Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

This was a short novel but I enjoyed all the little bits of information that was inside. The book’s sole purpose is to give you some guidelines for eating. The links between diet and health according to this novel is that individuals who eat a Western diet (lots of processed food, food with added sugar and fat, and lots of refined grains) will suffer from Western diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardio diseases. That totally makes sense to me but I didn’t know it was known as a Western diet. The second link is that if you eat a traditional diet (a lot of different varieties here) you will not suffer from these diseases. Which basically means, no one diet is perfect but as humans we have adapted to different diets to make them work for us. The Western diet, as it stands now, is the diet which makes everyone ill. Inside this novel, there are 64 rules to live by to eat a healthy diet. These rules are explained further with a brief explanation, if needed. Some of these rules I had heard about before but about half of them were new to me. There are three parts to the novel: What to eat? What kinds of food should I eat? And How should I eat? Each of these parts have different rules to follow. I liked that these rules are, for the most part, something I could memorize on my own and therefore, I could recall when need be. There is the rule about not eating food that you cannot say, rule about eating a variety of colors, and a rule about eating at a table, these are a few of the rules I already knew. Here are a few of the rules that I really enjoyed: Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry. So, cellulose, thiamine mononitrate is not something I would have on hand, therefore this product should not be in my house. Avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients. Wow, that would eliminate a lot of the processed foods I have on hand. Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce. Again cellulose, thiamine mononitrate are out and I need to start thinking simple. Cook food that has only been cooked by humans. Again, lots of preservatives, added sugar, and other interesting items are added which we don’t need. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. This one is a killer. I have literally cut down on the number of French fries I eat as I think this rule says it all. I’m not physically making French fries out of potatoes every time I want them, it’s too time consuming and too much work. The novel says there is nothing wrong with sweets, soda and other sweet snacks as long as you prepare them yourself. If I had to prepare potato chips, snack crackers, or cookies as much as I consume them, my consumption would really go down. Spend as much time enjoying your meal as it took to prepare it. Amen! I think this book has a lot to offer, things you might know and things that you should know. I like the short and sweet aspect of the novel, it’s not a wordy or a complex read, the author gives his readers just the facts in an easy way to think about them and how to apply them to their own lives. I’m ready to jump on board and I know it will take some time, strength and willpower to incorporate these rules but I know the benefits will be worth it.

This is a great easy to read book to help determine if I think the item in my grocery cart is my wisest option I can then make an informed decision as to whether or not I still want it. I recommend it and will be getting more for Christmas gifts.

If you've been paying attention at all to the subject of diet and health over the past few years, then there's no doubt you've heard of the name Michael Pollan. A trained journalist, he's transitioned from reporting on the story to BECOMING the story with his highly-influential New York Times bestselling books The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto as well as a major appearance in the critically-acclaimed film on the state of our food supply in America called Food, Inc. . Yes, Pollan has been a busy man and he's doing great work educating the public about what healthy eating is all about. While most people tend to make their diet more complicated than it needs to be, the reality is it's rather elementary if you stick with a few basic principles to guide your daily decisions. That's the concept behind Pollan's latest offering called Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. An unassuming little 4.5×7-inch book, this is one power-packed punch of information you can use to make healthy decisions for you and your family. Broken up into three parts-"What Should I Eat?" "What Kind Of Food Should I Eat?" and "How Should I Eat?"-Pollan says it's all about eating real food, mostly plants, and not too much. If this theme sounds familiar, then it should if you've read any of Pollan's previous books on diet. But the bite-sized format of Food Rules may make this more compatible for the average person to consume and absorb all the lessons he's been conveying through his previous works. Maybe Gary Taubes and his publisher could put something together like this for his bestselling 2007 release Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage) . People like simplicity when it's done right like this book is. I knew the book was going to start off well when I saw Pollan dedicate it to his mother who "always knew butter was better for you than margarine." YES! He proceeds to share how eating has become more of a chore these days because we needlessly rely on media pundits and so-called health "experts" to tell us what's right and wrong about what to put in our mouths. Food is no longer the sustenance of life, but rather something to be critically examined for its impact on health either negatively or positively. While I certainly see nothing wrong with being careful about what foods you choose to consume (and neither would Pollan), he's right about the obsession and it cuts both ways. You've got one group of consumers who absolutely don't give a rip about what they're eating as long as it tastes good to them. So they fill up their shopping carts at the supermarket with Cheetos, Hot Pockets, Twinkies, and Coca-Coca none the wiser that not a bit of that is real food. On the other hand, there's another set of consumers who are ardent about perfection in their diet. You can only eat fresh organic vegetables, grass-fed meats, and nothing artificial at all. They believe if you stray from this even a little that you are damning yourself to an unhealthy lifestyle. Both of these extremes are ludicrous and Pollan says there is a happy balance between the two. Pollan's mantra of "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." that was basic premise of his book In Defense of Food is the underlying theme of Food Rules and it guides all of the information contained within these pages. I would only amend that statement to say "Eat real whole foods. Eat to satiety. Mostly grass-fed meats and organic vegetables." He does seem to be stuck a bit on conventional wisdom regarding the health halo of consuming vegetables, but Pollan is most of the way there with many of the 64 "rules" he shares within the 140 pages of this book. His goal with Food Rules is to help people make better choices when shopping for food and that's a very good thing. And he's starts off with a bang with Rule #1 to just "Eat Food." Sounds simple enough, but most people haven't got a clue what "food" really is. Pollan explains this concept which lays the groundwork for what he attempts to communicate for the rest of the book. Positive messages for people who are livin' la vida low-carb include "avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup," "avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients," "avoid food products with the wordoid `lite' or the terms `low-fat' or `nonfat' in their names," and "shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle." This is all sage advice that will serve you well when purchasing food for you and your family. The visualization that Pollan uses to get people to think about real food is remarkably effective. He educates people to think about food as something that is supposed to "eventually rot" and that you should be able to think about it growing in the "raw state." Mickey D's French fries and Twinkies never seem to spoil no matter how long they stay in your cabinet which is why you don't need to be putting them inside of your body. And too many people think food comes from supermarkets. Actually, real food comes from local farmers which is why Pollan is such a fan of farmer's markets where you can support the locavore movement while feeding your family the most nutritious and delicious foods possible. As for the kind of food to eat, Pollan acknowledges that there is such a thing as a "healthy" high-fat or low-fat diet. It's about choosing the plan that's right for you. He encourages eating the leaves of plants which falls right in line with the green, leafy veggies you consume on a healthy high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb lifestyle. But his insistence on treating meat like a "flavoring" or "special occasion food" is where I would part ways with him. He repeats the mantra that vegetarians are "generally healthier than carnivores" and that's just plain nonsense. While not identifying what he thinks is the exact blame for why meat is a poor choice on a regular basis, Pollan does hint that it could be the saturated fat, protein, or absence of veggies from the meals. But the latest science is showing saturated fat has no bearing on heart disease, protein should be limited to the amount that is adequate for the individual, and veggies can be combined with meat for a nutritious meal plan. This is the heartbeat of the low-carb lifestyle! I do appreciate that Pollan notes it's better to consume animals "that have themselves eaten well." This means avoiding the grain-fed factory farm meats in favor of those that have been grass-fed and treated humanely. It's not just good for you, but it's the right thing to do. He also says to mix it up and eating something new from time to time, including wild game that you hunt yourself. And that includes the "oily little fishes." Stocking up on this kind of quality meat is an important part of absorbing all of the lessons of Food Rules . One of my favorite rules is #37: "The white the bread, the sooner you'll be dead." HA! I like that and it's so true. Pollan explains that white flour is a health risk we've known about for ages and he notes that the body treats it "not much different from sugar." YES! He does tend to favor whole grains and I suppose they are better than the refined ones. But I tend to lean on the side of NO grains instead. Finally, on the subject of how to eat, Pollan was hoping to help people "foster a healthier relationship to food." That's always a good thing because our culture has so jaded us to the idea that food has to be dirt cheap to be worth it. But you'll learn that when you "pay more" you "eat less." I don't think calorie-restriction just for the sake of cutting calories is a smart idea. Yet if you are choosing more satisfying calories coming from fat and protein sources and less from carbohydrates, then you will consume the right amount of nutrition for your body. Pollan even notes to "stop eating before you're full" and "eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored." Although he's all about using smaller plates, taking smaller bites, and the like, I think his overall message in Food Rules is solid: get back to real, whole foods, avoid the artificial garbage that you've become addicted to, and make this a permanent and healthy lifestyle change you can live with and enjoy for the rest of your life! Despite my disagreements with a few of his positions on what all of that entails, I do think Michael Pollan has emerged as a great leader in the movement to bringing real food back to the forefront of American culture. If we are going to get a handle on obesity and chronic diseases of modern man under control, then we need a lot more people like him out there carrying the torch and leading the way.

I feel the book condenses a lot of confusing advice into short, clear, 'do this' kind of sentences that stuck to my mind. I now feel I don't have to bother as much about the exact nutritional content of some food - as much as noticing how close to the source that food is. Definitely recommend this book to anyone looking at some simple, irrefutable, and quick rules to eat healthily minus the jargon.

I heard of this book while taking a course offered online through Stanford University. It's very informative and helpful for living a healthy lifestyle.

Not just rules but topics to think about our day by day relationship with the universe of food. Not a diet, an adjust of our path.

Ce livre était super. Il est écrit d'une manière simple et précise en listant des notions vraiment importantes de comment manger sainement. J'ai vraiment apprécié les infos du livre qui sont logiques en plus mais qu'on a besoin d'entendre et re entendre pour que ça rentre. C'est vrai que c'est dur de manger sainement dans la société dans laquelle on vit aujourd'hui avec tous les fast food, tout le sucre et sel cacher dans notre nourriture. Je souhaite m'impliquer plus dans tout ce qui est santé et bien être donc si quelqu'un a des recommendations ou suggestions de nouvelle lecture ou autre oeuvre dans le même genre, envoyez moi un mail que je continue ma croissance personnelle :) - [email protected]

Me ha encantado este libro, lo he leído del tirón y lo podría releer mil veces! Es absolutamente adictivo. Como bien dice el título, es un manual para una alimentación saludable y natural, con sus respectivas explicaciones y argumentos para cada pauta. El humor mordaz y el sentido de la ironía de Pollan no dejan indiferente a nadie. Un libro que se disfruta desde la primera página hasta la última y, además, proporciona trucos prácticos y fáciles de aplicar para mejorar la forma de alimentar nuestro organismo. 100% recomendable para cualquiera con un mínimo interés en la nutrición.