Food Rules - Michael Pollan Book Review
Food Rules - Michael Pollan
I spotted this book in an independent book shop round the corner from where I live and I had seen some clips of Michael speak before, which I enjoyed and respected, so thought I would give his book a go. His motto of “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” I think is something all of us in the modern Western world can strive for - generally speaking, we eat too much of the wrong thing and in a way that poorly favours good physical, mental and social health. It’s a short, quick read and so bear in mind this book has been designed to be as such - simple and a quick read. Michael is a journalist - he is not trained in nutrition, medicine or science but that shouldn’t discredit his work just because he’s not ‘native’ to the field. He’s dedicated his time to reading countless papers and research on nutrition and has tried to put it all together into an easy and accessible read for the general public.
Overall, I quite liked it. The book details 64 snappy rules, split into 3 sections (what to eat, what kind of food and how to eat it). It does a good job of telling you what to avoid - a less good job of giving ideas of what you SHOULD be eating and what you SHOULD be doing, which is just as important - it can leave people feeling a little stranded or helpless without offering tangible solutions to things. But I suppose he can’t do everything in a little pocket sized book! I did find it really interesting that he refers to a lot of highly processed foods as ‘edible food-like substances’. It highlights how just because something is edible, that doesn’t necessarily make it ‘food’ as such. And there’s plentyyyy of those sorts of things in our food environment nowadays, whether we’re aware of it or not.
I think many of the rules are a little elitist, as it assumes everyone has the same financial and social access to be able to shop completely unprocessed and traditionally “healthy” - whilst many families can shop at farmers markets and cook everything from scratch, many (increasing numbers of) families all over the world heavily rely on the cheapness and convenience of very processed foods. They’re not concerned with nutrition - they’re concerned with survival and this will only change with changing nutrition policies, not changing the way they view food or educating them more. It’s generally agreed upon that eating unprocessed and whole foods as much as possible is the best way to eat. But people would be naïve to think this is feasible for everyone - how are you meant to cook whole foods and meals from scratch, if you don’t know how to cook? If it’s not taught in your school, your home or prioritised in your culture, your environment is kind of working against you - that’s not your fault. Later on in the book, he does say though: “not everyone can afford to eat well in America, which is a literal shame, but most of us can”. I think there’s some truth to that, and the same goes for the UK. Many people that have the funds, access and education still choose not to for whatever reason and their motivations should be built on.
He highlights the importance of shopping at Farmer’s Markets and only specific sections of the supermarket (the peripheries), there are downfalls to both of these things. I understand that, for example, in supermarkets the majority of the centre of the supermarket keeps its ultra-processed foods, but it also keeps lots of valuable frozen products, tinned fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses, lentils and legumes. These are all found in the centre of the supermarket and you should include as many of these as possible in your diet! And Farmer’s Markets… absolutely, in terms of the range of fresh fruit and veg and its quality, the selection they have is unique. It’s important to support local businesses, but consider something about food miles: not everything that is locally produced is better for the environment than things that are imported or even flown in from the other side of the world. Lamb that is raised on Welsh farms incur more food miles to a British consumer than it does importing the same weight of lamb from New Zealand (source: Spoon-Fed by Tim Spector, a phenomenal nutrition book). So just bear this in mind: if you can shop at a Farmer’s Market then of course absolutely do. But it might not always be the best option (particularly in terms of if you’re buying meat) and you shouldn’t beat oyurself up about it if you can’t travel or afford that. The fresh fruit and veg section of your local supermarket suffices! Just eat the veggies! :)
Some rules I didn’t agree with: #6, avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients. The number of ingredients in a product can sometimes be an indication to its degree of processing, but also sometimes not at all. 5 bean mixes, frozen vegetable mixes, mixed salads/grains/seed mixes, some loaves of bread would all fall under this category but should by no means be disregarded. There are of course exceptions to every rule, but bear this in mind. Rule #21: it’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Big Mac, Pringles, Cheetos). As if the word ‘banana’ isn’t (almost) the same in every language.
Some are really good though!
#13: eat only foods that will eventually rot.
#23: treat meat as a flavouring or special occasion food.
#27: eat animals that have themselves eaten well (if you’re going to eat them at all).
#34: sweeten and salt your food yourself.
#36: don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the colour of the milk.
#39: eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
#63: cook! (This one is my favourite! It’s not a coincidence that sharp rises in obesity all across the world have come at the same time as declines in home cooking/growth in the processed foods market).
Overall, it highlights the need to simplify the way we eat, which is without a doubt one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Learning to eat and cook doesn’t have to be complicated. It highlights our need to eat better (if you can afford it) and eat less (on the whole). We really should be eating real food, eating not to the point where we’re full but before that, and eating more plants and a lot less meat. Simple.
If I had to make five of my own food rules:
if someone can ‘own it’, then you should probably steer clear of eating it on the regular. No one owns carrots. No one owns oats. Someone owns Twinkies.
if you start reading an ingredients list and get bored, avoid including it in your daily diet.
choose your sugars based on the company they keep. The sugar in an apple does not come with the same company of nutrients as the sugar in a cupcake.
eat more plants than anything else - a balanced diet doesn’t mean eating everything and every food group in equal amounts.
keep it simple. keep it tasty.
Take mine, and Michael’s with a pinch of (your own) salt. Pardon the pun.
Lots of love,
Nish x
