Laurel Miller, via Salon.com, reviewed Mark Bittman's new cookbook, "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating With More Than 75 Recipes." (Bittman writes a food column for the New York Times and blogs for the NYTs at Bitten.)How To Live What Michael Pollan Preaches, Salon.com, January 2009
Here are some excerpts from her article:
"[Bittman's book is] an unusual blend of manifesto, self-help manual and cookbook designed to convince people that they can drastically improve their diets with relatively little discomfort."Bittman's specific tactics ...
Bittman's formula: "Eat less of certain foods, specifically animal products, refined carbs, and junk food; and more of others, specifically plants, in close to their natural state."
"At 57, [Bittman had] gained 50 pounds over his college weight and had developed high cholesterol, high blood sugar (especially scary for someone with a family history of diabetes) and sleep apnea, a condition caused by his excess weight."
"With a colleague, Kerri Conan, Bittman devised a plan they called "vegan until six." They ate almost no animal products at all until dinnertime, no simple carbohydrates and no junk food. (Simple carbs are sugars, white flours and other processed grains like white rice.) At dinner, they ate as they had before, although in time Bittman found that even his evening meals came to include more "vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains and less meat, sugar, junk food, and overrefined carbohydrates."
"It was easy, and in a matter of months he'd lost 35 pounds, lowered his cholesterol and blood sugar, and had no trouble sleeping through the night. Most important, he continues to eat this way and is content to do so for the rest of his life."
