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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Price:$10.20
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| ISBN |
0143114964 |
| Publication Date |
2009-04-28 |
| Number Of Pages |
256 |
| Publisher |
Penguin (Non-Classics) |
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Customers Reviews
2010-07-27
pleased!
The condition of the book when i received it was absolutely fine for what i needed it for! I had to annotate it so i wasn't needing it to be in perfect condition... and I found that the online description of the book's condition was accurate! Overall, I was very pleased with my order!
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2010-07-26
In Defense of Food
This was a good book. Sadly, it was largely what should be common sense but due to the fact that the book needed written, it must not be so common anymore. Pollan addresses the problems with modern meals and the Western diet in this book.
There are three main sections. The Age Of Nutrition-ism talks about just that. Pollan goes over some of the studies and thoughts out there that are modern view of nutrition came from. Especially noticeable are the concepts of vitamins and nutrients. We all recognize that our bodies need these things to work properly, but Pollan's point is that supplements alone aren't going to solve this problem. There is something out there undefined as of right now that makes whole foods as nutritious as they are and not just the sum of their nutrients. He doesn't say that vitamins are worthless, he just says that they are not the best trade-off for whole fresh food.
The next section is the Western Diet and the Diseases of Civilation. He touches on how most people eating a western diet (considered processed food, not a lot of variety, etc.) tend to have higher incidences of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other long term diseases. When he goes back to research other diets that have been established for centuries, he finds that they have lower incidences of these types of disease.
The last part is called Getting Over Nutrition-ism. This section basically gives his rules for good eating. He says to eat "food" and while this seems silly, what he means is actual food, not processed engineered food. He goes over how whole food may not actually be as good as you think, such as meat that is fed processed or bad for it type food. Eat mostly plants, meat should be an accompaniment, not the main course. And lastly, don't eat too much. People should learn when they are full and take cues from their body, not from the portion sizes. Enjoy the meals, that's what is most important.
Pollan makes several good points in this book. He does get repetitious at times and I think the book could have been shorter if this had been left out. He is also a writer, not a scientist so all his writing is not backed up by claims. But this is ok because it is interesting to speculate that the French are thinner because they take time to enjoy their meals even though its relatively similar to what the Americans eat.
The writing was easy to understand although it did get tedious in some parts. He uses a lot of the scientific names for things (i.e. lipids instead of fat) and sometimes this can make for longer reading as you have to remind yourself of what is what. He provides sources and scientific referrals for his work and this can be seen as credited in the back or footnotes within the book.
It should be common sense; but Pollan does a great job of directing this book towards people who maybe were never taught the proper way to eat. It does the research for those who might not know all that goes into their food and what they are ingesting. Truly a complicated educational read.
In Defense of Food
Copyright 2008
201 pages
At the end there are acknowledgements, sources, and an index.
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2010-07-24
It was an ok read, lacked depth
The book was long on promise, short on delivery. I took maybe 6 salient points away from this one, nothing spectacular. The benefits of Omega 3's was probably the best part of the book and most scientific, the rest was random, long-winded & subjective blabbering.
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2010-07-23
Starts out great... but then...
The book has an interesting history of how and why food devolved into industrial chemical compounds as well as a description, or at least theory regarding the chaos it has wreaked on our bodies... The book also decries "nutritionist ideology" in which foods are broken down into parts, but in which their totality is not considered, leading companies to isolate whatever the most or least popular compound in the ingredient is, then create synthetic foods which fail to take into account the original foods as a whole... - - The book also includes not only a look at nutritional pseudoscience (yoghurt enemas... yum!) but how fine lines between nutritional ideology and politics merge to create a type of pseudoscience that cause embarrassment to the very same researchers and nutritionists when they have to reconcile the facts.. -- As the book progresses it demonstrates how the situation has gotten so bad that even "natural" unprocessed foods, from poultry and meats to vegetables have fallen victim to the industrialization of food... and how so called "organic" products suffer too.
The conclusion of the book is to basically not to obsess so much over the high fat/low fat, high carbs or whatever trend of the moment is (*one of the biggest which he argues to be a conspiracy), but instead he advises us to eat REAL food ("Avoid anything with more than 5 ingredients... avoid foods with ingredients you can't recognize...") = = ... Some of the advice is very simple, but sensible. ("Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food...") Read labels... and be wary of foods that make claims. The book also decries the Western diet, but discusses the natural diets of other cultures, including the French Paradox and its relation to another interesting element... not just what they eat, but how.
Overall, the book is engaging, however, it devolves into a rant that may possibly made be worse by the reader's condescending tone of voice... so by the end one forgets the great ironic history lesson and gets drawn into a personal rant involving his personal habits, such as keeping a garden and not necessarily praying but remember where the food comes from before he eats it.
All in all... probably an excellent book in writing, but needs to be reproduced... I'm really serious... The voice of the narrator borders on obnoxious at times... as a result, even though the book is full of a historical outline of the decline of real food, it sounds like an angry rant at times... As I've only heard the audible production, I can't say whether this is true of the book itself, but do feel I left with greater historical insight into advice that even I've known for a while: try to avoid processed foods, and be careful, because food labels are out to fool you.
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2010-07-21
Why eating for maximum convenience is a losing game
What this book has to say is summed up in its first line: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I had a hard time understanding why this requires 201 pages of elaboration (not counting the end matter.) Still, as a longtime adherent of a vegan diet I hadn't realized that most people in our society have become so vastly alienated from what they eat. The fact that this book and its predecessor "The Omnivore's Dilemma" became best sellers speaks volumes about that alienation and the potential for healthy change. Readers seeking to become more food-aware will find a great deal here to think about and take action on. Recommended for those concerned about one of the most intimate choices a person can make: what to ingest.
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Find Out About The Dangers Associated With Dieting Dieting should have sensible basis otherwise it may do nothing but undermine and ruin your health. There are some dangers associated with dieting.
Danger 1 - on my own
The habit always to rely upon oneself is not the appropriate tactics in dieting. Fattiness like any other diseases should be treated under the strict doctor’s control. Every one is unique and needs certain and specific approach. Someone may be stout but have a good health someone may have few “extra kilos” which will intermix with serious diseases. So you should be completely aware of your current state. Work, life style, surroundings, living conditions and even climate should be taken in account when choosing a diet.
Danger 2 - on the buckwheat
There are several dieting myths: you should eat meat, you should eat once or twice a day, it’s useful to eat only buckwheat or apple pines for example. Each product is wholesome for sure but only in the combination with other useful products. And if you decided to keep to a “one-side” diet you merely deprive yourself of necessary and vital elements.
The greatest problems may cause incredible protein decrease, especially animal protein which can not be substituted by soy or legumes protein. Animal protein is the base for ferments and hormones production. In case you reduce protein consumption the reproductive function gets worse and the blood formula changes.
Another danger is the lack of calcium which we usually get of the diary products. This element is absolutely necessary especially for the young organism which bones are still in the process of formation.
The variety of food is the main point of the right diet. Remember you may eat everything but with the sense of measure. Fish, vegetables and fruits are irreplaceable products and should “find place” in your diet however.
Danger 3 – only diet
If you really want to loose weight and not to regain it you’d better thing about dieting and physical loading as separate things but work out the plan of healthy life style. It may include the food we eat, the way we spend our free time, sleep and whatever. The main tendency today is square meals and minimum of physical exercise. The quantity of energy we receive should not exceed the quantity we consume.
The simplest recommendations are to eat divisionally – every 3 or 4 hours in little quantities, not to eat before going to bed.
Danger 4- food is my best friend
The other stumbling block is to compensate stress depression by eating sweets and chocolates. Some times in such situations a person may eat even when he is not hungry.
Remember everything is in your own hands. |
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