I originally wrote this editorial/review as a handout for patients back in 2004. I’ve updated and republished it here as a public service.
One important issue I did not highlight in my article is the inherent conflict of interest on the part of the USDA. How can the agency that promotes various food industries give unbiased nutritional advice?
Then there is the portion size issue with food labeling…
“A word of caution about food labels… ‘No Trans Fat’ can be a deceptive phrase. Products that contain less than a certain threshold are labeled zero trans fat. The key factor is portion size, which is not standardized and may be unreasonably small when compared with what people actually eat. (When was the last time you counted out twelve potato chips?!) So many popular processed foods have significant amounts of trans fat even though their labels claim they they are trans fat free. You have to read between the lines!”
Bottom line is to evolve your eating habits to increase whole grains, vegetables and healthy oils—while decreasing the amount of processed, fast and “white list” (white bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.) foods. To your health!
FYI, here’s a link to the full article.
One of the great novels of the twentieth century. Also one of the most powerful expressions of existentialism and humanism ever written. I 
The Plague is an allegorical novel set in the modern city of Oran on the north African coast. The principal character Dr. Rieux confronts a series of medical, ethical and moral dilemmas as an epidemic of bubonic plague breaks out and the city is quarantined. Rieux must overcome his fear, loneliness and despair in order to function while conceding that he is mostly powerless in the face of his microscopic enemy. As the crisis abates he concludes that he only did what had to be done and will be done again “by all who, while unable to be saints but refusing to bow down to pestilences, strive their utmost to be healers.”