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She Says: Reflection on HFCS and In Defense of Food
I bought this foodlike substance from a vending machine Thursday. It does not contain HFCS. It has a green circle with a check mark telling me I made a “Smart Choice.” It contains Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, 230 calories, 8 g of fat and 410 mg of sodium.
Worry and Eating is Not Enjoyable
This picture represents the frustration I had during HFCS Awareness Month and the relief I have now that it is over. If you read Mark’s post about his feelings toward the month, you might understand. We didn’t discuss our feelings about this throughout the month and it was interesting to see how it affected both of us in similar ways. I hope I can convey the uneasy feeling I had during HFCS Awareness Month without sounding like I am complaining about something self inflicted.
First, let me say that I learned a great deal about Goop (defined by Mark as all corn syrup derivatives). I have an understanding about the controversy that I did not have one month ago.
Now, let me get on with my feelings. What else did I learn? I learned that I eat way too much stuff in a box or bag that has ingredients for me to read in the first place. Unlike Mark, I cook for myself a lot, but this month that seemed less important as I compulsively read every label and ingredient list within my reach. Overall, I felt nervous and anxious. Unlike Meatless Month when I focused on new, fresh foods, this month I found myself thinking about snacks and boxes and labels and I did not like it. The times I enjoyed my food this month had nothing to do with what was in my food (i.e. BBQ Apples and Tofu) and more to do with creating. I think this says a lot about my basic discomfort with “tracking” what I eat.
This brings me to what I learned from Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. The first sentence, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,” reflects Pollan’s attitude toward food, which he breaks down and explains for the remainder of the book. His aim, he explains, is to reconnect people to their health and happiness as eaters. Amen.
Two points from the book really got me thinking about my own relationship with food and eating.
Food and Foodlike Substances
First, Pollan encourages people to avoid foods with HFCS and with unpronounceable, unfamiliar or more than five ingredients. Things with less ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients at all, are going to be actual food as opposed to the foodlike substances that Pollan advises against. It goes hand-in-hand with his suggestion to shop the perimeter of the market. If, during HFCS Awareness Month, I’d followed this advice, I would have had fewer labels to read! For example, an apple is food, but an apple cereal bar is a foodlike substance. The apple is the better choice whether the cereal bar has HFCS or not. The apple does not require me to even consider what is in it (pesticide issues aside). I don’t need to worry when I eat an apple and worrying is not something I want to do when eating. It makes me grumpy. Ask my mom or Mark.
Nutritionist Thinking and Worry
Second, Pollan questions what he calls “nutritionist thinking,” the idea that food should be judged based on whether it promotes physical, biological health and that we need someone else to tell us what we should eat. This part interests me because I wonder how nutritionists and registered dietitians respond. Pollan, like me, thinks that food is more than something eaten for necessity and nutrients, but rather it is also about pleasure, family, community, etc. This next part is my favorite. Pollan points out that no other group of people worry about their food choices like Americans. Again, I do not want to worry about food. Who does? According to Pollan, the infamous “thin French” are thin because they do not worry about what they are eating. They enjoy it and move on. I am not sure if this applies to the French, but it does apply to those I know who maintain their natural weight with relative ease of mind and body. This doesn’t mean you get to eat boxes of cookies or crackers without thinking, but if you’re eating mostly “food” and not “foodlike substances” that wouldn’t happen anyway.
Back to Basics
What I am trying to say is that this month I worried about food more than during Meatless Month where every meal was like a new adventure. Overall, I embraced Pollan’s guidelines, which are similar to my own food ideals, much more during Meatless Month than during HFCS Awareness Month. I can’t be sure because I didn’t “weigh in” before, but I also think I gained a few pounds this month. If it’s not reflected on the scale, it’s reflected in my posture. I feel slumpy and sluggish.
I am glad the month is over because I think I need a fresh start. Of course, I am not going to start purposefully eating HFCS foods. But, I am not going to purposefully eliminate them either. Instead, my aim is to eat more food, less foodlike substances. I was happy to read that Mark is more or less on the same page with our next challenge and his goal to prepare more of his food at home. We’ll work out the details of the challenge and post them soon. I am already excited!
Sounds like you have a great plan set for your eating style – fabulous!! Looking forward to reading about your journey with the next challenge, as I did with your Meatless challenge and the HFCS challenge
Awesome post! I need to read that book.
I really liked this reflective post. It would be distressing to go through that anxiety for an entire month! I’m glad you both did this and came away reinvigorated to enjoy food and the experience of it.
i really liked this personal report on your challenge. even though not all the experience was positive, i think these things teach you a whole lot anyway, and it was probably a really great thing you put yourself through, to make you realise everything that you did. i really want to read that book. i completely agree with you – i really hope that one day i will be able to eat 100% worry-free. the french really do have that one sussed out (i have to say, the japanese are pretty good too – maybe i am a lone exception! haha), maybe i should take more advantage of having a french boyfriend and get him to tutor me. although i have to admit, i do think these issues vary quite a lot between the genders.
thank you for this, heather
I feel sometimes i wish I could go back and start all over.. i woudl have never dieted or become SO aware of what I eat because i do agree that simple is better and when we worry too much about it, it removes all the joy! I am glad you were able to regonize what works best for you and ithink this next challenge will be a great one!
This post really got me thinking! Thanks for sharing all your thoughts!
i really enjoyed your thoughts and marks in his post. and i need to get that book and read it!
I enjoyed reading your reflection on HFCS awareness month. I feel like I’m a slave to nutrition labels a lot, too. I like your point that if you just ate fewer packaged foods, you wouldn’t be so worried about what the labels say in the first place. That could save a lot of time!!
I loved reading about you experience!! Your writing style is really relaxing and enjoyable.
I had a similar experience back in the time when I was reviewing a new bar everyday. I would write out all of the nutrition facts and ingredients by hand (by type, that is), and I would notice that obviously products like LARABARS were so much more easier/pleasant to do reviews on. So few ingredients. Such a QUICK zippy product review. I similarly began to look at the the chemicals and think things like, “wow, I really don’t have a clue what that is, or why it is my food!”
I try to eat whole foods and what my body craves but similarly sometimes I need:
1)something that is packaged & quick/easy to grab
and
2)something that is easily digestible- aka not a fruit/veg with tons of fiber!
I look forward to hearing about your next adventure…and I keep trying to think of ideas/themes you could experiment with for different months…but you’re right- it’s hard!
Happy Sunday Heather!
Thank you for your very thoughtful post! I personally struggle with my busy lifestyle which makes it so much easier to pick up packaged foods than eat raw ones. For now, I try to eat raw foods as much as I can without causing “worrying” (like you describe above) to the point where I don’t love eating anymore. Sometimes it is okay to be healthy most of the time, without being perfect all of the time.
maybe the challenge could be a “5-ingredient” challenge? ie, nothing with more than 5 ingredients, with exceptions made for things made purely from whole foods, like a salad with more than 5 veggies, or something made at home with multiple spices added to it. it would be REALLY hard, but probably doable and delicious (as i just finished off a 3-ingredient snack of greek yogurt made with nonfat milk & cultures, raisins, and honey
)
Sarah, That’s a great idea and I would like to do that challenge. I think it will be in the back of my mind this time around, but I really think I need a mental break from reading ingredients. My goal is to eat things that don’t require me to read them first.
Thank you for this reflection – it was very interesting to read about your thoughts on this challenge. I completely agree that I don’t want to have to worry about food, and sometimes I feel like thinking too much about food makes me sick of food. I like your approach – more food and less foodlike substances.
I’m looking forward to the next challenge and definitely think you deserve a break from reading labels.
I really like the way you wrote this post – you made a lot of good points in a very clear way that I think readers can certainly appreciate and understand. I really like what you said about the apple vs. apple cereal bar. Certainly true.
I have decided that I eat too much out of a box too (too many granola bars, for one), and need to cut back. I also need to get that book
yah i love this post. i totally agree with all of it, and i feel like his book conveyed all of my and my family’s beliefs on food and eating and such. I had never known how to phrase it, but his way is very clear and concise.
I am now reading his other book, the omnivore’s dilemma, and both have changed me forever. I haven’t had a proper piece of meat or chicken in several weeks because I am so disgusted with the whole process and everything. But I am happy that I am full with knowledge now. I am going to try out Ruggieri’s local chickens soon, because I miss chicken, and in general I am doing my best to eat as locally and fresh as possible, when possible.
Question about food and foodlike substances – if, say, you make that apple cereal bar from scratch using “food” (oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, honey) would the resulting product be a food or a foodlike substance? I like the idea of food v. foodlike substance, but was curious about this grey area.
We try to avoid HFCS as much as possible but it is hard for sure. I just picked up some teriyaki sauce and realized it had some in there. Even my worchestershire sauce has it! Ugh! So now I’m on a search to find those things without.
I haven’t read the book but this line:
“it is also about pleasure, family, community, etc.” , really spoke to me because that is exactly how I feel. I love cooking and cooking for someone. Eating is a total experience for me, it isn’t just about nutrients and feeding my stomach. It’s about feeding my soul as well.
I put out there a bare bones budget for a family at peoplepowergranny.blogspot.com. This kind of thinking has helped me as I raised my family of five kids over a period of some 40 years on a limited income. I think most Americans spend way too much on wants that they think are needs. Readers can also vote in my poll on how their families could cut back even more to prepare for uncertain times ahead.
[...] few weeks ago, Mark and I revealed that were ecstatic that HFCS Awareness Month was over. I appreciated everything I learned from meticulous label reading, but needed a break. Mark felt bleh [...]