P6

       In his article “Our National Eating Disorder,” Michael Pollan writes of what is wrong with the American way of eating. He notes that eating food has become more of checking food labels for the unhealthy components that the media warns us about than trusting our senses. He also discusses how in America there is always a new food trend, be it a new diet, a new type of superfood that is supposed to be really good for you, or news that something we’ve been eating for years has now suddenly shown new evidence that it is killing our bodies. He also writes, “What is striking is just how little it takes to set off one of these applecart-toppling nutritional swings in America; a scientific study, a new government guideline, a lone crackpot with a medical degree can alter this nation’s diet overnight.” I find this to be very interesting and true. When I think about the different diet crazes that I have seen sweep the nation, Pollan’s statement gains even more credibility. I remember the Atkins diet, which is still trickling its way through the nation, the Dukan diet, and other cleansing diets that require individuals to fast for days and only drink a mixture of a special type of lemonade. All were extremely popular, at least in my community, for a time before the next came around and promised even better results. 

  I found the study Paul Rozin and Claude Fischler did to be really interesting. Having a boyfriend in culinary school, I have heard all about how Americans are not approaching the “eating healthier and being thinner” idea the correct way. I knew that the French ate smaller portions without snacking in between meals and they savor all they have since they don’t go back for seconds. However, I didn’t think about how having more frequent and longer sit-down meals with others could affect someone’s eating habits, though I do understand now that it causes one to eat slower and less since they are involved in conversations. I would say I mostly fit with the French take on eating. While I do try to watch what I eat, it is because I was raised in the “American way of eating,” so to speak, and like many others I tend to eat too much when I eat. However, I usually eat my meals with a group of people and the meals usually last an hour or two, depending on how much work we all have to do. I also don’t usually snack in between my meals, unless I’m only going to have time for breakfast and dinner, so I grab a snack to keep me focused on work rather than food. I’d say there are a few others like me who have a mixture of the French “way” and the American “way” of eating.