Rich Food Poor Food Book Review


If you believe the old adage that "health is wealth," you'll want to read the new book "Rich Food Poor Food!"  It's the latest consumer resource designed to help you navigate the grocery store aisles with confidence and is also a fantastic clean couponing tool.

Authors Jayson Calton, PhD in nutrition and Mira Calton, a licensed certified nutritionist, spent years researching good food around the globe and promoting a diet rich in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids or so-called micronutrients.  They previously authored "Naked Calories" in which they argued that our modern day health challenge is overcoming what they call micronutrient deficiency.

In their latest book, the "Rich Foods" are supposed to be the ones that best support our health and well being, while the "Poor Foods" can offer little nutritional value or be packed with questionable ingredients.




Here are just a few questions the authors answer in Rich Food Poor Food:
What does "natural" mean on food packaging?
How can we read a food label and understand it?
What do you look for if you want to avoid GMOs, MSG, BHT and more in my food?
Why might you be concerned about bright colors added unnaturally to my child's snack foods?
How do you know whether adding fish to the dinner table is good or bad?

Some of the most shocking details in the book involve federal food labeling laws and the doublespeak that seems to have the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration.  The book explains that a food can call itself "healthy" if it fits FDA guidelines for nutrition facts like calories and fat, although the food is free to include all sorts of questionable ingredients and BPA packaging.  These food experts uncover things like possibly carcinogenic caramel coloring popping up in the most unlikely places like wholesome sounding rice and beans.  The book tackles the difficult subject of going sugar-free without consuming unhealthy substitutes.

The Caltons should be commended for attempting to take us aisle by aisle through the grocery store, showing us what to look for and what to avoid.  They use clever graphics and a catchy GPS system, short for "Grocery Purchasing System."  They also encourage home cooking and even share some recipes.

The book covers so much, I admit to finding it both fascinating and overwhelming, even though I'm an avid clean couponing advocate.  There are a few instances when the authors reveal that an ideal food choice might be both hard to find and a more expensive one -- which can be a discouraging reality for families still shopping on a tight budget. They encourage families to seek out wheat-free food options, which is still a big stretch for many families, including ours.  They also instruct on how to soak nuts and seeds to maximize our benefits from them.  Again, this is a great ideal, but not one that every family will quickly get into the habit of doing.

This book is the latest clean couponing resource I would recommend reading and re-reading to see which ideas from these nutrition experts might work for your family.  Our family can thank Stonyfield Organic for our free copy of the book along with free samples of Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt (declared a Rich Food choice in the book).  We have another copy of the book Rich Food, Poor Food and coupons for FREE Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt samples to share with you.  You can enter via the Rafflecopter app below.

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