Blog 19: In Defense of Food

Michael Pollan in his book “In Defense of Food” gives a set of suggestions of what we should and should not do to eat healthier.

His examples of what we should not do are: eat foodlike items from supermarkets (the ones that our great-great-grandmothers would not consider as food), eat anything that does not rot or contain ingredients we are not familiar with. In addition, he mentions that we should not shop in the middle aisles of supermarkets, since the healthy food is usually displayed on the outline walls of the stores, and processed food is usually in the very middle.

Pollen then writes what we should do: avoid products that advertise to be healthy (they almost never are; it is just the opposite), we should eat plants especially leaves which will drastically change the amount of calories we consume and that we should spend more money on food since healthier food costs more. Lastly, the author states that we  should cook more and plant our own gardens.

 I agree with Pollan that by not eating products with unknown ingredients, shopping in peripheral shops, and by cooking and growing our own vegetables we can start eating healthier.

Pollan states that products, which contain unfamiliar ingredients “are reliable markers for foods that have been highly processed”.  Processed food is modified with additives to taste better, look better and even smell better and some additives can cause serious health problems.

The author writes that we should avoid shopping in supermarkets and instead we should go to a farmers market were we can find “the kind of food your great-great-grandmother would have recognized as food” – real healthy food.

I always shop in small local Polish Deli’s. Everything is fresh from bread, cheeses, meat, sweets etc. Everything’s looks so delicious it literally screams at you – eat me!  Even though everything is a lot more expensive than products from supermarkets, I rather pay more and get healthy fresh food that pay less and end up with a stomachache.

Pollan writes - “the culture of kitchen, as embodied in those enduring traditions we call cuisines, contains more wisdom about diet and health than you are apt to find in any nutrition journal or journalism”. I agree. Eating anything we cook ourselves is a 100% healthier starting with the simple fact that we know exactly what our meals consists of. I try to cook as often as I can, however, with my current busy schedule I barely have time. If I do not cook, I still pass up on fast food. I prefer to make myself a simple sandwich than go to McDonalds or any other fast food place.

Pollan also writes that – “the food you grow yourself contributes to your health long before you sit down to eat it.” In my previous apartment, I had a spacious balcony that I decided to change into my little garden. I planted mainly tomatoes and flowers for decoration. I was surprised that my tomatoes actually grew but most of all that they were very tasty. They were so good they tasted even better than the ones I use to get in a grocery store. Now I unfortunately do not have a place for a garden L. But who knows maybe in the near future …