I researched and wrote the first edition of this book 35 years ago.
With each new edition, I include updated facts and useful suggestions.
This new 11th edition is a major revision and almost complete rewrite. I’ve included new chapters on lesser known nutrients that readers have enquired about, such as lithium and silver. A new chapter on healing plants and more health hints have been added.
This book has remained New Zealand’s top selling health book since it was first published back in 1988. I’m pleased to report that to-date (2021) 93,000 copies have been bought by our modest population of five million people. I believe this success is due to its reasonable price, simple layout and listening to feedback from readers as to what they want included.
I continually search out important health research and enjoy sharing what I find with readers. I want all New Zealanders to enjoy optimum health from enjoying nutritious, tasty food.
Optimum health, as I see it, is to have a clear, cheerful mind, a quick retentive memory, vigorous heart, clean arteries, ample energy and healthy bones, a refreshing night sleep and to be free of disease.
We avoid health problems with healthy food
You’ll almost certainly find by using this book, that your present diet is not giving you enough (or the correct balance) of some important fats, minerals and vitamins. When you rectify this, you start to release your full potential energy.
Your immune system begins to protect you as it should. Your memory and mind become sharper, clearer and more optimistic, and sleep becomes deeper and more refreshing.
We must share this nutritional information with our children and grandchildren. Correct nutrition during pregnancy has a profound effect on the unborn child, especially brain and dental development, and greatly reduces the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, autism and ADHD.
Our NZ diet seriously deficient in nutrients
According to NZ food and crop research figures, many commercially grown foods have dropped in nutrient content since I began compiling food tables for this book 35 years ago.
Some good news – increasing numbers of food growers are now adopting natural soil fertilizing methods to enrich their soils. This also enhances the healthy bacterial (probiotic) content of the soil. Pleasingly, it’s a step in the right direction.
Our dairy and unprocessed meat and fish remain consistently nutritious and our grass-fed meats have a higher nutritional content than most overseas meats. Fish remains consistently nutritious as the mineral content of sea water (unlike most crop soils) remains stable.
However, because most of our crop foods are still grown in nutrient-depleted soils, and then processed for long shelf life, nutritional deficiencies are common and widespread, both here in NZ and overseas.
Figure 1 shows a list of NZ mineral and vitamin deficiencies revealed during our last nutrition survey 12 years ago. The few that weren’t surveyed are based on typical overseas findings.
These deficiencies are compared to the recommended daily intake