Book Breakdown: Food Rules

• Title: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual
• Author: Michael Pollan
• Genre: Health/Nutrition
• Grade: A

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual is a short book that expands on the manifesto Pollan presented in his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual is a list of 64 easy to understand rules about the practical application of this manifesto.

I read this book in one sitting. The rules are grouped under each section of the manifesto and Pollan recommends adopting one from each section. These are the three rules that resonated with me:

Eat Food: “Avoid food products that make health claims.”

Mostly Plants: “Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.”

Not Too Much: “The banquet is in the first bite.”

Some of the rules have a paragraph or two explaining them, but for the most part they are pretty self explanatory. This book does not go into the extensive research that Pollan presented in his previous book, and I was more receptive to the message in Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual because I had read In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto first. I would these books together for anyone looking to reevaluate their eating habits.

Have you read these or any of Michael Pollan’s other books on nutrition? What are your thoughts on his manifesto and rules?