FOOD RULES- an Eater’s Manual - by MICHAEL POLLAN

This is sent to me by one of my food friends Nivedita Garai. Thanks to her I got to know about Michael Pollan and my list of books to be read increased further.

In this age of various confusing and conflicting dietary plans and health advices, this book brings out the dietary wisdom into sixty-four simple rules about our daily food decisions. This is a good book to begin with if you are interested to read nutrition.

The book has many eye catching phrases which are worth reading once. He begins it with dedication to his mother- “who always knew butter was better for you than margarine”

The book has three sections- the first one helps you to eat food, the second helps you choose among the real foods and the third deals with how rather than what to eat .

Part I- WHAT SHOULD I EAT
The rules in this section will help you to distinguish the real foods and helps in keeping the unhealthy stuff out of our shopping cart. Some of them which are:

• Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
• Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.
• Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
• Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
• If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t. J
• It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)

Pollan has clearly mentioned the basics and concepts along with his rules. 

• Avoid food products that make health claims- the healthiest food; the fresh produce—doesn’t boast about its healthfulness, because the growers don’t have the budget or the packaging.

• Eat only foods that will eventually rot- Processing usually removes the nutrients to prolong the shelf life- which makes them inedible to our natural competitors- fungi, bacteria and insects.

Part II- WHAT KIND OF FOOD I SHOULD EAT

In this part, Pollan inclines a bit toward Vegetarian diet. He focuses mostly on plant based colorful diet. Even though he mentions eating like an Omnivore, he suggests treating meat as  a flavoring or special occasion food.

      Again, in this section also, he comes up with some interesting facts:

• Eat wild foods when you can- Wild animals generally have less saturated and healthier fats than domesticated animals, because most of them eat a diverse diet of plants rather than grain.

• Avoid big fish at the top of the marine food chain—because they’re endangered, and because they often contain high levels of mercury.

• Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature­—in nature, sugars almost always come packaged with fiber, which slows their absorption and gives you a sense of satiety before you ingest too many calories. That’s why you’re always better off eating the fruit rather than drinking its juice.

• Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

• “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”

• Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself- If you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often, if only because they’re so much work. J

Part III- HOW SHOULD I EAT?

The rules in this section are designed to foster a healthier relationship to food, whatever it is you’re eating. Many rules in this section are commonly said things- like:

• Calorie restriction
• Stop eating before you’re full
• Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.
• Eat slowly; No seconds
• Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does. Gas stations have become “processed corn stations”:
• S policy: “no snacks, no seconds, no sweets—except on days that begin with the letter S.”
• “Better to go to waste than to waist.” (My husband’s usual dialogue J) 

Thus, this book is a quick shot- to begin your journey towards a healthier life.

Nivedita's recipe- her love to food spreads knowledge around