Reading about Eating (aka Sunday Afternoon Support Group)

'Tis Sunday. Generally I do not accomplish a whole lot this day of the week, what with the many intentions I have for the weekend and the very little follow through that actually occurs. However, since last spring there has been a smidgen more structure to my Sunday afternoons. I joined a book club that focuses on healthy eating. It is lead by a local natural medicine health concierge who selects the books we cover and leads the discussions that follow. He also answers our endless stream of questions as we discover together some pretty shocking information about lifestyle choices.

We read about everything from dangerous chemical ingredients in everyday processed food at the grocery store to myths and lies about nutritional value perpetrated by corporate industries and government administration. It's not all negative talk though, we also learn the truths about foods and ways to engage in healthy eating that contrasts the Western diet.

We meet just about every Sunday for an hour and it has been so much fun. I have really enjoyed the discussions and it is so helpful to have a doctor there to decipher the sometimes confusing texts. So far we have read The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I highly recommend checking these out. Michael Pollan's book was more fun to read in my opinion, but both were fascinating insights to what's really happening to the food we eat before it reaches our plates. The nice part about Pollan's book is that it didn't just scare you with horrid facts, it also helped explain a better approach to eating. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" is the simple phrase he structures the book around, and it's so true!

There isn't a book club meeting today since we are taking a break between books, so I probably will end up watching a lot of Olympic coverage and not get much done.  But, I'm very much looking forward to our next book. The Great American Detox Diet is our next adventure and it is written by Alex Jamieson, wife to Morgan Spurlock who you might know from the movie Super Size Me. 

I LOVE Morgan Spurlock. Love his movies. Love him.

Anyways, I am excited to read what his wife has to say on nutritional eating. She is a holistic health counselor and has written other books on eating vegan. She also undid the damage Morgan did to his body when he filmed Super Size Me so clearly she has some useful food magic knowledge.

I could start reading it now and get ahead for our next book club meeting, but Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are calling to me. Televised Olympics it is.