In his new book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, Michael Pollan gives readers simple, direct and helpful advice to a healthier diet. The introduction of his book explains how he has broken up his advice into three sections: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Three easy tips that sound simple enough on the surface but once you delve into the inner workings of Pollan’s book there are definitely some points that are not quite as obvious as you would think.
There are 64 very easy to read, mostly one page, food tips in this book. A few of my favorites include: “Rule 8: Avoid food products that make health claims” where Pollan goes into detail about the healthiest food in the supermarket, the produce, doesn’t have health warnings: “Don’t take the silence of the yams as a sign they have nothing valuable to say about your health.” The second chapter in Pollan’s little book, “What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly Plants),” has tips about what kind of food to eat: “Don’t eat breakfast cereal that changes the color of the milk.”
The final chapter is devoted to “How much should I eat? (Not too much).” It provides useful proverbs, traditions and advice to help one not eat too much, or too often: “Rule 48: Consider your gut” talks about how your belly doesn’t realize it’s full until about 20 minutes after it is. So take a break while you eat, don’t hurry, and you will find yourself eating less.
Overall, I found Michael Pollan’s book a very interesting read and I will definitely keep his advice in mind next time I’m at the grocery store or at the farmers market!
Food Rules: An Eaters Manual is available to borrow at the New Westminster Public Library (once I return it…).
