na­tional nutrition policies.

The book is extensively referenced with authoritative sources. On the basis of his analysis and interpretation-plus personal experience-Berg gives general recommendations and priorities for nu­trition planning. He favors large-scale measures that can be effected without major administrative red tape: fortifica­tion, pricing policies, mass media edu­cation campaigns, and seed improve­ment, for example. Smaller-scale ap­proaches, such as face-to-face nutrition education, are viewed as ways to reach special groups such as pregnant women.

The nutrition community has much to learn about its own subject from the viewpoint of this author. His overwhelm­ing message is that nutrition-related pro­grams are little more than lip service unless they are planned on a sound eco­nomic basis and on a national scale. The book is very worthwhile reading for any­one concerned with the global view of nutrition, the application of nutrition to human beings, and to those working in international programs.

M.e.p.

Vol. 6, No.3, July-September, 1974