This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Geil, P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Geil, P. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter: Quick, Easy Meal Planning Using Counts for Your Favorite Foods

Lexington, KY

The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter: Quick, Easy Meal Planning Using Counts for Your Favorite Foods

Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, CDE. Publisher: Small Steps Press, Alexandria, Virginia. Date of Publication: 2006. Price: $9.95.

Sharing an "aha!" moment with a patient is one of the most gratifying events in the day of a diabetes educator. With The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter on my desk, I've been able to enjoy many such moments in my office practice. When a patient who is frustrated by unexplained elevated blood glucose levels looks up the carbohydrate content of his favorite lunch of stuffed-crust pizza ("Do I really get 84 g of carbohydrate from my pizza at lunch?!"), the relationship between carbohydrate intake and blood glucose control becomes crystal clear in a way that even the best lesson plan cannot ever hope to accomplish.

The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter is a comprehensive reference book containing 11 points of nutrient information (serving size, calories, carbohydrate, fat, percentage of calories from fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, protein, and servings/exchanges) on more than 7000 food items. Basic, generic food items are included in the database, but it is the detailed information about ethnic foods, fast foods, and special foods listed by specific brand names that makes this such a popular, user-friendly reference. Patients who have purchased The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter are pleased to have this nutrient information at their fingertips, enabling them to plan their shopping lists at home and minimize the time spent reading labels in the grocery store aisle.

The all-inclusive data used in The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter are derived from several impeccable resources including the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Agricultural Research Service, and the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17. Data are current at the time of publication, but patients should be made aware of the need to check the labels of their favorite foods periodically as manufacturers often make ingredient changes. Although the book does not have an index, foods are listed alphabetically by food category and manufacturer, making it easy to find even the most obscure food item. Shiitake chardonnay salad dressing? Apple cinnamon cottage cheese? Fast food chicken nugget meal? It's all in the book, making for a lively educational session as you use The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter to help your patient determine why fat-free ranch dressing may not be the best choice if she or he is limiting carbohydrate intake.

The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter is aimed at the general health audience, not necessarily those with diabetes. The first 12 pages of the book discuss the role of nutrition in preventing the so-called lifestyle diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and others. A brief discussion of meal-planning approaches such as carbohydrate counting, fat gram counting, the food exchange system, and calorie counting is also included. Author Lea Ann Holzmeister has also written the recently revised best-seller Diabetes Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide (third edition; American Diabetes Association, 2006), which contains the same basic food data tables with more specific information appropriate for individuals with diabetes.

As the author states in the introduction, "All healthy eating approaches require one thing—a thorough knowledge of the nutrients in the foods you eat." Knowledge is power. The Ultimate Calorie, Carb, & Fat Gram Counter is a powerful combination of accurate nutrient information packaged in a user-friendly format, making it a book that should be found on the reference shelf of every practicing diabetes educator.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Geil, P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Geil, P. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?