Because I am considering going into the health and fitness field as my career, and because this blog is getting a lot of views, I thought I should try to start really researching more into Health and Nutrition. A friend of mine on the tour recently lent me this book called Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan. Featured at #1 on the New York Times BestSeller list, this book shares basic rules and guidelines for making better choices while eating.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to improve his/her diet. Now I will be completely honest, I am NOT a reader. I have the hardest time focusing while reading, but with this book, it was so easy to get through (Besides, it is only 139 pages, some of which only have a few sentences on the them). Even though this book may be short, it provides 64 general rules that help you make better food choices and help improve your eating habits.

I don’t want to give too much away in my review because I want you to go buy this book and read it yourself, but from what I took away, Michael Pollan suggests many beliefs of those who may follow a Paleo diet (The same diet Tony Grecco, my last Feature Friday Inspirtation, tries to follow). While reading, he frequently points out his golden rule to eating: Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants. It sounds very easy, but he goes into much further detail on what this saying actually means, and how to follow this eating habit. Now from the saying, you may be thinking, “Oh, he is suggesting that I become a Vegetarian or a Vegan,” but fortunately he is not saying that at all! I love the fact that he is pro-omnivore! He tells you to eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. The rules are not aimed toward changing what foods you eat necessarily, but rather toward opening up your mind and observing what you eat. When you observe what you eat, when you are more knowledgable of how the food gets from the farm to your table, and when you are aware of how you are actually consuming your food, that is when you may actually question and consider changing your eating habits.

For the three sections of his golden rule, Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants, Michael Pollan gives a set of guidelines in order to help you follow these three steps. He knows that following every rule and guideline he suggests can be hard and a huge change from what you are used to, so he openly suggests picking at least one rule from each section and practicing those in your daily life. For example, the rules I would like to try to follow are:

Eat Food – It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car AND Avoid foods that have some sort of sugar listed among the top three ingredients

Mostly Plants – Drink the Spinach Water

Not too much – The banquet is the first bite

I am not going to explain exactly what these rules mean and how to follow them since I want you to go get the book, but just by reading about how these rules work, and applying them to my diet, I hope to start eating healthier and smarter. I recommend you find which rules you are willing to try out. Some may sound farfetched or too hard to do, but I can guarantee you that you will be able to find some rules that you would like to try. He makes some excellent points and backs up most of his guidelines with reasonings that should hopefully help you better understand the importance and benefit of each rule.

Now go out there and purchase Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan if you would like to start changing some of your eating habits! If you have any questions about this book or my review, please feel free to email me at corestrengthalec@gmail.com.