FOOD RULES - RULE #22 (PART II Begins)

from "Food Rules: An Eat's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

(Note: There are three parts to this book. We have just finished with Part I. In total, there are 64 Rules.)

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

If you follow the rules offered thus far, you will be eating real, whole food most of the time - the simple key to a healthy diet. Beyond that, you have a great many options. One lesson that can be drawn from the striking diversity of traditional diets people have lived on from around the world is that it is possible to nourish ourselves from an astonishing range of foods - so long as they are really foods. There have been, and can be, healthy high-fat and healthy low-fat diets, but they have always been diets built around whole foods. Yet there are some whole foods that are better for us than others, and some ways of producing them and then combining them in meals that can make a difference. So the rules in this section propose a handful of personal policies regarding what to eat, above and beyond "food."

*****

RULE #22 - Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.

Scientists may disagree on what's so good about plants - the antioxidants? the fiber? the omega-3 fatty acids? - but they do agree that they're probably really good for you and certainly can't hurt. There are scores of studies demonstrating that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of dying from all the Western diseases; in countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half of what it is in the United States. Also, by eating a diet that is primarily plant based, you'll be consuming far fewer calories, since plant foods - with the exception of seeds, including grains and nuts - are typically less "energy dense" than the other things you eat. (And consuming fewer calories protects against many chronic diseases). Vegetarians are notably healthier than carnivores, and they live longer.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."