Food Rules: How do they apply to your life?
Onesnap
Posts: 2,819 Member
For those of you that have read the book 'Food Rules' by Michael Pollan, this is a good refresher. For those of you that have heard of the book, but never read it, here's the whole list below. I just found it online today and it's a great reminder. Pollan is very controversial in the food world/ dieting world but I will say he brings a lot of good research and examples to the table.
Check out the list. Which ones speak to you directly?
In general I like to avoid foods that pretend they are something they are NOT. The concept of eating food cooked by humans is a big one for me as well. Food not cooked by a robot is good.
I see a lot of people supporting diet foods and foods that come in a box here on MFP. Most say it helps them resist cravings and overdo it. I don't agree with eating foods that are highly processed and filled with chemicals made in a lab. Did you know even 0 calorie Truvia (created by the soda industry) is made using 40 chemical compounds? 40. The FDA does not require that they list them on the label. If something comes from a plant and is natural how does it have 0 calories? In the case of Truvia, it's the 40 chemical compounds.
Here's the list. I'd love to hear your feedback.
RULES:
In the post below, someone requested the list of rules from the book. Here they are:
1. Eat food
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry
4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup
5. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients
6. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce
8. Avoid food products that make health claims
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not
11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle
13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot
14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can
16. Buy your snacks at the farmers market
17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans
18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)
22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves
23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food
24. Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] 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].
25. Eat your colors
26. Drink the spinach water
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well
28. If you have space, buy a freezer
29. Eat like an omnivore
30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil
31. Eat wild foods when you can
32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes
33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacterial or fungi
34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself
35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature
36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk
37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead
38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground
39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself
40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements
41. Eat more lie the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism
43. Have a glass of wine with dinner
44. Pay more, eat less
45. Eat less
46. Stop eating before you’re full
47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored
48. Consult your gut
49. Eat slowly
50. The banquet is in the first bite
51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it
52. Buy smaller plates and glasses
53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds
54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like pauper
55. Eat meals
56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods
57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does
58. Do all your eating at a table
59. Try not to eat alone
60. Treat treats as treats
61. Leave something on your plate
62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t
63. Cook
Check out the list. Which ones speak to you directly?
In general I like to avoid foods that pretend they are something they are NOT. The concept of eating food cooked by humans is a big one for me as well. Food not cooked by a robot is good.
I see a lot of people supporting diet foods and foods that come in a box here on MFP. Most say it helps them resist cravings and overdo it. I don't agree with eating foods that are highly processed and filled with chemicals made in a lab. Did you know even 0 calorie Truvia (created by the soda industry) is made using 40 chemical compounds? 40. The FDA does not require that they list them on the label. If something comes from a plant and is natural how does it have 0 calories? In the case of Truvia, it's the 40 chemical compounds.
Here's the list. I'd love to hear your feedback.
RULES:
In the post below, someone requested the list of rules from the book. Here they are:
1. Eat food
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry
4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup
5. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients
6. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce
8. Avoid food products that make health claims
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not
11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle
13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot
14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can
16. Buy your snacks at the farmers market
17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans
18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)
22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves
23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food
24. Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] 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].
25. Eat your colors
26. Drink the spinach water
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well
28. If you have space, buy a freezer
29. Eat like an omnivore
30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil
31. Eat wild foods when you can
32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes
33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacterial or fungi
34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself
35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature
36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk
37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead
38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground
39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself
40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements
41. Eat more lie the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism
43. Have a glass of wine with dinner
44. Pay more, eat less
45. Eat less
46. Stop eating before you’re full
47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored
48. Consult your gut
49. Eat slowly
50. The banquet is in the first bite
51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it
52. Buy smaller plates and glasses
53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds
54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like pauper
55. Eat meals
56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods
57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does
58. Do all your eating at a table
59. Try not to eat alone
60. Treat treats as treats
61. Leave something on your plate
62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t
63. Cook
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Replies
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*LIKE* Great post!! Thanks for sharing! :flowerforyou:0
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Oh I LOVE this!! Made me giggle a LOT!0
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Nice list... and yup once you start making the stuff at home even the "Sweet treats" you used to buy out just can't measure up to what you make at home, in full control over what ingredients go into it
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I especially like:
39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself
Works for me! :-)0 -
Whoa! Waaaaaaay too many rules. Healthy living does not have to be this complicated.0
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Fab post - thanks 0
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I love this one:
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food0 -
I understand the point that he's trying to make, but honestly, rules like this drive me batty. Mostly because I'm a very literal person, and if you were to take most of them literally, you'd be making your food choices on the basis of completely irrelevant information. For example, I've passed a bag of home grown veggies to a friend though their car window, and they certainly weren't unfit to eat :laugh: 0
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Thanks all. Pick and choose what works for you and YOUR life.0
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~ Wow ... That's a lot of rules !!!! Hmmmmm ......0
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this is how I've lost 64 lbs. Only I do eat more meat...but my husband kills all of it but the chicken. I see all these people eating highly processed "low fat" "low cal" stuff. I've done it in the past. If it isn't real, I really try not to eat it. Of course I'll get chick fil a everyone once in awhile & some ice cream now and then, but I really try to bake the treats myself. If I want sugar in my coffee, I put real sugar. The end.0
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I'm a huge fan of Michael Pollan. All his books are worth a read.0
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Michael Pollan makes the most sense to me of anyone who researches food. His approach is common sense and easy to follow. The rules are worth reviewing regularly to incorporate them into your daily life.
Also remember his simple mantra from his book In Defense of Food:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.0 -
Like all things, these too in moderation. All of these rules are great to integrate into your life. A lil less processed, a lil more fresh is really the overall theme, which is always a good idea. Fit them in where you can, it's not a religion, it's not all or nothing!0
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Oh, and I have read his books. My favorite is when he discusses GoGurt...would you grandma know what that is?! I actually make our yogurt myself in the crockpot. Yep, I do....0
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this is how I've lost 64 lbs. Only I do eat more meat...but my husband kills all of it but the chicken. I see all these people eating highly processed "low fat" "low cal" stuff. I've done it in the past. If it isn't real, I really try not to eat it. Of course I'll get chick fil a everyone once in awhile & some ice cream now and then, but I really try to bake the treats myself. If I want sugar in my coffee, I put real sugar. The end.
Bison and lobster have less fat than Chicken. Grass fed beef has 1/2 the fat of grain fed. Food science is awesome.0 -
Michael Pollan makes the most sense to me of anyone who researches food. His approach is common sense and easy to follow. The rules are worth reviewing regularly to incorporate them into your daily life.
Also remember his simple mantra from his book In Defense of Food:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
In Defense of Food comes in e-book format and is great for your Nook or Kindle too. 0 -
Healthy living is a lot of rules.
When I cook at home or grow my own veggies that's a heck of a lot more steps than waiting in the McDonald's Drive Thru line. I'd rather roast my own potatoes (mmm, truffle oil) than eat fast food fries.0 -
I live by the majority of those "rules"..............To me, it is just a common sense way to live.0
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Healthy living is a lot of rules.
When I cook at home or grow my own veggies that's a heck of a lot more steps than waiting in the McDonald's Drive Thru line. I'd rather roast my own potatoes (mmm, truffle oil) than eat fast food fries.
Amen!! Most are too lazy to even want to begin to embark on that journey...............no one has time so it must come from the frozen food section and popped in the microwave....... <SMH> and <roll eyes>0 -
I understand the point that he's trying to make, but honestly, rules like this drive me batty. Mostly because I'm a very literal person, and if you were to take most of them literally, you'd be making your food choices on the basis of completely irrelevant information. For example, I've passed a bag of home grown veggies to a friend though their car window, and they certainly weren't unfit to eat :laugh:
Well a little common sense goes a long way..............0 -
Amen!! Most are too lazy to even want to begin to embark on that journey...............no one has time so it must come from the frozen food section and popped in the microwave....... <SMH> and <roll eyes>
THANK YOU! you should see the drive-thru line near my work at Panera Bread. Dozens and dozens of people per day that are too *lazy* to even get out of their cars to go in and order lunch. 0 -
Great post. I love the person who said too many rules. LOL!! It's sad that we have sooo many "food" options that a list on HOW to eat healthy has to contain soo many rules.
No, it doesn't have to be THAT hard to eat healthy if we all grew and killed our own food...THE END!
I'm a busy mom of three spoiled little girls and we are in the process of making as many changes as we can right now so we still have some really bad stuff hanging around the house. I have always baked their sweet treats myself but from time to time they like to have some of the pre-packegd junk from the store......from time to time though..not every day!
We do not buy sandwich bread at the store anymore. I make it myself. We mix our own pancake mix. I make my own pasta when time allows (with whole wheat flour for the bread and pasta). I read, read, read lables before I toss something in my cart at the store and sometimes it still makes me cringe knowing what I'm packing in the munchkins lunch but we are trying our best to make changes where we can and where te budget allows! I think half of our grocery bill is fresh produce anymore. Growing kids can eat a ton of fruit and veg in a few days time!
Thanks for a great read!
Forgot to add that my silly husband told me he was going to get me a grinder so I can grind my own wheat. I'm not THAT hardcore.......yet! We do raise our own beef and Ihave had to grind a chuck roast into grond beef a time or two.
I have to say, when you put the effort into your meals the food is by farmore satisfying and more tasty. I've always been a homecooked meal kind of girl (home made chicken noodle soup for lunch today with home made whole wheat noodles).
In fact our Valentine Dinner tomorrow night will be a home cooked meal...I would rather enjoy my food then worry about what is in it! 0 -
CharityEaton: I continue to be inspired by you daily. You prove that even a busy Mom can make things at home where you know every single ingredient that goes into the product--and into your kid's bellies!0
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CharityEaton: I continue to be inspired by you daily. You prove that even a busy Mom can make things at home where you know every single ingredient that goes into the product--and into your kid's bellies!
Awe, thanks! I try my best but there are times I tell them to grab a package of fake cheese and cracker sticks. LOL! I even volunteered to make the cookies for the class party tomorrow so I would know what MY kid was eating LOL! I didn't want another mom sending in store cookies! How bad is that?? However I will be making the most god awful frosting to go on top of them...don't tell! I already feel guilty for slowly killing the entire class with my frosting but at least it has fewer scary things in it then a can of store frosting!0 -
I'm baking cupcakes tonight to bring into work tomorrow. I'd rather make my own and share than eat the whole batch!!0
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Michael Pollan and Andrew Weil have been big influences on how we eat. We belong to a CSA and get our veggies from there. We try to buy local whenever possible and don't buy much that comes in packages.0
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Haven't read "Food Rules" yet, but I am reading "In Defense of Food" and it's changing my life. I try my best to follow the rules you listed....and I limit the packaged food that I buy and if I don't recognize the ingredients, I won't buy it. Thanks for posting!!0
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I personally love this book and searched for it by name to find this post. I understand why people who have no knowledge of Michael Pollan would see this huge list and be like WTF??
BUT he even says in his book these are more like personal policies instead of rules. And he wrote this as a response to all the people that kept hounding him, "What do I eat?" "What don't I eat?" He has written some investigative books that catalog his journey and what he found. And people read this and were so excited! But they expected him to have some neat and tidy answer to "Now knowing this information... What do I eat?" And the fact that he didn't have a ready answer frustrated people. And he told people this:
1) Eat food.
2) Not too much.
3) Mostly plants.
He created this book to unpack those three things. He writes in his book if you only take one rule from each of the three sections than you're doing good. It's really a collection of ways to look at food and how to experience food. Advice from long standing cultures, etc. It's a wonderful book that I think could free a lot of the people on this site. I haven't met a book yet that so clearly matches my own beliefs about food. Now to believe something and to act upon it are totally different. That is why I'm at MFP to learn how to more closely bring what I eat into line with what I believe. I wish more people would pick up this book.0 -
I agree with every one of those rules as an ideal to strive toward.
Jack Lalanne used to say over and over again.
If man makes it, don't eat it. He was right.
I eat this way 75% of the time - an obvious work in progress.
THANKS FOR SHARING!0
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