"The Magic of Food" is basically another "follow my healthy diet" book. I'm interested in "foods that act together to produce a total effect...that is greater than the sum of the individual foods" (from the ARC book description). However, what I got was a list of individual foods and the research done on the health benefits of that food or phytonutrient that food contains. And the book was very scientific; he even explained the chemical structure of fats and the structural differences between Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 fats.

The author started by looking at several societies that live long, healthy lives and briefly explained what foods he thought contributed to that health. Then he looked at good fats versus bad fats, superfood fruits and veggies, and the health benefits of various common spices and herbs. He explained his recommend eating habits then provided some sample meal plans and some recipes. He recommended eating more (and a variety of) plant foods, more fish and less red meat, and eating 3 meals and 3 snacks each day. At the end, he included a list of some health problems (like anemia, constipation, hives, MS, and RA) along with some studies about what foods might help that condition.

While he recommended avoiding GMO canola, for some reason he didn't talk about other GMOs like soy when he suggested foods like tofu and soy milk. He spent some time talking about Glycemic Load and strongly recommended eating low GL foods, then he recommended juicing fruits and veggies (which removes the fiber and makes them into higher GL foods). And then he suggested using a fiber supplement to get enough fiber in your diet. So that didn't seem logical to me. Overall, though, the information was good.

This is a good collection of research-based information. It is written simply enough to understand, but with enough information for you to learn something, even if you're not a beginner. It covers vitamins, minerals, and the ways that various foods help you to heal (or hurt). I've seen most of the information other places before, but there was some new stuff, and it never hurts to re-read it. Also, it had good charts and visual appeal.