‘Food Rules’ breaks down the basics of choosing, eating food

Dotson: ‘Food Rules’ breaks down the basics of choosing, eating food

May 11, 2010

From the author of “In Defense of Food” comes a less extensive version on how to eat right using traditional food wisdom, with advice from our mothers and grandmothers.

This is the same advice people accepted long before there were nutritional scientists and health experts.

In “Food Rules,” author Michael Pollan has put together a 140-page pocket book with 64 “personal policies” to remember when making food choices when hungry, at the grocery store, or planning to eat away

from home.

These guidelines have come from many different sources of food culture and none of them are scientific, however they all fall in line with what science has discovered.

The simplest advice he gives is to “Eat Food. Mostly plants. Not too much.” That is to say, real food that is not to be confused with things that are “eatable food-like substances.”

Pollan breaks the book down into three categories: “What should I eat?”, “What kind of food should I eat?”, and “How should I eat?”

Here are my three favorites from each category:

• “Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.”

• “Don’t eat breakfast cereal that changes the color of

the milk.”

• “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”

The funny thing is, I am sitting here writing this review while devouring a stack of pancakes. I made them myself — they are not frozen — but they did come from a box.

However, instead of the usual butter-flavored high fructose corn syrup, I used real maple syrup.

Reading the book two weeks ago, such as with the pancakes, I have made changes to my eating habits.

I am much more cautious of the foods I eat, how fast I eat meals, and why I am eating. I have doubled my label reading and more than anything I have done my best to cut out foods with a lot of sugar, and food that is processed.

However, I am also seven months pregnant and giving up ice cream is not an option. I did change to ice cream that has only five ingredients, like Pollan suggests, and I know the reason why I am eating it.

I like it.

Since reading “Food Rules,” I have become excited about the challenge of eating real food, and the book made me laugh when I realized some of the food mistakes I was making.

I don’t think I will be able to cut out Big Macs or burrito supremes completely from my diet — at least not yet — but every time I head to the drive-through I remember another of Pollan’s food rules.

“It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”

“Food Rules” is available at the Moffat County Library and Downtown Books & Beads.