Includes bibliographical references (p. 369-404) and index.

Problems we face, solutions we need -- A house of proteins -- Turning off cancer -- Lessons from China -- Broken hearts -- Obesity -- Diabetes -- Common cancers : breast, prostate, large bowel (colon and rectal) -- Autoimmune diseases -- Wide-ranging effects : bone, kidney, eye and brain diseases -- Eating right : eight principles of food and health -- How to eat -- Science -- the dark side -- Scientific reductionism -- The "science" of industry -- Government : it is for the people? -- Big medicine : whose health are they protecting? -- Repeating histories.

This study examines more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in 65 counties, representing 2,500 counties across rural China and Taiwan. While revealing that proper nutrition can have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing these ailments as well as obesity, this text calls into question the practices of many of the current dietary programs, such as the Atkins diet, that enjoy widespread popularity in the West. The impact of the politics of nutrition and the efforts of special interest groups on the creation and dissemination of public information on nutrition are also discussed. [from Publisher description].