Eating Can Be Challenging—Why I Turned To Michael Pollan's Books For Help
Hello everyone— food, food, food, it’s a big topic isn’t it? If you’re not incredibly curious about our nations food industry yet, can I invite you to be? Organic, Non-GMO, Natural Flavors, Gluten Free, Local, Cage-Free… the labeling list goes on and it can be challenging to navigate your way without asking some questions and leaning on resources that provide honest and integral information. And— let’s be real, simply taking charge yourself is a pretty good decision.
I became increasingly curious several years ago when health issues of my own started to arise. After seeing a holistic doctor over several months, I made vast changes with my nutrition and began a new relationship with what I put in my body. This combined with my yoga practice, which lead to me getting certified, became a healing journey I wanted to pay forward. I was excited to share how a commitment to mindful living could change my students lives the way mine was and I hope to continue sharing for a long long time. As I was just beginning to teach, one of my best friends and wildly successful Hollywood personal trainers, Jason Walsh handed me two of Michael Pollan’s books to read and said they have everything you need to know about nutrition. I read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”, both of which I loved. I have a heartfelt wish for everyone out there to be able to eat and have access to affordable organic, nutritional food regularly. Our choices for ourselves and our families plays a major part in our overall well being. Leading experts in the industry and my personal interest in learning have been guides for me when I was single and especially now that I’m a wife and mother and preparing meals for our family.
With more and more independent filmmakers producing nutrition-focused documentaries raising eyebrows and providing a plethora of information… although resourceful, often one is left feeling confused about what we should actually eat. Pollan’s “In Defense Of Food”, tackles this very question and sheds light on our incertitude being at the hand of marketers, journalist and scientists who’m often have much to gain by this. Can we as consumers take responsibility to educate ourselves and do the best we can for the life we want to live? I say “absolutely.” I’m with Pollan, who simply says, “avoid food that your great-great grandparents wouldn’t eat.” I giggle as I imagine my great Grams asking, what is a go-gurt or a lunchable. His concept Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. is a good rule of thumb.
I grew up in the midwest eating everything. A lot of which is even worse today with more crappy ingredients being put into them to preserve things on shelves longer. Although I ate a ton of stuff I will vier away from for my children, we had a garden for years and my parents prepared well balanced meals for us. I know they did the best they knew how to do then. As a baby I had a severe allergy to dairy and wheat but my parents were encouraged to give me a normal diet through my adolescence so I wouldn’t develop reactions to everything containing the two. That all worked out fine until those allergies came back in my early thirties and the development of an auto immune disorder caused me to investigate what the heck I was doing wrong nutritionally, as I mentioned earlier. When you really pay attention to how certain foods react with your system you learn a lot about why you feel the way you do after certain foods. I’m constantly seeking out information in this arena now. Too many people are suffering from major diseases loosing their quality of life over and even more severe; dying from. While practicing yoga propelled me to proactively make healthier choices for leading a life filled with vitality, I can acknowledge that organic food has been one of my greatest healers as well.
The insight provided in “In Defense Of Food” helped me make sense of why all the sneaky worded, so-called healthy sounding things are actually quite toxic. Additionally, it inspires us to get back to food from it’s original state; ie. organic. Pollan simplifies the complexity of what’s happened with the food industry over the last few decades and brought me into a place of comfort with an encouragement to eat mindfully. From the groceries I buy to the restaurants we eat at, thoughtful intention goes into what we decide. Thanks to food labeling we have a choice to steer clear of the products containing GMO’s, pesticides and too many ingredients you can’t pronounce, which I encourage. We’re so mislead it’s no wonder children and adult obesity are huge problems in America. We will continue to see things shift as we the consumers speak up and STOP buying the things that are so terrible for us. That takes willpower, commitment, financial planning and making you and your families health a priority. Yes, FOOD is a huge component to our overall health and mental well being and I’m happy to be playing that on repeat until it’s better understood.
My poor family has been listening to me for years… but guess what, I love them and I desperately care about their longevity and quality of living. They have changed some major things for themselves with how eat and what they buy and I’m so proud of them. Grab your copy of “In Defense Of Food” and perhaps you’ll be next making wonderful changes for you and your family. Michael Pollan also has a new book out I just ordered on audible titled “How To Change Your Mind” I will be diving into next. Your comments and questions are always welcome here, I’m grateful to have you all popping by. Thank you!