Dr. Lisa Hark, a Lafayette Hill woman and a Doctor of Nutrition, has recently written an authoritative book entitled "Nutrition for Life," that is a key nutritional reference work and also dissects most of the diets on the market today.
"People are confused," said Hark. "They don't know what to eat and there is so much nutritional jargon out there - carbohydrates, fats, high cholesterol - that they are bombarded with an array of fad diets that the media latches on to.
"The public needed one honest and accurate source; they needed to know the answers from the experts in an easy-to-read format," said Hark.
Hark wrote the book in collaboration with Dr. Darwin Deen, a physician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, and took two years to compile and compose. Hark said that the dual advice from both a nutritionist and a medical doctor, separates the book from other diet or nutritional materials. It provides a balanced perspective; one that is truly unique.
"Nutrition for Life" is arranged in an easy and logical format. Chapter 1, "Assessing Your Health and Lifestyle," is 20 colorful pages full of tips, jargon definitions, discussions on the different food groups and many interesting, informative sidebars such as, "Don't Skip Breakfast," "Hunger and Cravings" and "TV and Weight Gain."
The following chapters each cover topics in a steady progression so that the reader knows what he's eating, why he's eating it and the best way to balance his diet.
"Chapter 2, 'Food for Life,'" said Hark, "helps define what the body goes through to metabolize food and why we need to eat healthily every day. By eating better, you can change your destiny; and that idea is a powerful prescription for life. It's never too late."
There are three key themes that run through "Nutrition for Life."
"The first," said Hark, "is people's confusion with proper nutrition. The second is a series of definitions and comparisons among the most popular diets on the market today. We discuss whether it's healthy and how they claim the diets work. And then we match them against each other.
The third theme is if you follow just some of the advice in this book, you will feel better, look better and have more energy, as well as live longer."
Hark said that the there are few materials on the market that will explain what foods to eat at different ages in a person's life. "Nutrition for Life" offers menus, serving sizes and lunch box ideas that are separated by age group explaining why and how they are beneficial, from what to feed your infant, child and teenager to how to eat to defy aging.
Hark also said that another unique feature of the book is a section that discusses food as medicine.
"Nutrition has a role in 30 of the most common maladies, and this book covers them," said Hark. You can treat as well as prevent these diseases with diet. You can't cure them, but there is a nutritional prescription that will ease some of the problematic symptoms that are associated with these maladies."
Hark said there was a woman who came into her office ten times in the past year. She asked Hark if she could photocopy the page on cholesterol for her husband. She returned a few weeks later again asking to photocopy a page, this time on blood pressure. The woman's sister then became ill with diabetes, so she returned asking to photocopy another page. After a few more photocopies, the woman finally asked Hark if she could buy it.
"This book is a great nutrition resource for people of all ages," said Hark. "You don't have to read it front to back. Keep it and use it when you have a nutrition question or when someone gets ill. It's the ultimate guide because it can answer almost any question and help you to feed your family and prevent obesity."
Hark also has a website that will answer many questions on "Nutrition for Life." There is a complete table of contents, recipes and interactive questionnaires that are easily found at www.nutritionforlifebooks.com.
"We help you figure out what to eat for the rest of your life," said Hark. "That's why we called it 'Nutrition for Life."
A working mother, Hark has two children: Jamie, 10, who attends Colonial Elementary and Brett, 6, who attends Whitemarsh Elementary. She has also volunteered on the Whitemarsh Girl's Softball Instructional League Commission for four years.
Hark is the director of the Nutrition Education and Prevention Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
Look for Dr. Hark's monthly "Nutrition For Life" column starting next week in The Recorder.