Someone gave me this book to read. Incidentally, someone also gave me Michael Pollan's other book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Are people trying to tell me something?
While The Omnivore's Dilemma is more of a look into how we get our food, In Defense of Food urges us to look at how we eat. Okay, not just how (as if someone needs to tell me how to insert food into my mouth), but what to choose, how to choose it, and the things to avoid. Pollan starts off the book by delving into America's obsession with "nutritionism" and ends with the food rules, which are simply broken down into: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants". It sounds simple, but when you think about what's being offered in today's supermarkets, it will make you look at everything with a skeptical eye.
That makes it sound horrible, but it's not. Every once in a while it's a good idea to reexamine a part of your life and see where you can be better, whether it's running, parenting, relationships, and the importance of how we feed ourselves is no different.
Runners: I'd highly recommend this book, if you haven't read it already.
i haven't read this book, but you've reminded me that i want to. i have read several like it (the china study, skinny bitch), and i agree with the main point: not too much, mostly plants. the kids are always asking me which foods are healthy for their bodies (they're confused about the difference between things that they like, and things that are good for them) and i say, "anything that grows is good for you", which is pretty simplistic, but mostly true. (you know, besides marijuana)
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