Book Review: Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual, by Michael Pollan

by Dennis Kornbluh

You might not think that the simple act of eating would require a manual.  If that’s so, then why are millions of Americans killing themselves with food?  By eating too much sugar, salt and fat, getting too little fiber and too few vitamins and minerals, Americans can proudly claim the highest incidence of obesity, diabetes and cancer in the world.  Not only are we killing ourselves, but our poor eating habits have an impact on those around us.  Consider, for example, how the unhealthy diets of so many of our citizens may impact the cost of healthcare across our nation.

But what is a healthy diet?  Nutritional advice can be very confusing, and most people don’t have time to make sense of it all.

Fortunately, Michael Pollan, the author of five previous books on food, including In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has written a very short (140 pages) manual for eaters that is as easy to digest as a ripe banana.  It consists of 64 “rules” that will help you understand, in very simple and precise language, what you should endeavor to eat.  To explain his approach from a high level, the author is able to boil it all down to the following seven words: “Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.”