Food Rules - Review

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of Food Rules by Michael Pollan. The book is exactly what its title implies - 64 rules about food to get you to eat better. It is a very quick read, and he summarizes all the rules as, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." He covers pretty much everything I've covered in my blog - eat whole foods rather than processed foods, eat animals that have eaten well, eat organic, and when possible, eat local, plus some other great suggestions.

The book is very accessible, and it's correct. If you follow the rules, you will have a much healthier diet than the average American, you will probably lose weight, and you will be less likely to succumb to all of the horrible diseases that are caused by the American diet (this statement was not approved by the FDA).

This morning, my roommate, who isn't nearly as excited about food and diet as I am, picked the book up off the coffee table and started reading it. He even told me, excitedly, that he had started following the rule, "Drink your food, chew your drink," which can be summarized as: eat and drink very slowly. At lunch today, I also followed that rule (while blatantly breaking a few of the other rules, but you have to start somewhere, right?), and I found that I ate about 2/3 of what I would normally eat.

The book lacks sources and data to back up its claims, though the author comes right out and says that he's not going to include them, but the data is out there if you look. On the plus side, the lack of scholarly language makes it much easier to read, so the average Joe can pick it up and start eating better immediately. On the negative side, the book is left wide open to criticism and ridicule from the corporations who don't want you to follow the rules in the book.

Overall, I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. It's definitely worth spending $11 and taking an hour of your time to read it.