Food Matters Part 6

This is only part of sane eating; it doesn't cover the whole picture. But once you add the other principles outlined in Food Matters Food Matters, it's easy to make food choices: emphasize plant foods, and minimize animal products and junk foods with little or no nutritional value, even though their caloric density falls into the same range as that of more healthful whole foods. And even though I advocate plenty of foods with high caloric density, like olive oil and nuts, they're mostly not foods you'd be eating by the cupful, and they're in the larger category of nonmeat, nonjunk, nonrefined carbohydrate.

Protein There are people who will argue that the diet I'm recommending doesn't provide enough protein, or enough complete protein. In part, that's because the meat industry has tried so hard to make "protein" synonymous with "meat," which it most decidedly is not. (Per calorie, cooked spinach has more than twice as much protein as a cheeseburger; lentils have a third more protein than meat loaf with gravy.) Spinach has more than twice as much protein per calorie as a cheeseburger.

Of course we need protein; after water, it is the second most abundant substance in the human body. Basically, protein is a compound of amino acids, and it takes 20 kinds for the body to put together a "complete" protein. The body can produce roughly half, and the rest must come from food (accordingly, they're called essential amino acids), pretty much on a daily basis. (This also means you don't need to overeat protein, since your body disposes of what it doesn't need anyway.) The most convenient source of complete protein is animal foods, but there are some complete vegetable sources, and many nearly complete sources that complement each other.

It might be a stretch to say that protein is overrated, but it isn't a stretch to say that you don't need to worry about it much. Any reasonably balanced diet that you devise, any diet that contains a minimum of junk food and refined carbs, is going to give you enough protein. Any reasonably balanced diet that you devise, any diet that contains a minimum of junk food and refined carbs, is going to give you enough protein.

Whether the importance of protein is overstated or not, almost no one would dispute that the vast, overwhelming majority of Americans get more protein than they need, and that almost all the excess comes from animal products. This isn't surprising: We grew up eating meat, most of us like it, and meat is quite high in protein. Meat satisfies us culturally and by its flavor and texture, and if you're sold on our need for a lot of protein, it works in that sense, too. No wonder so many people argue that we need it.

Americans consume 10 10 TIMES as much meat as people in many developing countries. TIMES as much meat as people in many developing countries.We even eat too much protein by our own government's generous standards.

But remember that we eat twice as much meat as the world average, and 10 times as much as people in many developing countries. Though it's historically accurate to say that just about all cultures have maximized their meat consumption, it's equally true that people thrive with adequate calories but not a lot of animal protein. If the American high-protein diet were the ideal, you might expect us to live longer than countries where meat consumption is more moderate. But as I noted earlier, that isn't the case; we're second-to-last in longevity among industrial nations.

We even eat too much protein by our own government's generous standards. The recommendation is one-third of a gram per pound of body weight, so if you weigh 150 pounds you should be eating 50 grams a day, according to the USDA. Most of us exceed the RDA by 30 percent or more, and some experts believe that the RDA is already too high.

We do need protein, and athletes and bodybuilders need more than the rest of us. But one-third gram per pound of body weight is plenty. More than that causes calcium loss (though some people eat high-protein dairy specifically in order to increase their calcium intake), increases your need for fluids, and makes your kidneys work harder. And some recent research indicates that protein is related to the immune malfunction that causes food allergies.

There's some evidence that vegetable protein is more beneficial than animal protein.

So it may be that instead of worrying about not getting enough protein, you should avoid eating too much. If you stop using protein as an excuse to eat animal products, and if you replace animal products with plants, your body will benefit in several ways: you'll be eating more micronutrients, more fiber, and healthier fats. There's also some evidence that vegetable protein itself is more beneficial than animal protein.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are sugar molecules found in most foods, especially sugars, starches, and fibers. They are divided into two categories-simple and complex-but the way your body treats the many possible chemical combinations is more complicated than that.

Simple carbohydrates are made from the simplest sugars either alone, as in sugar and other sweeteners, or combined to form the simple starches that are found in refined foods, like pasta and bread made from white flour. Multiple simple carbohydrates are known as complex carbohydrates, which are abundant in whole grains and vegetables.

Carbs themselves are not the problem, just as protein and fat aren't problems. Just as some protein sources are better for you than others, there are "good" and "bad" carbohydrates. Almost every nutritional expert agrees that simple carbohydrates are at best useless calories and at worst damaging, at least in the quant.i.ties in which we consume them. They serve almost no nutritional purpose besides getting calories into your body, something that is not a challenge for all but the most impoverished Americans.

Instead of worrying about not getting enough protein, you should avoid eating too much.

So if you eat anything approaching a typical American diet, you should undoubtedly eat more more carbs, but complex ones-legumes, whole grains, and real whole grain breads. (I say "real" because most supermarket breads that are labeled "whole grain" are a hoax, containing, for example, 20 percent whole wheat flour and 80 percent white.) carbs, but complex ones-legumes, whole grains, and real whole grain breads. (I say "real" because most supermarket breads that are labeled "whole grain" are a hoax, containing, for example, 20 percent whole wheat flour and 80 percent white.) Simple carbohydrates are at best useless calories and at worst damaging.

The problem with most diets, whether low-fat or low-carb, is that in the long run they tend to raise the number of calories you eat. In fact, the low-fat craze caused millions, maybe tens of millions, of Americans actually to gain weight, because they were reaching for "low-fat" but high-calorie carbs. When you drastically reduce carbs-almost all carbs, as some radical diets like Atkins recommend-most people never quite feel satisfied, no matter how much meat they eat. So they end up eating carbs and throwing off the precarious body chemistry that allows a low-carb diet to work in the first place.

Your body can scarcely tell the difference between white flour and white sugar. Either, in excess, will increase the possibility of your gaining weight and developing type 2 diabetes. And there are simple carbohydrates that are even more damaging, especially fructose.

The special case of simple sugars Let's talk about corn. You probably eat about a dozen ears of corn a year, yet agribusiness produces over 9 billion bushels bushels a year. Much of that is fed to livestock, but much becomes high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a manufactured sugar that has replaced cane and beet sugars (sucrose) as the primary sweetener for many kinds of foods, from sodas to savory items. Food manufacturers prefer HFCS because it's cheap, it's easy to use, and it increases the shelf life of processed foods. a year. Much of that is fed to livestock, but much becomes high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a manufactured sugar that has replaced cane and beet sugars (sucrose) as the primary sweetener for many kinds of foods, from sodas to savory items. Food manufacturers prefer HFCS because it's cheap, it's easy to use, and it increases the shelf life of processed foods.

Your body can scarcely tell the difference between white flour and white sugar.

But HFCS creates many problems. If you eat too much sugar of any any kind, the liver converts it to fat; but large amounts of fructose (like that contained in soda) seem to stimulate hepatic lipogenesis, the liver's ability to make fat. And if you eat too much fructose, the liver becomes even better at doing so. kind, the liver converts it to fat; but large amounts of fructose (like that contained in soda) seem to stimulate hepatic lipogenesis, the liver's ability to make fat. And if you eat too much fructose, the liver becomes even better at doing so.

Worse, it appears that the more fructose you eat, the hungrier you feel.

Furthermore, it appears that too much fructose and glucose in the diet may disable the body's ability to regulate testosterone and estrogen levels. That disability is a.s.sociated with an increased risk of acne (teenagers' fears about sugar are correct), infertility, ovarian cysts, cardiovascular disease, and uterine cancer in overweight women.

Put simply, if you eat a lot of sugar (or simple carbs in general), you had better eat a lot less of everything else, or you're going to gain weight. This is especially true of sugar in the form of soda sweetened with HFCS (as most soda is), because these calories do not fill you up in the same way as calories you get by eating, even by eating sugar. Sadly as a nation, we get an astonishing 7 percent of our calories from soda. (One experiment compared soda and jelly beans; you're better off with jelly beans.) Each American eats an average of 1 CUP of sugar a day.It appears that the more fructose you eat, the hungrier you feel.

Despite all this, we're not eating less sugar; we're eating more. As a nation, we now produce about 80 pounds a year per person of corn-based sweeteners (mostly HFCS), an increase of about 16 pounds a year since 1985. Over that same period, per capita sugar production has remained virtually the same: about 63 pounds. Not all of this is actually eaten, but a good estimate is that per capita consumption of sugars is at least 125 pounds of sweeteners a year, or about 5 ounces a day: about 1 cup, or 600 calories.

The right carbohydrates Whole grains are a different story. As it turns out, the parts of the grain that are removed to make white flour, white rice, and so on, are exactly the parts you want to be eating. Contained in whole grains and seeds are micronutrients that are not found in white carbohydrates-micronutrients whose roles are not yet well defined but which appear to be beneficial-as well as a lot more fiber.

Fiber is the category of carbohydrates that your body doesn't digest. Though it provides no direct nutrition, fiber is believed to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, constipation, and other digestive disorders. It's found in all plants, and generally falls into two types: soluble fiber (that which dissolves in water) and insoluble fiber (that which does not).

Most high-fiber foods have some of both types. To prevent disease, it appears that soluble fiber-which is prevalent in some whole grains (like oats or barley, though not wheat), some legumes (like soybeans and kidney beans), and citrus fruits-may clear the body of fat and regulate the way sugars are burned and stored. It also helps make you feel full and satisfied after eating. For relief of constipation, insoluble fiber (high in most vegetables and fruits, most legumes, and most nuts and seeds) is better. There's no reason not to eat both.

Most Americans get only 15 15 grams a day of dietary fiber-half the recommended amount. grams a day of dietary fiber-half the recommended amount.

In fact, most Americans are getting only 15 grams of fiber a day, half the recommended amount. But if you change your diet to emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts-in other words, if you eat as though food matters-you'll easily b.u.mp your daily fiber up to the recommended 30 grams.

The relationship between refined carbohydrates and type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes (simply high blood sugar, which may lead to diabetes) is a rare area of almost universal scientific agreement. My own pre-diabetic condition essentially went away when I changed my diet to exclude most simple carbohydrates.

Again, this part of the "plan" is simple: instead of eating white flour (this means most commercially available bread, bagels, cake, m.u.f.fins, pizza, sandwiches, and so on), sugar, processed foods (including many boxed breakfast cereals), or pasta, I eat whole grains-oatmeal, cornmeal (polenta or grits), rice, wheat, quinoa, barley, and some whole grain breads. (But they must be real real whole grain breads, not those made with 20 percent whole wheat flour.) By nighttime, I'm really ready for some crusty white bread or cookies, but they make up a very small part of my caloric intake. whole grain breads, not those made with 20 percent whole wheat flour.) By nighttime, I'm really ready for some crusty white bread or cookies, but they make up a very small part of my caloric intake.

Once you limit processed foods, refined carbs, and animal products, fat becomes nearly a nonissue.

Fat Fat has become a national obsession. Not only how much fat but what kind of fat we should eat is endlessly debated. But you don't have to partic.i.p.ate in this debate, at least not much: once you limit or avoid processed foods, refined carbs, and animal protein, fat becomes nearly a nonissue, even if your major goal is to lose weight.

You actually need quite a bit of fat to live. (Your brain is approximately two-thirds fat, and this fat has to come from somewhere.) For most of human history, it's been among the hardest nutrients to get enough of. Only when you eat far too much of the wrong kind is fat a problem, and sane diets avoid that problem quite effortlessly.

For a time, there was a near consensus that saturated fat was unhealthy, and that eating too much of it led to heart disease and other diseases. But most foods contain at least some fat, and all naturally occurring or easily produced fats have a role in a healthy diet.

Recent research indicates that the most crucial factor in heart health is the balance of fats in your bloodstream. The right balance means that you're not adding to the cholesterol your body is already producing, and that you are mitigating any additions with monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, like the ones found in oily fish and, to a lesser degree, nuts. But that balance is skewed in the wrong direction by the typical American diet; we get too much of the fat that occurs in animals, and not enough of the kind that occurs in plants.

It's time for a word about cholesterol, not because cholesterol is so important but because the anticholesterol campaign has been so visible for so long that it still concerns people. As with everything about nutrition, cholesterol has turned out to be far more complicated than was once thought. Like fats in general, some cholesterol is "good" for you, and some is "bad" for you. The ratio between the two kinds is probably more important than the total amount. Equally important is that the amount of cholesterol you eat is much less likely to influence the total cholesterol in your blood than the amount of cholesterol produced by your liver.

What determines how much cholesterol your liver makes? Not the cholesterol you eat but the kind of fat you eat. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to raise the good type of cholesterol while lowering the bad. Saturated fat, found most in animals, tends to be more or less neutral-not so bad, in small quant.i.ties at least-raising both types of cholesterol equally. Trans fat-the stuff manufactured to produce margarine, solid shortening, and much of the fat that goes into processed and junk foods-raises the bad while lowering the good. (So much for 30 years of advice about eating margarine!) There is nothing radical in what I'm recommending, and it involves the principles behind Food Matters Food Matters. If you eat naturally occurring fats-those found in or derived readily from plants and animals, and you eat less of the animal-based fats, your diet will be a better one. You don't have to give it much more thought than that.

Eating like food matters The evidence overwhelmingly supports a more traditional diet-what I'm calling sane eating-in place of the modern American diet. Mediterranean, Indian, Middle Eastern, North African, French, and most traditional Asian diets all contain far fewer animal products and refined carbohydrates than ours. Base your preferred diet on any traditional eating style you like; the point is that once you get into the habit of eating sanely, it becomes second nature. That isn't surprising, because it's far more natural than eating processed food, junk food, and historically unprecedented amounts of (badly produced) animal products, none of which existed for 99 percent of human history.

Gorge on plants. Literally.

Let's look at the general principles of the style of eating I'm advocating: You will do yourself a favor every time you eat a vegetable in place of anything else.

Eat fewer animal products than average. Say, an average of 1 pound of meat, or at most 2 pounds, each week, or a small serving daily. (If some of these servings are fish, so much the better.) Eat correspondingly small amounts of eggs and dairy foods, and think of all these things as treats, not staples. Milk in your cereal or cream in your coffee isn't going to make much difference, though alternative milks from plant foods-like soymilk, oat milk, and nut milks-can be decent subst.i.tutes. Remember, this is not about deprivation or ironclad rules, but about being sensible.

Eat all the plants you can manage. Literally. Gorge on them. Salads, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, whole fruits-cooked or raw or even, in moderation, dried. There are hardly any limits here (though you don't want a diet based entirely on starchy vegetables like potatoes). I might say that green, leafy vegetables are probably the most beneficial of all these foods, but you are going to be doing yourself a favor every time you eat a vegetable in place of anything else, so don't worry about it.

Make legumes part of your life. Whenever you eat beans instead of an animal product, everyone wins. Especially if you're concerned about protein (again, I don't think you need be), eat legumes daily.

Whole grains beat refined carbs. You shouldn't eat "unlimited" amounts of grains, as you would other plants, but eating grains several times a day is fine. You might have whole grain cereal or bread at breakfast, whole grain bread or a grain dish at lunch, popcorn for a snack, a grain dish at dinner. In any case, eat far fewer refined carbohydrates; they are all treats, not off limits but to be eaten only occasionally (and with gusto).

Snack on nuts or olives. These are something of a special case, because they're high in calories. But you're going to be eating so many fewer calories that you can afford to eat a couple of handfuls a day. I make my own trail mix and eat it along with some fruit almost every afternoon at work.

When it comes to fats, embrace olive oil. That's where you start. You can use b.u.t.ter when its flavor or luxury is really going to matter to you. Use peanut oil or grape seed oil for stir-frying (or any frying), use dark sesame or nut oil for extra flavor, and you really don't need much else. (I'm not a fan of canola oil, but use it if you must.) Don't worry too much about quant.i.ty. Don't start drinking oil, or eating fried food daily; but using oil for dressing or cooking is not a big deal, provided you're not eating many refined carbohydrates or animal products.

Everything else is a treat, and you can have treats daily. Listen to your body: Are you losing weight, feeling fine, getting results that make you and your doctor happy? Keep it up. Are you not getting the results you want? Cut back on treats, and eat more plants. Treats include alcohol (a lot of useless calories and carbs come in the form of wine and other alcoholic beverages), snack food, refined carbs (including good, crusty, artisa.n.a.lly made bread), and sweets of all kinds.

Within these general guidelines, eating like food matters is extremely flexible. You can try some of the techniques that work for me, or just eat more sanely at every meal, then snack and allow yourself small indulgences throughout the day. If you eat moderately and always try to put as many plants on the plate as possible, you'll be in the ballpark.

You might start by eating 10 percent less meat, less refined carbs, and less junk, and replace that food with plants, but I think 25 percent is probably a better starting place, and one that will show you results more convincingly. (Frankly, I didn't find it very hard to cut junk food out virtually altogether. Meat and carbs are a little more difficult, but remember that you're not going to give them up entirely.) Another strategy is to load up your plate with salad, vegetables, and whole grains, and then put some meat, fish, or poultry on it as well. Better still, eat that big plateful of plants first, then go back for a small piece of meat. This is a very "Italian" style of eating.

Rely on meat for its flavor, not its heft.

In the morning, for example, you might eat a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt with a big bowl of fresh fruit and a sprinkle of real muesli or granola. For lunch, have half a tuna sandwich on real whole grain bread with a big salad or vegetable soup. For dinner you and your friends and family go out and share two entrees and load up on vegetable side dishes and appetizers, then order one dessert with four spoons.

Not everyone responds to making changes the same, somewhat drastic way I've done. You can transition into this slowly, taking baby steps toward whatever goals you set for yourself. Some suggestions follow.

Cut back on animal protein gradually. Rely on meat for its flavor, not its heft, using more vegetables in your favorite meat dishes. Make pork and beans with half the meat (you'd be amazed at the flavoring prowess of just one sausage) and add extra beans or vegetables or both to the pot. If you're having company, you might roast a chicken (not two), along with a load of root veggies, and a couple of other vegetables dishes or salads. Next time you grill burgers, make the patties smaller, and toss eggplant, onions, potatoes, summer or winter squash, and portobello mushrooms on the grill too. Or try Meat-and-Grain Loaves, Burgers, and b.a.l.l.s on Chapter 14, which combine ground meat with grains.

It's the same with dairy foods. Add a couple of big slices of tomato and some thinly sliced pickles and onions to your next grilled cheese sandwich and cut back on the cheese. Start a batch of scrambled eggs by sauteing mushrooms or greens in the pan and try adding in one egg instead of two (or check out the frittata recipe on Chapter 11). Blend a smoothie, using frozen fruit and just enough yogurt or milk to give it some body. And again, give nondairy milks a try; you might like them.

Eat Whole Grains with Other Foods. Experiment with uncommon grains like millet or quinoa by stirring a couple of spoonfuls into a stew or soup as it cooks; toss some cooked grains into a salad or a stir-fry at the last minute. Or just play around with new grains-barley makes a great "risotto"-they're easy enough to like. Try making your own bread.

Depend on Seasonings. Good fruits and vegetables rarely need more than a sprinkle of salt, but if you're feeling hungry for more variety, try different herbs and spices, alone or in blends. Some people find that using seasonings they a.s.sociate with meat-like soy sauce, pesto, or chili powder-is a good way to make the transition to enjoying plant foods.

Always Carry Snacks. This is important, since fast food is everywhere and taking a couple of minutes before you head out will make impulsive stops for junk food less tempting. Dried or fresh fruit and nuts are the easiest options, but with a little planning and a small cooler or thermos, you can travel with hummus and crackers, cut-up vegetables, a container of excellent juice, some olives, a peanut b.u.t.ter sandwich, a bag of granola, a cup of soup, or some fresh popcorn.

Sane shopping Shopping for sane eating is easy. Even if you shop for tonight's dinner on the way home from work, you'll have no trouble pulling something together. This will be increasingly true as you shift from animal products to plants, which generally cook quickly.

You can shop pretty much anywhere. Supermarkets and so-called natural foods stores have plenty of whole grain foods and produce; farmers' markets are often your best choice for vegetables; and international stores often offer variety that you're not going to find elsewhere. You don't need any special food or ingredients to cook sanely, though obviously the more variety you bring to the way you eat, the more you'll enjoy eating.

Make sure your refrigerator is full, mostly with fruits and vegetables.

In a nutsh.e.l.l: Buy lots of fresh and supplement with some frozen and dried produce. Buy correspondingly less meat, fish, and poultry, but buy the highest quality you can afford, ideally from sources you know and trust. Stay away from any processed food that has more than five ingredients; and ingredients with more than three syllables (in other words, stay away from preservatives and additives).

Let's tackle these food categories one at a time.

Produce is the most important, and I can't stress this enough. Make sure your refrigerator is full at all times, mostly with fruits and vegetables. (They take up a lot of room; that's why they have low caloric density.) Keep bowls of fruit (vegetables, too) on the kitchen counter or dining room table-they're gorgeous, after all, and if you live with them you'll eat them. Along with the most perishable types, be sure to stock carrots, potatoes, root vegetables, winter squash, citrus, apples, and cabbage.

I keep some frozen vegetables on hand; my favorites are peas, "fresh" sh.e.l.l beans, Brussels sprouts, and corn. I also stock canned beans and tomatoes, and sometimes pre-washed bagged greens and even cut-up salad bar veggies-anything that makes it easier to eat in my new style.

It's worth thinking about the amount of packaging and processing involved in your food; try to buy food in bulk, and bring your own bags (you probably know all this). But at the risk of being repet.i.tive, let me remind you that cutting back on animal protein is among the most important environmental contributions you can make, at least when it comes to food.

The same common sense applies when you buy meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. If you're concerned about animal welfare and want to avoid hormones and antibiotics in your meat, then you're either going to have to buy organic food (that's the only label distinction that is even remotely regulated) or purchase animal products from a place you know and trust.

Fish is a special case. Wild fish, obviously, is organic, though there are concerns about mercury and heavy metals in tuna and swordfish. But much of it is also endangered, so it sometimes can't be purchased with a good conscience. Farmed fish often has many of the same problems as farmed land animals, including the use of antibiotics, environmental damage, and insipid taste.

On the other hand, fish can be the healthiest animal product you can eat. It contains few harmful fats and often high amounts of omega-3s.

This doesn't mean you should start eating fish seven days a week; it's still an animal product, and there are still many good reasons to limit your consumption. But if you can find fresh (or well frozen) wild fish that's not on any endangered species list (the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Web site mbayaq.org has a list, broken down by region), and isn't on any warning lists (yellowfin tuna, for example, is not currently endangered though it does contain high mercury levels), and you don't object to it for ethical reasons, it's probably the best choice in animal foods.

By supporting an alternative to the "industrial meat complex," you're rejecting that type of agriculture in favor of something far better for the planet and for you.

In general, wild fish and well-raised forms of animal protein are going to cost you more, and sometimes a lot more, than their conventional counterparts. But in general, rebalancing your consumption to achieve a plant-centered diet will probably reduce your overall grocery bill. You can enjoy the savings or use it to upgrade the products you buy. A $20 a pound price tag for a couple of servings of fish or meat is unquestionably high, but if you're eating only 1 or 2 pounds a week, if you're a typical American it's probably not more than you're spending now.

And each time you make a decision to support an alternative to the industrial meat complex, you're rejecting that type of agriculture in favor of something far better for the planet, and for you. Change will come, and "conventionally" raised meat, fish, poultry, and dairy foods may become more acceptable.

The five-ingredient rule To eat sanely, you don't need to know how to read everything on a label, though it's easy enough. It's not as easy, though, as this rule (originally "mandated" by Michael Pollan and others): avoid anything with more than five familiar-sounding ingredients.

Before going further, it's worth mentioning that, applied strictly, this would eliminate conventionally raised meat from your diet, if it were labeled. Because if you listed the ingredients that went into producing it, the label might include alfalfa cubes, barley silage, dried cattle manure, blood meal, coffee grounds, chicken fat, corn and cob meal, ammonium sulfate (for fertilizer), hydrolyzed feather meal, ground limestone, cooked munic.i.p.al garbage, linseed meal solvent, oat straw, potato waste, dried poultry manure, soybeans, wheat, antibiotics, and any pesticides or herbicides used in the corn and soybean fields, just to name a few.

Meat isn't labeled but most packaged food is, and though the five-ingredient rule won't eliminate all junk food from your diet, it will go a long way toward eliminating junk food, and it will simplify your shopping.

Of course there are levels of "junk": there are potato chips made with two ingredients (potatoes and oil) and ice creams made with only four or five. These, of course, fall into the category of treats. But it's the chips product, and faux-fat ice cream, and frozen dinners, and all the other stuff made with 15 or 20 ingredients that you should pa.s.s up altogether, and forever: there is nothing good about them, even in limited quant.i.ties.

There are a few ingredients that I try not to eat even if the product otherwise pa.s.ses muster. These include hydrogenated anything, monosodium glutamate (sometimes hidden behind terms like "natural flavorings" or "spices"), high fructose corn syrup, and anything I've never seen-which includes about 80 percent of the ingredients on junk food labels. (Pasteurized processed cheese product? Guar gum? Silicon dioxide?) If the package, jar, or box in your hand pa.s.ses the five-ingredient rule, and you still want to read the label for calories, protein, fiber, and so on, more power to you. But as long as you're eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, and a small amount of meat, fish, and dairy food, you'll be in fine shape nutrient-wise.