Kspitz’s Weblog

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan’s new book, “In Defense of Food” and it is my opinion that this book is going to cause quite a stir in the world of food and nutrition. In a nutshell, Mr. Pollan debunk’s all  mainstream nutritional advice by saying that the field of nutritional science has been flawed from the very beginning. Because of the tendancy to employ ”reductionist” techniques, studies done on diet, nutrients, vitamins or any other aspect of nutrition, are basically doomed from the start because there are just too many variables that science cannot control.  Despite the thousands of studies conducted over the past 60 years, we really don’t know any more about nutrition than we did in the 1950’s. In fact, all of the studies, recommendations, diet books, etc. have really only accomplished one thing – they have succeded in making the question of “what to eat” more confusing and anxiety-ridden than ever before.  

Well, basically, I agree with Mr. Pollan. 

Over the past 20 years I have read dozens of diet/nutrition books, but what I am seeing more of lately are books like Mr. Pollan’s, calling for a return to “real foods” while shunning the advice of experts (who really don’t know as much as they would like us to believe). What these authors are saying is that the foods that our grandparents and great-grandparents ate were never really bad for us, and there is really no reason to worry so much about fats, carbs, or even protein as long as you are eating a variety of foods in moderation – “real” foods, that is, not the processed food products that currently fill the shelves of our grocery stores.  

I am definitely in the same camp as these authors. I grew up on “real” foods including vegetables harvested from our own gardens; milk, eggs and chicken from my aunt and uncle’s small farm; and family dinners made from scratch every night. Like most Americans, I was later convinced that these foods were “bad” for me and throughout the 1980s and early 90s I succommed to the “low-fat” mania and eliminated virtually all fats from my diet. Oh, I got skinny all right, way too skinny, with dry skin and hair, and a nasty temper, too.

Several years ago I stared returning to the “real foods diet” and not only do I feel much better, but I am much more pleasant to be around. :-)  So I welcome Mr. Pollan’s book, and I hope many people read it and take the advice to heart.  As a nutritionist and yoga teacher, I have often mentioned to friends that one of my dreams in life is to live long enough to see the demise of the food “industry”. By turning “real” food into food “products” and crops into commodities, this industry has not only destroyed small family farms, but has destroyed the health of Americans in general and is quickly destroying the health of people in other nations as well. 

Gk