I've been struggling with how to eat a healthy diet to keep my blood pressure down and prevent a second stroke while consuming enough to not lose too much weight for over two years now. My primary care provider said "Exercise Moderation." I needed actionable steps, not pithy slogans. My neurologist said "Eat meat" which even I knew was a bad idea. So I turned to books which ranged from the didactic to the confusing. I was eating stuff I didn't like--dreading breakfast so much I didn't want to get out of bed--and every time I ate supper with my husband it felt like playing Russian roulette. I stopped looking at the scales when they dipped below 90. If someone invented pills that gave me all the nutrients I needed to take the place of food it would have felt like a dream come true.
Then last year, hunting for more blog worthy books 📚 to order by inter library loan, I saw a ray of hope on the horizon: Marion Nestle's just dropped What To Eat Now. I put in a request for it speedy quick.
I've read some of Nestle's previous books on all aspects of foods. She has academic cred and institution affiliations. She's won prestigious awards. But she writes so people without advanced degrees in nutrition can understand it. And she writes with passion and anger on our behalf when corporations are behaving badly. She asks the inconvenient questions. If I was marketing highly processed food to kids she'd be someone I wouldn't want to encounter. She has no qualms about pissing her colleagues off. She's certainly earned my trust.
Actually What To Eat Now is a revision of her What To Eat (2006) which she wrote as a response to the questions many people were asking her. Addressing not only the questions themselves, but the the very real anxiety behind them she began researching grocery stores, talking to industry people, and doing a lot of reading. When the pandemic hit, giving her the space to revisit the book, she realized that so much had changed a whole new book was needed.
Nestle uses a very user-friendly format. Almost all of us have pushed carts through supermarkets. She tackles different food types that we'd consume or feed our children or fur babies in the order in which they'd appear. She addresses questions like nutrition, safety, and affordability. Some sections have subchapters on relevant issues. At the fish counter she weighs the risks (toxic chemicals) versus benefits (omega-3 fats) of fish consumption.
To my surprise and delight she answered two of my personal questions. The plain kind of Cheerios (which I switched to when I could no longer make myself eat Raisin Bran) is a perfectly good cereal choice. And feeding cats only wet food is the best. Now I can tell Eugene that not only does it keep cats from becoming obese (especially indoor cats who don't get the hunting/fleeing from predators exercise of the outdoor felines), but it prevents kidney problems and is safer because of the way it's manufactured.
Nestle wants us to think beyond our personal food choices to their impact on the larger world. What impact will they have on the environment? Will the workers from farmers to grocery store workers be paid adequately and treated with dignity? Will the animals that are raised for food suffer unnecessarily? She threads these issues throughout the book. This social justice aspect is one of the most exciting aspects of the book for me. She ends with this truly inspiring paragraph:
"You eat. Willingly or not you participate in the environment of food choice. The choices you make about food are as much about the kind of world you want to live in as they are about what to have for lunch. Food choices are about your future and that of your children. They are about democracy in action. I am thoroughly convinced one person can make a difference. Food is an excellent place to make that difference. Yes, you should take personal responsibility--informed personal responsibility--to make food choices you believe in. But do more. Advocate for your beliefs...Exercise your first amendment rights. Speak out. And enjoy your dinner, knowing you are creating a better world for yourself and others, now and in the future."
AMEN TO THAT!!!
I'm feeling guardedly optimistic about food for the first time since the stroke. Like I can understand it, like maybe in the future eating can be something I like rather than a dreaded chore. I will keep reading. I'll bring questions to nutritionists on campus. And when it gets warmer out I'll explore the four supermarkets that are accessible by bus and take extensive notes.
On a purrrsonal note, I'd left Eugene a grocery list. Being the only driver he's the logical shopper. He not only bought the items and more, but also picked up a Hello Kitty and Friends shirt and a beautiful big orange Squishmallow cat. Those dear unexpected gifts really lifted my spirits on a bitterly cold 🥶 winter short Maine day.
A great big shout out goes out to Marion Nestle for making nutrition understandable, defending us from the profit obsessed big food companies, and championing a social justice focus. Also to my Eugene for being such a wonderful, thoughtful 💕 ❤️ 💖 husband.
Jules Hathaway
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