Real vs Fake Food

Food is very important to all of us because it is our sustenance. We try to eat the right things and sometimes we go on special diets to get in shape. In Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, he talks about eating real food. In other words we should eat foods that aren’t processed or changed in any ways. Some common examples are fresh fruit, grains, nuts and other things that aren’t changed at all.

In my life personally I used to eat fresh apples a lot. Recently I haven’t eaten many and I drink more apple juice than fresh apples. I still like apples it is just that they are expensive, and hard to come by than apple juice. Apple juice tastes good because it is enriched with sugar, and I know that that is not good for me but it still tastes good and I like it more than apples. Apple juice still provides some nutrients and vitamins but not as much as fresh apples I don’t think. I started to have more apple juice than fresh apples when I came to college. It is easier to drink apple juice than to eat an apple, and in some cases it is cheaper. Apple juice also keeps longer so it makes more sense to have in a dorm.

Dr. Leslie Van Romer wrote an article called “Are you Filling up on Real or Fake Food” about this same subject. The article makes many of the same points that Pollan does in his book. She says “Once a food is altered from its original state, nutrients are lost.

I am probably not going to stop drinking apple juice but I think that I will start to try and eat fresh fruit more often. I like it very much and it is better for me than processed foods.