How Food Works The Facts Visually Explained

An easy-to-understand visual guide to the facts of food and nutrition.

A nutritionist in a book that explains key concepts about food and what makes it good or bad for you, How Food Works brings the science of food to life. Through a highly visual approach that uses bold infographics, explore the good, the bad, the confusing, and the trending world of food. Discover what an antioxidant is, find out what a superfood does to your body, and learn why it is dangerous to reheat rice.

Covering a wide variety of topics, from dieting to gluten intolerance, How Food Works debunks common food myths, explains nutrition, covers the food groups, and looks into organic vs. processed foods. Follow the history of food production and free-range farming, how food is transported, and what “sell by” dates really mean.

How Food Works is a completely comprehensive guide that will help readers understand the underlying biological effects of everyday foods through scientific evaluation, revealing the powers of different types of food and drinks.

Chilies and Other Hot Foods

Prized for adding kick to dishes, chili peppers and other hot or pungent foods, such as mustard and horseradish, come armed with powerful chemical defenses that we can use for flavor and may also prove to have health benefits.

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What are Convenience Foods? Convenience foods are preprepared or processed and include prepackaged meals, cake mixes, snack foods, preprepared fruit and vegetables, frozen ingredients, and canned food. Companies that make and sell convenience foods usually focus on taste and shelf-life rather than on nutritional value.	What are Whole Foods? Whole Foods are the opposite of processed foods—they are in their natural form, or processed as little as possible. They might include fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Some proponents argue whole foods must also be organic, but there is little evidence for that health benefit of organic foods.	How Food Cooks At the molecular level, cooking involves a complex series of interactions between heat, water, and individual food components, and between the components themselves. When cooking, the perfect balance between temperature, time, and the desired change in chemistry must be achieved.

Sources of Fats and Oils

Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, although the terms are often used interchangeably. Those that you get through your food are called dietary fat.

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Types of Vegetable Fruits Vegetable fruits belong mainly to three families: the nightshade family (including tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers) which tends to grow upward on a vine, the squash and cucumber family (including marrow, zucchini, and lemons) which grow along vines on the ground, and the legume, or bean family.	Vegetarians and Vegans Vegetarians don’t eat meat or fish, but many eat animal products such as eggs and dairy. In India, eggs aren’t seen as vegetarian, but dairy foods are encouraged. Vegans choose not to eat any products that come from animals, including honey.	Allergies Food allergies are on the rise in developed countries, but scientists aren’t sure why. One popular idea, known as the ‘hygiene hypothesis,’ suggests that the fact our children don’t encounter as many pathogens, such as bacteria, as they used to has somehow affected the natural development of their immune systems.