Rethinking your relationship with food

I enjoy reading books about food—both fiction and non-fiction. A colleague got me hooked on them with her never-ending recommendations of books that had elaborate descriptions of food and food being prepared. As I read the books she raved about, I realized I was having fun learning about different cuisines and all the things that shape how people eat. Over the years, there have been many books I have enjoyed that have changed my dynamics with food.

My husband and I drastically cut down our sugar intake after reading ‘The Case Against Sugar’ by Gary Taubes. In the book, Taubes argues that sugars are bad, that they have ‘a unique physiological, metabolic and hormonal effect on our bodies’. Sugar is what triggers a genetic predisposition to obesity and turns a healthy diet into a harmful one. It’s also the trigger of insulin resistance—a condition that leads to obesity, diabetes and a number of other diseases. It’s an eye-opening book.

We recommend The Case Against Sugar to everyone we meet, and a few people have recommended the book to us as well, in which case we have gone on to have lengthy discussions on how we are all trying to cut sugar from our diets. Here I recommend some of my other favorite books on food that I think everyone should read.

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

I’ve been contemplating going vegetarian for a while now. I’ve tried and faltered many times but I’m not giving up. It’s something I want to eventually do. So, I’ve been reading about it, and ‘Eating Animals’, I believe, is one of the best books on the subject. It doesn’t harp about the importance of becoming vegetarian. Instead, it’s the author’s messy affair with trying to become one. It’s a mixing of reportage along with Foer’s stream of consciousness musings. It’s an apt portrayal of what considerations of becoming a vegetarian looks like. I had so much fun reading this and I was highly inspired as well.

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten

If you want something bite-sized, I recommend you start here. ‘The Man Who Ate Everything’ is a collection of Steingarten’s food columns from Vogue magazine. The book came out in 1997. Most of the essays in this collection were written and published in the 80s and 90s so if you are someone who likes reading and getting information about food some of the things here might feel a tad bit dated. But the author is knowledgeable and he shares a lot of what he knows. Even if you already know something, his wit and discussions on it will make you want to expand your knowledge. While I was reading the book, I couldn’t help but think that the words here could only be written by someone who loves food and that made me want to take everything he said seriously.

How to Read a French Fry by Russ Parsons

The title of the book made me want to read this and I’m glad I did. I downloaded it on the Kindle and finished it in a couple of days. Parson’s writing is conversational, making the book an easy read. ‘How to Read a French Fry’ has many useful and interesting tidbits on food. It’s packed with facts that make you gasp, shudder, and want to start or stop eating certain things. Divided into six chapters, the book takes you through the basic concepts of food science. From how frying works and how vegetables ripen to how meat reacts to heat and how cakes and pastries are made, you will learn a lot about food and what goes behind its preparation. There are also cooking tips along with some handy recipes in the book.