Tailoring Your Diet Is a Way to Manage Illness or Obesity

The Can-Do Eating Plan for Overweight Kids and Teens

Michelle Daum with Amy Lemley

Avon Books

$10

Helping a child who is overweight is a very difficult, emotional experience for parents. This paperback is designed to help families better understand the problem and deal with it successfully. Daum, a pediatric nutritionist, notes that diets don’t work with children because they are created with adults in mind. She explains how parents can guide their children’s food choices without banishing foods kids love. The book includes four sets of menus based on different calorie limits.

*

Eating Well, Living Well With Kidney Disease

Duke University Medical Center’s Sarah W. Stedman Center for Nutritional Studies

Connie W. Bales, editor

Viking

$12.95

This is one in a series of books on food and disease from nutrition experts at Duke University. The series recognizes how crucial a wise diet is in the management of various diseases. In this book, experts describe how protein and minerals affect kidney patients, whether or not they are on dialysis. The book offers practical advice on food shopping strategies, food preparation and recipes. The Duke University series gets high marks for taking a practical approach to diet, recognizing that individuals’ varied lifestyles will affect their food choices.

*

Positive Nutrition for HIV Infection & AIDS

Stacey J. Bell and Dr. R. Armour Forse

Chronimed Publishing

$12.95

and

Positive Cooking: Cooking for People Living With HIV

Lisa McMillan, Jill Jarvie, Janet Brauer

Avery Publishing Group

$12.95

The subtitle of the first book, by Harvard Medical School professionals, is: “A medically sound take-charge plan to maintain weight and improve your quality of life.” For many individuals with HIV, energy and quality-of-life issues have emerged as major concerns. Medications are keeping the disease in check for many people, and the future is much brighter than even a few years ago. It’s not enough just to survive the disease; HIV patients want to maintain full and active lifestyles. This book is helpful in dealing with the huge problem of malnutrition, which affects about 98% of people with HIV. The book also explains why the standard American diet, such as a low-fat diet, does not suffice for the HIV patient. The book also describes nutritional supplements and offers recipes and meal plans.

“Positive Cooking” is similar in content and philosophy, but offers a wider range of menus. This book also includes practical information on adapting recipes for mouth- and throat-related problems.

*

Eating Well, Living Well With Diabetes

Duke University Medical Center’s Sarah W. Stedman Center for Nutritional Studies

Connie W. Bales, editor

Viking

$12.95

and

Simply Delicious Recipes for Diabetics

Christine Roberts, Jennifer McDonald, Margaret Cox

Avery Publishing Group

$14.95

and

Diabetic Dream Desserts

Sandra Woodruff

Avery Publishing Group

$12.95

It’s not easy to tailor a diet to meet the needs of diabetics. These three books will give diabetics and those who cook for them some creative ideas and approaches to meal planning.

“Eating Well, Living Well With Diabetes” explains why certain nutritional needs must be met in diabetics and why mistakes are costly. It also includes recipes.

“Simply Delicious Recipes for Diabetics” and “Diabetic Dream Desserts” are primarily recipe books that feature fairly simple meals that are easy to prepare. The desserts book is good for anyone trying to cut back on fat and calories.