Food Rules

I love food. I have done a lot of reading about various types of "cuisines" and healthy eating, etc. and have a set of beliefs regarding healthy food that diverges from the mainstream a bit. If you ever want to talk food, I love to do it. An author that I enjoy, even if I don't agree with him 100%, is Michael Pollan. He wrote a book I loved called The Botany of Desire, an examination of 4 particular plants' struggle to propagate, and how making themselves valuable to humans has helped them achieve that goal. (Doesn't that sound fascinating?) He also wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, proposing that we humans make a decision every day that no other creature on earth has to make. What should I eat? Animals are driven by instinct regarding their diet, and can only eat what is in front of them. Even those that are able to exercise some choice, other omnivores like bears, for example, are still restricted by season and availability. You can only eat salmon when the salmon are running, and you can only eat blueberries during the week they are "on." The choice is still very limited. Humans, however, have managed to overcome almost all obstacles to eating whatever they desire. Has this made us healthier or wiser in terms of food? Interesting book. He has written other books as well. Because of his interest in human nature and diet, Mr. Pollan has done a lot of studying and researching various types of foods and the science behind them and has put together a little book that I love. It's called Food Rules.
It's a cute little 140 page paperback full of rules to follow if you want to be healthy. I think anyone interested in healthy eating would enjoy this book. Mr. Pollan advises choosing judiciously the rules that you think you can abide by, and here are a few of my favorites.

2. Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients no ordinary human would keep in the pantry. (Ethoxylated diglycerides? Calcium propionate? Xanthan gum? If you wouldn't cook with it, don't let someone else cook with it for you.)

10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not. (Imitation butter, nonfat cream cheese, artificial sweeteners, etc. If it's not real, don't eat it.)

27. Eat animals that themselves have eaten well. (It's only humane to allow other animals the life that makes them healthy and happy - sunshine, fresh air, good natural foods. And, their optimal health translates to healthy animal products for us.)

39. (My Favorite!) Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. (Want doughnuts? Make them yourself. Fried chicken, ice cream, or french fries? Cook them yourself. Chances are you will eat them far less often if you have to put forth the effort to cook and clean up.)

47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. (Old wives test: If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, your aren't really hungry. Food is a costly antidepressant.)

58. Do all your eating at a table. (Studies show you eat less when at a table than when you are focused on doing something else, like watching TV.)

64. Break the rules once in a while.

These are just a few of the "rules" Mr. Pollan proposes. They all make sense and it's fun to read and choose between them as you examine your eating habits and see where improvements could be made. I disagree with a couple of things he says (I always find something). At one point he lists a couple of traditional diets as examples of how vastly different diets can result in physically healthy populations, like the Inuits' diet comprising mostly seal blubber, Central American Indians eating mostly maize and beans, and the Masai tribesmen subsisting mainly on cattle blood, meat and milk. Then he concludes that one should, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Given his examples of diverse diets (along with research from Weston Price, among others) I think his conclusion ought to read, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly unprocessed."
Plants are very good. I just think one can be just as healthy on more of a protein-based diet, IF (note the big if) one avoids all processed foods like refined sugars, processed flours, etc.
Now, I am not the best at practicing what I preach. We have cake from a mix occasionally, and I frequently (too frequently) make my bread from white flour, but I see what I want my family's diet to be, and I'm working to get there. This book gives some fun, concise rules to help me get there. I loved it. (It's available at the Hurricane Branch of the library. 613.2 Pollan)