In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating

by Michael Pollan

The human animal is adapted to, and apparently can thrive on, an extraordinary range of different diets, but the Western diet, however you define it, does not seem to be one of them.

Studying cultured human cells, he’s found that “deficiency of vitamins C, E, B12, B6, niacin, folic acid, iron or zinc appears to mimic radiation by causing single-and double-strand DNA breaks, oxidative lesions, or both”—precursors to cancer. “This has serious implications, as half of the U.S. population may be deficient in at least one of these micronutrients.” Most of the missing micronutrients are supplied by fruits and vegetables, of which only 20 percent of American children and 32 percent of adults eat the recommended five daily

Leaves provide a host of critical nutrients a body can’t get from a diet of refined seeds.

instead of worrying about nutrients, we should simply avoid any food that has been processed to such an extent that it is more the product of industry than of nature.

DON’T EAT ANYTHING YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER WOULDN’T RECOGNIZE AS FOOD.

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS CONTAINING INGREDIENTS THAT ARE A) UNFAMILIAR. B) UNPRONOUNCEABLE, C) MORE THAN FIVE IN NUMBER, OR THAT INCLUDE D) HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS THAT MAKE HEALTH CLAIMS.

EAT MOSTLY PLANTS, ESPECIALLY LEAVES.

EAT WELL-GROWN FOOD FROM HEALTHY SOILS.

EAT WILD FOODS WHEN YOU CAN.

serving sizes in France, both in restaurants and supermarkets, are considerably smaller than they are in the United States. This matters because most people have what psychologists call a unit bias—we tend to believe that however big or small the portion served, that’s the proper amount to eat.

In 1960 Americans spent 17.5 percent of their income on food and 5.2 percent of national income on health care. Since then, those numbers have flipped: Spending on food has fallen to 9.9 percent, while spending on health care has climbed to 16 percent of national income.

exceptional food offers us more “food experience”

Choose quality over quantity, food experience over mere calories.

DO ALL YOUR EATING AT A TABLE. No, a desk is not a table.

DON’T GET YOUR FUEL FROM THE SAME PLACE YOUR CAR DOES.

TRY NOT TO EAT ALONE.

When we eat mindlessly and alone, we eat more.

Serve smaller portions on smaller plates; serve food and beverages from small containers (even if this means repackaging things bought in jumbo sizes); leave detritus on the table—empty bottles, bones, and so forth—so you can see how much you’ve eaten or drunk; use glasses that are more vertical than horizontal (people tend to pour more into squat glasses); leave healthy foods in view, unhealthy ones out of view; leave serving bowls in the kitchen rather than on the table to discourage second helpings.

COOK AND, IF YOU CAN, PLANT A GARDEN.