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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I adore Michael Pollan - his info is relayed in such a down-to-earth way and he's so witty. This was a super quick read and distilled In Defense of Food into 64 principles revolving around his now famous adage of "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Each sentence has its own set of principles and they're so common sense; ranging from "don't eat food that has ingredients a 3rd grader can't pronouce" to "eat food that will eventually rot" it's exactly what's needed to cut through all the noise surrounding food issues.
Love him and love these principles he's gathered and put together in this eater's manual.
Love him and love these principles he's gathered and put together in this eater's manual.
Most of the rules in this book felt like common sense to me. None of them felt like things I should write on a slip of paper to remember for later. If I wasn't already a fairly sensible eater, I might have learned something from this book, but as it is, it wasn't really worth me reading (even if it only took part of an afternoon).
informative
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual is a short and (not so big on the) sweet(s) little book. Written for those who are eager to learn more about the food they're putting into their body, but aren't interested in a lot of research, the rules are presented in a clear and easy to follow format. The length of this book is both an advantage and a disadvantage for the book in my opinion. The short length allows the reader to learn simple guidelines they can follow right away without having to analyze too much; but not every rule is so easily simplified, and I think that is why Michael makes a habit to mention a lot of exceptions in this book, and also points readers interested in knowing more to his longer book on the subject titled The Omnivore's Dilemma. Yet the most important rule of all that Michael gives can certainly sum up the entire book in a second:
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
I liked this book a lot. I had seen the author on Oprah some time ago and the brief part I saw made so much sense. The book confirmed that first impression.
There are three basic rules: Eat food, Mostly plants and Not too much. Each basic rules has a few more detailed rules for a total of 64 rules. Generally each rule is one page of this small volume.
Some of my favorites:
(though I could almost open to any random page...)
2. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
36. Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
57. Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
64. Break the rules once in a while.
You get the idea; I loved this book.
There are three basic rules: Eat food, Mostly plants and Not too much. Each basic rules has a few more detailed rules for a total of 64 rules. Generally each rule is one page of this small volume.
Some of my favorites:
(though I could almost open to any random page...)
2. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
36. Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
57. Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
64. Break the rules once in a while.
You get the idea; I loved this book.
Common sense guidelines for good eating. If you want the science behind it, read Pollan's other books, but if you only have an hour to spare, this book contains simple, yet often forgotten rules for eating wisely.
I liked this simple book. Instead of having to weed it out of the last chapters of his previous book, I can just enjoy the nuggets of wisdom in this book. It makes a lot of sense.
Great condensed version of Pollan's "In Defense of Food." I loved that book, but this is the one that is probably recommend to friends and family who are curious about whole food eating.
Great short read and great rules to live by. I love that it is not overly preachy or scientific. Pollan gives a lot of weight to traditional food practices that made sense before someone tried to scientifically prove it. He is right that nutitional science is a relatively new field and has not found the answers to everything yet in the meantime we need common sense rules to live by.