As we hunker down to wait out the coronavirus outbreak, Diane and I are battling the urge to eat, eat, eat. Fortunately, Mark Bittman (author of HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING and Dr. Katz (founder of the True Health Initiative) supply some correctives with their new book, How to Eat. Bittman and Katz review the pluses and minuses of current diets: Mediterranean, Veganism, Paleo, DASH, Keto, and others. Then, based on the latest research, Bittman and Katz recommend a sensible approach to eating in healthy ways. I especially liked the sections on inflammation, antioxidants, fake meat, and vitamins/supplements. If you’re trying to cope with eating in the Time of Coronavirus, How to Eat provides a lot of answers. What are your favorite foods? I’m dealing with my chocolate ice cream addiction. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: Science, sense, and Mashed Banana vii
QUESTIONING THE QUESTIONS (Why do we even need to ask how to eat?) 1
How Did We Get Here? 3
ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS (All about eating and health–a multi-course Q&A) 9
What is the Best Diet? 11
On Weight Loss 20
Specific Diets: 35
The Mediterranean Diet 35
Veganism and Part-Time Veganism 40
Intermittent Fasting 48
Paleo Diets 52
The DASH Diet 58
Anti-inflammatory Diets 61
The Low-FODMAP Diet 63
The Keto Diet 66
The Whole30 70
Diet Patterns and Lifestyle 71
When Should I Eat? 71
On Variety 74
Snacking 77
Eating Local 79
Foods and Ingredients: 82
Fruits and Vegetables 85
Whole Grains 90
Beans 96
Dairy 101
Meat 111
Fake Meat 119
Fish 120
Cooking Oils 123
Superfoods 138
Drinks 140
Nutrition 101: Macronutrients, Micronutrients, and Body Responses: 150
Protein 151
Carbohydrates 155
Fat 160
Cholesterol 164
Inflammation 168
Sugar 171
Salt 179
Antioxidants 182
Vitamins and Supplements 184
The Microbiome 189
QUESTIONING THE ANSWERS (On science and sense, or, how we know what we know) 195
On Research 197
The Forest versus the Trees 201
Research Methods: On Site Does Not Fit All 208
Conclusion 221
Select Source Material 223
Index 231
My favorite foods? Chocolate, Pizza, potatoes, bacon, hamburgers, pancakes, pasta. All bad for you. I do like fruit a lot but being diabetic I can’t (or shouldn’t) eat very much of it. Luckily I have never had a problem of being overweight.
Steve, your favorites are also my favorites. I battle with portion control every day.
I love to cook…and I love to eat. My problem is never junk or fast food (unless you count Popeye’s Fried Chicken—spicy with a side of Cole slaw, please), but how much I love to eat “real“ food. I like all manner of dairy, meats, breads, fruits, and vegetables—there’s not really much I don’t like—but I tend to eat too much of them. Portion control (or lack of it) is my downfall.
Deb, I love all the Food Groups. Portion control and love of pecan pie are aspects of eating that I can’t manage well.
I don’t cook but I love to eat, and just about anything will do. Meat, veggies, fruit, really just about anything except liver. Never been on a diet, but my weight stays pretty stable. My super power is that I’m not addicted to sweets. I’ll eat them but there’s no real craving for them.
Michael, you are a lucky guy. I have no control when it comes to Peanut M&Ms!
I know how to eat!
We’re actually in a good place, eating wise. Jackie has lost over 25 pounds lately and I rarely fluctuate more than 5 pounds in either direction. We eat a normal breakfast (cereal or toast on half a muffin, with fruit and coffee), then eat our major meal at lunchtime, with only prescribed snacks at dinnertime, most days. We eat mostly chicken breast and seafood, with occasional red meat, also plenty of salads and veggies. Ever since my gastro guy put us on a high fiber (30-35 grams a day) diet, things have improved. Jackie keeps track of fiber and Weight Watchers points (the 2009 WW diet, not the current one) in a notebook.
Favorite foods? I am easy, but give me anything Italian. I rarely eat burgers or sausages but love both (sausage and peppers hero, yum). Salty snacks over sweet (pretzels and chips), but I like chocolate too. Desserts? Chocolate pudding pie is a favorite, but most fruit pies and pecan are good. Portion control is the key. When we were first married, Jackie used to cook excessive amounts of food, like two giant veal cutlets and a ton of spaghetti and bread, but we learned over the years. I don’t eat much fried food these days (occasional fries or sweet potato fries) and skip a lot of my favorites, but I will have a piece of Godiva or Lindt chocolate most days – just one piece.
Jeff, Diane is a Chocoholic and loves Italian food, too!
Ditto, Deb. I eat mostly healthy foods but too much of them. I don’t gain weight easily but I also don’t lose easily.
Patti, one of my dietary downfalls is eating out at restaurants. I usually order too much and pay for it later. But now that all the restaurants are closed (except for Take-Out orders) here, that becomes less of a problem. I feel sorry for the food service industry workers who will suffer during this coronavirus outbreak.
I don’t have a problem as much with portion control as what I love. I just got a machaca burrito at my fav mex. place and can only manage 1/3 of it. plus some of the refried beans I also ordered. Sweets are my downfall, but I’m limiting them, or trying to. I always bring home doggie bags from restaurants.
I’m trying to follow jackie/jeff on fiber.
due to time of service with our G&E company (and summer coming) I’m eating my big meal at breakfast or lunch (when power is cheaper) and having cereal with blueberries or strawberries and almond/soy/oat/pea milk for dinner.
Maggie, fortunately I stocked up on fiber (mostly wheat bran) at the Health Food store a couple weeks ago. I’ve good for months. I also try to avoid highly processed food when I can.
I think portion control and avoidance of super processed food are the main points.
We used to go out for lunch often, especially when we had visitors and my wife would often offer part of her portion to the others. Especially the young ones were happy with this. Now she gets a doggy bag.
In German we have a simple rule for losing weight: FdH!
Friss die Hälfte i e eat half a portion. Many restaurants are now offering “senior portions” at a reduced price.
Re super processed foods:
The only exception were our holidays in the USA where we tried real restaurants only two or three times. After that we only went to Wendy’s or BK – McD only once and it was horrible!
One of us ordered a burger menu, the other just a salad with grilled chicken breast – and then we shared.
When I was really hungry I would add a chili con carne at the Wend’y – my favourite.
I also try to stay away from sweets – the only exception is my own “rum pot” but even there I add a lot of yoghurt.
Wolf, most restaurants here are closed (unless they offer Take-Out or have a Drive-Thru). Fast food is highly processed food that leads to poor health. Yet, fast food remains highly popular, especially with poor people.
Oh, for the luvva Mike! Eat what you want, how much you want, and when you want! Nature will take care of the rest!
Bob, I admire your laissez faire attitude.
Those of you who, following or even proceeding the Greedy Hoarder Shoppers (GHS), stocked up on everything are lucky. We only bought a small, sensible amount of groceries to meet our needs. Now, the markets have nada and we’re stressed. Barbara went to shop today fir a few basics. Here’s what she found:
No paper products
No sanitary or cleaning products
No rice, grains or pastas
No bread or bread products (loaves, buns, muffins, etc.)
Some produce, but picked over.
When I say NO I mean bare shelves.
The stores say they are restocking, but we have seen NO evidence of it. We may try again tomorrow at 7am.
Rick, as the coronavirus infects more people, supply chains will be affected. Expect shortages for the next few months.
Yes, we’ve tried five different markets. I just don’t understand it.
Barbara went to Costco at 9:00 am (they open at 9:30) and the line was already around the building. I guess we add starvation to the Corvid-19 threat.
GFD.
Rick, people are panicking as the coronavirus outbreak gets worse. As more people are affected, shortages are a certainty. And social unrest…