Michael Pollan: Food Rules for Healthy People and Planet
Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma can be seen in a clip here giving a presentation of his book Food Rules. In this book, Pollan explores the effects of nutritional science on the western diet, and how culture plays a role in eating habits.
When we go to the grocery store, we find ourselves in a maze of "Low Fat!" or "Probiotic!" tags that are meant to convince us that eating that specific product is healthier than its unlabeled counterpart. This idea is rooted in the concept of nutrition. Nutritionism, as Pollan said, is trend that stems off of the idea that food is simply a basic delivery system for the real nutrients inside, which we can break food down into the categories for sugar, carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. Accepting that food is just the carrier for these nutrients means that we depend on experts to tell us what and how to eat. We cannot see these "nutrients" for ourselves, so people who do studies on our foods should tell us what foods are good and what foods are bad. Thus, the world is divided into the realms of good and evil food. On team evil we have trans or saturated fats, and they are opposed to the blessed probiotics and omega-3 fatty acid. So when we go to the grocery store, we must avoid the temptation of delicious, but unhealthy foods and instead look for the labels that tell us the scientists have deemed it good. But, Pollan says, what about eating food for pleasure? community? identity?
In the 1970s the nutritionists first waged war on fats found naturally in food, and the market was flooded with low or non-fat alternatives. However, since then, people on a western diet have, on average, gained weight. One problem is that when something is low-fat, it is easy to eat much more without recognizing the consequences. Also, the product might be higher in sugar so as to taste good. Since then nutritionists have divided fats into good and bad fats, not to mention all of the other complex proteins and such to be aware of. They are recognizing more and more that nutrition is more complex than it seems, but we still can't explain why. For example, why doesn't the beta-carotene metabolize correctly when not consumed in a carrot?
Also, the western diet is notoriously rich in processed foods and refined carbohydrates. So when navigating a grocery store, Pollan says to avoid anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Whole foods are best, but when buying processed food look on the ingredients and be wary of anything unrecognizable. The foods on the periphery of the store, the produce, are the best bet for a healthy diet. Also, if something doesn't spoil, this only means that our fellow creatures on this planet (bacteria, fungi) don't want it. Pollan carried around the same twinkle for two years, and it never even hardened-definitely not natural.
The video is very interesting, and I highly recommend watching it in its entirety.
- Elizabeth Rose's blog
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