When it comes to eating healthy, we like to refer to simple guidelines. In his short and simple book, Food Rules (2009), American author and journalist Michael Pollan points out the inadequacies and counter-claims rampant in modern nutritional studies. He also compares the death rates of Americans and food-related diseases as compared to that of the world and the results are staggering.

4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

**6. Avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients

**7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce

8. Avoid food products that make health claims

**13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot

19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t

25. Eat your colors

29. Eat like an omnivore

31. Eat wild foods when you can

32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes

33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi

36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk

37. The white the bread the sooner you’ll be dead

38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have been traditionally stone ground

39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself

**43. Have a glass of wine with dinner

44. Pay more, eat less

46. Stop eating before you’re full

49. Eat slowly

50. The banquet is in the first bite

53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds

62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don’t