Did I mention that I am a slow reader. I am on page 67 of
In Defense Of Food and I am definitely being enlightened. When I picked this book for my book club I really didn't know Michael Pollan's stance on the Western Diet. I knew that he preferred natural food over man made food, but I didn't know that he criticizes the whole nutritional movement that has taken over America. He seems to believe that to eat for the sake of nutrition alone is ridiculous. This is a tough point for me, because I worry about nutrition. We have been told what fats are bad, what fats are healthy, which vitamins to eat, how much protein to consume, and on and on. The information is printed boldly on almost every package in the supermarket, "no trans fats", "no cholesterol", "Omega 3's!", but what does it all mean. It is enough to drive a person crazy. Especially a health conscious mom. I dread going to the grocery because I feel like I am being lied to at every turn of the corner. Let me give you a great example...Chocolate Cheerios. Are you serious? Here are a few of the bold claims that Cheerios makes on their new product:
"A perfect balance of whole grain goodness and a delicious touch of chocolate taste in every bite"
"..A heart healthy choice for your whole family"
Now, I am not saying that this is the worst possible choice you can make at the grocery store, but man, with those claims what mom wouldn't buy this cereal? This is just one box of cereal on probably one of the scariest isles in the grocery store. Who can make sense of it all and who has time to read all of those labels. I am hoping that Michael Pollan can help me to sort some of this out and that eventually I can walk down the cereal isle free of all the anxiety of making a healthy choice. So far I am still weeding through his evidence, which the book has been criticized for, to get to the "how to" part, but I am optimistic!
In the meantime I am going to start researching some local produce in our area. I am on the hunt for good, local food.
I totally almost bought that cereal the other day. (I had coupons.) Thankfully, I changed my mind at the last minute and went with Kashi. :)
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