Transcript Food Rules

Food Rules by Michael Pollan
Adapted to our goal of creating a healthier community
What should I eat?
(Eat food)
What food should I eat?
(Mostly plants)
How should I eat?
(Not too much)
1
Eat Food
Most products in super-markets
are not food but are “edible
food -like substances.”
They are processed concoctions
designed by food scientists,
derived from corn and soy.
Eat only what our grandmothers
would recognize as food.
2
Eat Food
•Avoid high fructose corn syrup, a
marker for highly processed food. It
is added to sweeten breads and snack
foods.
•Avoid foods with sugar among the
top three ingredients. Ingredients are
listed by weight.
•Avoid food with ingredients that a
third-grader can’t pronounce.
3
Eat Food
• Avoid foods advertised on TV.
• Don’t buy heavily-promoted
foods. Ads are for processed
foods. Few are for whole foods,
such as nuts.
• Shop the outside of the market
produce, fish, meat, dairy. Stay
out of the middle.
• Shop at farmer’s markets for
fresh, local food.
4
Eat Food
• Eat food that will rot or be eaten
by fungi and bacteria.
• Food is processed to kill fungi &
bacteria and extend shelf life.
• Real food is alive and should die.
• If it came from a plant, eat it; if it
was made in a plant, don’t.
• It’s not food if you get it through
the window of a car.
5
Eat Mostly Plants
• What kind of food should I eat?
Mostly plants, especially leaves.
• A diet rich in veggies and fruits
reduces the risk of dying from all
Western diseases.
• People who eat a pound of fruit
and veggies daily have one-half
the cancer rate.
• Vegetarians are healthier than
carnivores and live longer.
6
Eat Mostly Plants
Eating what stands on one leg
[mushrooms & plants] is better
than eating what stands on two legs
[fowl], which is better than eating
what stands on four legs [cows,
pigs and other mammals].
- Chinese proverb
(exception: fish)
7
Eat Mostly Plants
• Water for cooking vegetables is
rich in vitamins and minerals.
Save it for soups and sauces.
• Try new kinds of plants and
fungi, not just new foods. Eat
different species.
• Supermarkets are dominated by
corn and soy, which are seeds, not
leaves.
8
Eat Mostly Plants
• Eat well-grown food from soils
full of organic matter, not
chemical fertilizers.
• Eat locally-grown food. Food
brought thousands of miles is
preserved in harmful chemicals.
• When possible, eat wild foods,
which are protected against
disease and pests.
• Choose oily fish - mackerel,
sardines, herring, anchovies –
which are not endangered.
9
Eat Mostly Plants
• Eat foods pre-digested by bacteria or
fungi - yogurt, sauerkraut, soy sauce,
kimchi, sourdough bread - good
sources of vitamin B12.
• Sweeten and salt food yourself – you
will use a lot less.
• Don’t drink your sweets, eat them
(oranges). More fiber, fewer calories.
• Don’t eat cereals that change the color
of the milk.
• “The whiter the bread, the sooner
you’ll be dead.” Eat whole grains.
10
Eat Mostly Plants
• Eat junk food that you cook
your self, like French fries.
• Eat more like Asians or Italians or
Greeks.
• French eat communal meals, no
seconds or snacks, small portions.
• Central America: corn with beans
and lime is a balanced diet.
• Favor traditional foods over new
foods.
11
How Should I Eat?:
Not Too Much
• Seldom snack
• Eat smaller portions.
• From smaller plates & cups.
• No second helpings.
• Eat at longer, leisurely
meals.
• Share meals with others.
12
How Should I Eat?:
Not Too Much
• The food industry increases
quantity while lowering quality.
• Choose quality over quantity –
better to pay grocer than doctor.
• Eating less slows aging and is
the strongest link between diet
and cancer prevention.
• Government subsidies and
factory farms keep prices low.
13
How Should I Eat?:
Not Too Much
• Stop eating before you are full.
• Indians say stop when 75% full.
• Asians say stop when 70% full.
• Muhammad: A full belly is 1/3
food, 1/3 liquid, 1/3 air (empty).
• Our grandparents said: Leave
the table a little hungry.
• It takes food 25 minutes to reach
the stomach to say “enough.”
14