Thinking about food and nutrition seems to be such a central concern for many of us. There are endless questions, and just as many answers, floating around related to health and nutrition. Our ancestors didn’t give any thought to measuring and calculating vitamins and nutrients, and yet many of them lived longer than we do, and they were on average healthier.
Even though we are obsessed with the biochemistry of food and how it affects the body as a whole, we are some of the most unhealthy humans to have ever lived. So what happened? And how can we find a more balanced and healthy understanding of nutrition? Michael Pollan outlines the emergence of what he calls “nutritionism” in his book “In Defense of Food“. He claims this “nutritionism” is partially to blame for the lack of understanding regarding the food we encounter today.
Michael Pollan names four key premises that define “nutritionism”:
1) The key unit in food is the “nutrient”.
2) We need experts to tell us how to eat
3) Nutrition is black and white. Some nutrients are “good,” and others are “bad.”
4) The purpose of eating is health.
There are, of course, serious flaws in these assumptions. The complexity of food itself and what it provides us is a beautiful relationship that cannot be reduced to mere nutrition or to dichotomous thinking. As Pollan points out, eating and the sharing of food have been important rituals in cultures around the world since the beginning of human civilization. It’s connected to community structure and spirituality, and is deeply rooted in the environment and our relationship to it.
Pollan traces the phenomenon of “nutritionism” back to the 1970s, when the American government started creating food recommendations and using scientific language to describe food. At the same time, the food landscape was undergoing massive changes due to the expansion of the processed food industry. Processed food promised added value and convenience. In addition, the food industry began manipulating food to align with the latest nutritional fads. This resulted in items like “fat-free” products.
Ultimately, this reliance on food solely for its nutrition, and the corresponding reliance on an “expert” who understands nutrients to tell us how to eat, has separated us from a deeper understanding of wellness. What is needed is an understanding rooted in the reliable wisdom of inner knowing and ancestral knowledge.
There are times when an understanding of individual nutrients can be very helpful. Especially because many of us are encountering unprecedented levels of toxicity in our environment. A well-rounded approach to whole-food nutrients can support the body, mind, and spirit in many ways. However, Michael Pollan provides three “food rules” as a great starting point to help reconnect with deeper health, without the confusion around nutrients. He reminds us: we don’t need to be chemists to understand how to eat! He tells us:
1) Eat food
2) Not too much
3) Mostly plants
These three rules clearly outline the basics of a healthy approach to eating. When we eat real food (food as close to its natural state as possible) without all the processing, we minimize the risk of encountering products our bodies have a harder time understanding and utilizing.
For perhaps the first time in history, many people are living with an overabundance of calories. Having a healthy ability to say no and limit food intake (especially of processed food), even when our biology tells us we need more carbohydrates and fats, can also be helpful. And finally, filling your plate primarily with plant-based products will significantly improve your overall health.
You can check out Michael Pollan’s book In Defence of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto here.
