Michael Pollan “In defense of Food”

Michael Pollan (#MichaelPollan) has recently come out with a new documentary movie and a new book called “In defense of Food.” (#InDefenseofFood) The documentary movie will be coming out locally at 9:00 PM Wednesday, December 30 on KQED. A long review article was written by David Weigand In the San Francisco Chronicle Monday, December 28, 2015,  It is a review of the basic concepts in the book and an outline of the movie apparently.  As a big fan of Michael Pollan’s books, I enjoyed the article and the basic premise that Pollan “simply makes a case for eating right,” “eating food” — and not something that is manufactured.

The article has a brief overview of the different trends and
official recommendations since the fifties regarding proper nutrition. These recommendations are related to the mass production of consumables by the food manufacturing industry. There is a review of no- and low-fat diets, the injection of vitamins into manufactured foods, the creation of trans fatty acids, and the massive amounts of sugar and salt in processed foods.
The bottom line suggestions in the article are “eat only foods that will eventually rot. Avoid foods advertised on television. Eat food that has been cooked by humans. If it’s made from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t….There is no single food whose consumption or avoidance will answer our dietary prayers.”

To the degree that this article or Michael Pollan’s book goes, these are certainly good ideas and advice. But they don’t go far enough. It is naïve to say that that simply eating foods will correct the imbalances that our bodies currently have. The proliferation of toxins in the environment —

Pouring Mercury

and consequently in our bodies, cannot be addressed simply by eating “food.” To address health issues it is necessary that each person have a carefully performed, individualized evaluation of functional capacities. Then there must be creation of a targeted remediation program that includes: detoxification, repair, and then replacement to address the years of exposure to processed foods and environmental chemicals.

The nutritional deficits that lead to damaged tissue structures, like in the intestine, must be corrected along with other deficits, and just eating food, even if it is all strictly organic, is not enough for most people. The damage is too extensive to fix without intensive action.
This is where the experience of clinicians such as Dr. Jay Sordean come into the picture. Looking at the big picture as well as the details, taking into account traumas, toxicity, stress and structural issues – all of which play a role in the breakdown and positive repair of the body, mind, emotions and spirit.  This functional diagnostic medicine approach is lacking in your hospitals and most clinics.  Its absence is a reason why chronic illness and epidemics (diabetes, ADHD, autism, dementia, obesity, to name a few major ones) are prevalent in America today.  Dr. Jay’s series on issues such as functional causes of obesity and on female hormone imbalances are worth watching to understand why “just food” isn’t enough.  Time to call for an appointment 510-849-1176
#MichaelPollan