In one of my takeaways, I discussed how nutritionism and how many people are buying into the idea of eating certain nutrients in order to look a certain way, the “acceptable way”. I found this to be disturbingly true and Michael Pollan provides a paradox that I feel speaks true: The more we seem to focus on what we eat, the less healthy we become. Pollan goes on to talk about how through our history, nutritionism has taken root and has acted as a source for debates about what nutrients are the best for you, or which nutrients you should be eating as opposed to others. One example that he gave was protein vs. carbs. You hear so often today that people are trying to stay away from carbs because carbs make you fat when past diet gurus promoted carbs as a healthier alternative to proteins, so which is true? Pollan also says that for every century, we have been occupied and focused on one specific nutrient. In the 19th century it was protein, in the 20th, it was fats and in the 21st, its carbs. If we continue to break down foods and look at them just for their nutrients, with the healthiest having the most healthy nutrients, couldn’t processed foods that meet all those criteria be considered healthy? I believe Pollan poses that question as well. I personally just think that us as a society has put such a big emphasis on how we think a person is supposed to look, and nutritionism was born from that. Nowadays, the healthier, local, and organic stuff is so much more expensive than processed foods not everyone can afford to eat non-processed, less-fatty foods. We as a nation are becoming more obese, while nutrionism is supposed to be helping us to become healthier. But with higher demand for the healthy nutrients, the more costly they become. Nutritionism is legit and real, and it gets concerning when the very thing that is supposed to be helping us understand and eat healthier also makes it so a salad is more expensive than a meal at McDonalds.
