Breaking the Law

I'm going to come precariously close to violating one of my laws of the blog: spewing diatribe of how I think things should be is NOT allowed.

My super-conservative friends (who are many) need not fear. I'm not going to force my (quasi)liberal political opinions on anyone. Instead...I'm hoping to make everyone think a little bit about what they eat.

I tell myself I'm justified in smudging the line between black and white this one time because I feel so very strong about this particular topic. Food has obviously changed me in many ways. And as I've become more aware of what I put into my body, I am convinced that so many unexplained health problems people in the US experience are a direct result of changes to the way we eat.

I recently finished a book called In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan, that some members from my book group suggested I read. The premise is that the recent departure from the way humans ate for thousands of years is so dramatic that what most people in the US eat can't even be considered food. Rather, we consume edible foodlike substances that attempt (and fail miserably) to replicate real food found in nature. And those substances are making us all very sick.

Pollan doesn't propose any radical ideas as to how we should change our diet. He advocates using our common sense and going back to our roots. Simply put, eating what our great grandparents ate.

Like all behaviors, changing diet can be incredibly difficult. But the thing I loved most about this book is the three rules he gives to help you know what to eat:

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Not only does he propose that we eat what our great grandparents once did, maybe even more important is HOW they ate. At a table. As a family. Enjoying the food. And each other.

Maybe the reason I loved this book so much is because it validated and gave support for many of the things I already believed. Plus, of course, it taught me a great deal about our part in the food chain, why things are or are not good for us, and the part industry plays in all of this.

I wish I could buy everyone I know a copy. But, even more so, I wish everyone I know and love would really consider what they eat and have the courage to make changes where they are needed.

Maybe I should just start a support group - processed foodies anonymous, or something. Kind of like group therapy. With super healthful treats. But not too much. And mostly plants.