Your Body<br > and<br > Its Relation<br > to Diet<br > Keeping the complex processes of our bodies in perfect working order is not a simple<br > matter. We do， however， have direct influence over some of these processes. Educators<br > will tell you that the first step to proper care of our bodies is understanding the mech-<br > anisms involved. That is what this section is about.<br > We are interested primarily in the heart (which pumps the blood) and its tributaries<br > (which carry the blood to the far reaches of our bodies). If anything disturbs this exquisite<br > mechanism at any point， then the rest of the body will suffer from a lack of the nutrients<br > and oxygen the blood normally delivers to it.<br > Diet plays a large part in maintaining the good condition of the body s life sustaining<br > pump (the heart) and its network of circulatory vessels (arteries， veins， and capillaries).<br >i Although this fact has been widely advertised by the merchants of low-cholesterol， low<br > calorie foods， and has very probably been thoroughly discussed by your own physician，<br > there still seems to be a lack of understanding among the general population of exactly<br > how this all works. Therefore， before presenting our recipes and menus， we will briefly<br > discuss the ways in which your heart and circulation functthn--and how diet actually<br > affects this mechanism， from the very day you are born.<br > Incidentally， if words are used whose meanings are unclear， please consult the Glos-<br > sary at the end of the book. Anything you do to provide yourself with a better chance<br > of living a longer and healthier life can only be enhanced by your fully understanding<br > tho tuhv~ and wherefores of your body and how what you eat affects it，<br >