Happy Monday! Yesterday, my morning with the Sunday Papers was largely consumed by a single article that deftly explored “the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.”
It was a long essay by Michael Pollen entitled “Unhappy Meals”, and I strongly recommend that you read it too, because not only does it do a great job of explaining our nation’s recent elemental switch in focus from “food” to “processed nutrition” (and how in many ways it’s made our health worse instead of better), it lays out quite simply the best diet advice I have seen in a long time.
What’s the advice? “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Pretty darn simple. There are also nine “rules of thumb” behind it that are also well worth noting here (my comments in parenthesis):
- Eat Food, or as Pollen says, “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food” (amen)
- Avoid foods with big health claims (processed, processed, processed)
- Avoid things with unpronounceable and multiple ingredients, especially the dreaded high-fructose corn syrup (yuck)
- Get out of the supermarket and go to the farmers market (it tastes better too!)
- Pay more for the good healthy stuff (don’t I know this from shopping at Whole Foods market the last 12 years)
- Eat more of the green leafy plants (my wife tells me this every single day – and she’s right)
- Eat like the French, or like Italians (the secret, I believe – smaller portions and “reverence” for the joy of the meal)
- Cook and/or plant a garden (I wish I could do either of these things – I’m hopeless)
- Eat a greater variety of things (stir fried kale and turnip greens, anyone?)
Pollen has put rules on paper that my wife and I have been trying to adhere to for about 10 years now – time will tell if the refocus on “food” will pay off. The good thing about it is that they are based on pure common sense – and that has never failed me yet.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m holding out for the study that says T-bone steaks coupled with fully loaded baked potatoes will increase your longevity by 25 years. I’m sure it will be published any day now:-)
But until it’s published I’ll check out the links in your post and see if I can improve my lifestyle (grumble, grumble.)
Regards,
Glenn
All those tips sound like good ones, and the best part is they sound like easy ones to follow.
The hardest part of eating that way is when I travel. It’s so much easier to stop and eat fast food. Luckily there are subway or sub shops all over the place now and I can load them up with vegetables and they’re probably good for me too.
But yeah, common sense tips that we could all stand to follow. Thanks for the pointer.
Thanks Glenn and Rich for stopping by!
Glenn, do let me know when that study comes out – I’m not a big fan of kale
Rich, I too struggle to be “good” on the road – there are just too many IHOPs (pancakes!) and Famous Dave’s (love those BBQ ribs) out there. Everything in moderation, right?
All the best to you both.