“Food Rules” by Michael Pollan- A Quick Summary for You.

We all know that over time our average American diet has become heavier in sugars, saturated fats, and contains chemicals/additives that we can’t even pronounce let alone know what they are. Picking the right foods for yourself has become harder when feeding yourself should feel more like natural, intuitive process based on your needs. Michael Pollan in The Food Rules helps break down the often confusing science of nutrition/food and simplifies step by step with a new "food rule” presented in each one of his chapters. Here is a list of 6 of his food rules that stuck out:

1) Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food: The logic behind this statement is foods are processed today in ways specifically designed to target our brain to crave tastes like salty and sweet. Packaging makes us believe this “foodish item” is something we deeply need.

2) Would you keep it in your pantry as a single ingredient? No? I don’t even know what that is? Might be a food to avoid upon further research for yourself.

3) Can a third grader pronounce this ingredient? No ? May be something to avoid.

4) “Lite” or “low fat” can translate into high sugar content to make up up for the lost flavor profile.

5) Shop the peripheries of the supermarket (dairy, vegetables & fruits, meats) and be wary of the middle (snack foods, chips, sodas etc).

6) Can you picture this food in its natural state growing from a tree, the soil…in nature? Yes? You’re onto something! No? It may have been processed or refined with other substances to get to this state.

To end- it is important to consider what you consume on a daily basis because you are what you eat. These are not hard rules to follow but to consider and research more for yourself to make educated decisions on your diet, one of the most important pillars of your health.