Here’s the label on a box of animal crackers that someone is storing in the work fridge (why the fridge? don’t these have a shelf life of 100 years?):
“Good source of calcium.”
To paraphrase Mark Sisson, adding a nutrient to a junk food doesn’t turn it into a health food.
You know, I think all of us low-carb / Paleo / slow food / traditional nutrition / WAPF types have been a little hard on Michael Pollan. I have a few bones to pick with In Defense of Food, namely an inherent contradiction between his injunction to eat “mostly plants” and his suspicion of corn and other grain products. (Michael, dear, if we are supposed to limit animal products AND limit grains, where are we supposed to get enough calories to fuel our bodies? Swigging down glasses of olive oil?)
But the fact that food manufacturers bother to put labels like “a good source of calcium” on foods that are largely made of sugar suggests that it boosts sales. Which means that people are falling for it. Which means that Pollan’s advice to avoid foods that make health claims is necessary.
And my own experience supports this, too - I have extremely educated friends with decent incomes who tease me about my insistence on spending more money for cream that doesn’t have added thickeners and stabilizers, or think I’m too picky when I avoid commercial salad dressings because they are made with ingredients that can’t be procured for home use. So Pollan’s advice not to eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize is also sorely needed.
So go read In Defense of Food. But more to the point, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably already get and agree with 90% of what Pollan says - so give copies of the book to your less enlightened friends. You know, the ones who buy things like Diet Coke Plus.
(Disclosure: I work for a company owned by the same company that owns Penguin Press, the publisher of this book.)
Migraine aura picture from 
Good to see you back! I haven’t blogged much, lately, either.
The frustrating thing about Pollan’s “mostly plants” is that he really, really, really should know better. If anyone, he.
You make a good point that once you subtract grains, eating “mostly plants” becomes darn nigh impossible. Unless you eat “mostly soybeans,” I suppose. I can’t imagine Pollan would recommend that.
Here’s something that frustrates me about Pollan critics: they take the “your great-grandmother” part literally and say, “MY great-grandmother didn’t know about cilantro or miso. So according to you, I shouldn’t eat them!” That’s NOT what he meant!
Comment by Vesna — May 8, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
I agree that Pollan sometimes seems to contradict himself. Surely the “Omnivore’s Dilemma” author is not against eating meat. Or against whole grains.
It’s the whole “commodity food” thing that gets him going. The cornmeal, grits, even whole dried hominy we buy in a supermarket are definitely commodity foods. But so is anything that can be stored in warehouses, fridges, or freezers (http://www.fas.usda.gov/commodities.asp). I *THINK* he’s more against “corn products”, the further they get from being just “corn”.
Comment by FamilyNutritionist — May 9, 2008 @ 9:11 am
Mmmm, Diet Coke plus! You know what would go great with that? Those new Snickers bars with Taurine and B vitamins!
Comment by nightwitch — May 10, 2008 @ 1:51 am
“Michael, dear, if we are supposed to limit animal products AND limit grains, where are we supposed to get enough calories to fuel our bodies? Swigging down glasses of olive oil?)”
An avocado or a couple handfuls of walnuts, almonds, or pumpkin seeds adds a lot of highly nutritious palate-pleasing fatty calories to a meal. I limit both animal products and grains, and I have no trouble maintaining 115 pounds on my 5′2′ frame.
Good to hear that you’re still progressing towards your ideal weight. Keep it up, girl!
Comment by Sonagi — May 10, 2008 @ 8:54 pm
“Here’s something that frustrates me about Pollan critics: they take the “your great-grandmother” part literally and say, “MY great-grandmother didn’t know about cilantro or miso. So according to you, I shouldn’t eat them!” That’s NOT what he meant!”
My great-grandmother didn’t know about cilantro or miso, but the great grandmothers of my Chinese, Japanese, and Korean friends did. Good eating embraces traditional foods from many cultures, something I think Pollan and you would agree with.
Comment by Sonagi — May 11, 2008 @ 6:05 pm