{"id":814,"date":"2008-08-11T10:00:01","date_gmt":"2008-08-11T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/08\/11\/in-defense-of-food\/"},"modified":"2018-04-03T08:51:36","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:51:36","slug":"in-defense-of-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/08\/11\/in-defense-of-food\/","title":{"rendered":"In Defense of Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lettuce.png\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How can a nation so obsessed with health, be so unhealthy?\u00c2\u00a0 Why has our historically diverse diet gone down to mostly three crops: corn, wheat and soybeans?\u00c2\u00a0 Michael Pollan argues that in a society where potato chips and corn oil can be awarded health claims (Frito Lays and Mazola, respectively), there is something seriously wrong with our approach to food.<\/p>\n

I recently had a chance to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma<\/a>\"\"<\/strong> and In Defense of Food<\/a>\"\"<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 I think both books are must-reads for anyone that is interested in their health, the environment or eating food.<\/p>\n

Why is Health Advice Making us Sicker?<\/h2>\n

In Defense of Food<\/em> starts on an unusual attack.\u00c2\u00a0 Pollan argues that a big part of the obesity crisis is the field of nutrition itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Nutrition has shifted the focus from foods, like potatoes and beef, to nutrients, like carbohydrates and saturated fat.\u00c2\u00a0 This switch from foods to nutrients is what Pollan calls nutritionism and it is making us sick.<\/p>\n

This focus on nutrients and not food, has lead to an oversimplification of an incredibly complex system.\u00c2\u00a0 When protein, fat and carbohydrates were discovered as the building blocks of nutrition, many researchers declared the problem of nutrition solved.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, they weren\u2019t able to explain why sailors (who get plenty of these macronutrients) were getting sick.\u00c2\u00a0 This lead to the discovery of vitamins and minerals.<\/p>\n

Now we\u2019re just learning that vitamins aren\u2019t the last step.\u00c2\u00a0 Other compounds in food such as flavonols can impact our health.\u00c2\u00a0 The simple category of fats has undergone more than a few civil wars, splitting first into saturated and unsaturated, and now dividing into even more categories such as Omega-3’s and trans-fats.\u00c2\u00a0 Although knowledge is progressing, nutritional science understands a lot less than it would like us to believe.<\/p>\n

Food corporations love nutritionism.\u00c2\u00a0 Need more Vitamin A?\u00c2\u00a0 Just add it in.\u00c2\u00a0 Trans fats are bad?\u00c2\u00a0 Just synthesize something else.\u00c2\u00a0 Tomatoes and brown rice don\u2019t have much of a profit margin.\u00c2\u00a0 Absorbing the health advice, industry has created many edible foodlike substances that claim to be healthier than real food, and also make far more money.<\/p>\n

Scientific arrogance and industrial greed have joined to make us obese, pollute our earth and \u201cruin more than a few good meals\u201d according to Pollan.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>Eat Food.\u00c2\u00a0 Not Too Much.\u00c2\u00a0 Mostly Plants.<\/h2>\n

Seven words summarizes Pollan\u2019s advice for the eater.\u00c2\u00a0 Along with the simple headings, he offers advice I never expected to hear from a book on nutrition, such as:<\/p>\n