Books that have made their clear and concise mark: Island of the Blue Dolphins (love stories of survival), A Wrinkle in Time (as sci-fi as it gets for my taste though space and time travel will always be a childhood dream), Demian (weird affinity for German coming-of-age tales), Franny and Zooey (love sibling stories), The Road (again, survival story). Yet none of these books has truly changed how I live and how I conduct the necessities of life. That is until Michael Pollan.
This summer I devoured In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, wherein Pollan lays out evidence of the evils of packaged food and explains why so many Americans suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes and certain cancers. He juxtaposes our “Western” diet with that of the French and Mediterranean diets. And while the French and, more so, the Greeks smoke like chimneys, they are much healthier than we are. Why? Their diet. They consume more fresh, unadulterated foods. We, generally, eat food that’s made to sit on grocery store shelves. This takes its toll on our bodies and health.
After finishing the book, I began reading food labels. Instead of looking for calorie and fat content, I was now looking for ingredients. Why must a loaf of whole wheat bread also include calcium propionate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin, and azodicarbonamide. Bread should be flour, water, yeast, and salt. I am now hyper conscious of these preservatives and wacky chemical additives. My body is already fighting off myriad toxins, just by living in this city. I don’t want to add to its burden. So I’m taking baby steps in correcting this wrong. My next few posts will be about how I’m changing my daily habits. I’m shopping the green market in Union Square one to two times a week. More challengingly, I’ve begun to bake my own bread. Posts on the roller coaster ride that is bread baking to follow. In the meantime, I suggest picking up one of Pollan’s books. It’ll rock your world, or at least tilt it enough for you to want to alter previous habits.
Congratulations! What a fabulous book indeed. As part of your journey, I highly recommend that you also read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. I adore Michael Pollan and I am always happy to hear about someone changing their habits based on his important information and incredibly wise advice. I look forward to reading more about your adventure….