Blog Watch: M. Pollan in Cincinnati

Cincinnati.Com | Cincinnati Enquirer | Campbell’s Scoop » Michael Pollan at Xavier.

He focused this lecture on personal health and nutrition, why food choices seem so complicated, and why America leads the world in heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. With on-stage props like Fruit Loops, which is now sold with a “healthy choices” stamp, or Splenda with fiber, (is that a food? he asked) he talked about the role of “nutritionism” in confusing us about food and its purpose, and in ruining America’s health. ”Nutritionism” is to him our ideology of thinking of food as mere delivery system for nutrients, and our tendency to demonize or idolize particular nutrients–like fat, for instance. The low-fat craze has been a public health disaster, he said. Americans now eat 300 more calories a day than they did before the campaign to limit fat. READ MORE ...