The Doctor Weighs In

Brian Klepper 

Monday's Morning Edition on NPR had an interview with Michael Pollan, the author of the bestselling "In Defense of Food." When asked to summarize what he has to say about the subject, Pollan says, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

He adds, "That's it. That is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy." You can spend a very worthwhile 6 minutes listening to the interview here.

Pollan's advice is a mix of common sense and hard science, and it is long overdue, part of the difficult consciousness-raising that's necessary for us to overcome the epidemic of obesity and chronic disease that now plagues developed and developing nations.  The core of his message is that we should move away from what has become the Western diet, overeating stuff that masquerades as food. Instead, we should eat sparingly, and foods that our great-grandparents would recognize.

Of course, for this message to really take root, it will have to overwhelm agribusiness' unlimited budgets for lobbying and advertising aimed at kids and the adults. Very difficult.