Week 2

4. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third‐grader cannot pronounce

● Almost all processed foods have long ingredient lists around 20 to 30 ingredients long

● Ingredients with scientific names that are very long and as the title of the point would

suggest, a third grader wouldn’t be able to pronounce it

● Reminds me of Bon Appetit’s video series hosted by Claire Saffitz, called Gourmet

Makes

● Saffitz remakes classic snacks and junk foods and each episode starts with her reading

out the entire ingredient list of each food she attempts to recreate

● Makes it abundantly clear that all the classic snack foods we all enjoy are made up of

many ingredients that we have no idea what it is or even how to pronounce

● My personal realization is that I should be more cognizant of the food I eat and what it’s

made of

● I read food labels much more often than I have in the past

● These ingredients with tongue-twister names are usually some kind of preservative to

maintain shelf life or something to make it extra crunchy or chewy -- some kind of state

of being that wouldn’t come naturally

● It is hard to avoid foods with these long scientific words in foods you buy at the

supermarket

● Try to minimize how much of it I eat in my food

● Helps me to avoid pre-made processed foods and encourages me to make my own

● If I want to eat cookies, I have learned to bake my own instead of buying

● If I eat junk food, I can control what goes into it

1
Week 3

21. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature

● I should limit how much sweet food I eat, especially processed junk food

● Tried to limit or reduce as much as possible how much sugar I consume, especially white

granulated sugar or foods that have corn syrup in it

● I avoid putting white sugar in my coffee and use honey as often as possible

● Sugar is difficult to completely cut out as it has addictive qualities

● I remember seeing studies that sugar is like a drug and humans are conditioned to

constantly want to consume it, that often why junk food and soda are still so popular even

though consumers know it’s bad for us, health-wise

● Even if it is hard to completely cut out of my diet, I eat to consume in moderation to not

make it a habit

● It is better to eat sweet food that is found naturally than foods added with additional sugar

in pre-packaged foods

● I was wrong regarding honey as a natural sugar. Based on a few quick Google searches,

it’s a naturally occurring sugar but non the less an added sugar.

● Admittedly I have a sweet tooth but try to limit the sweet food I eat nowadays

● Natural sugar is better than added sugar in food but is still sugar

● Diabetes is a health issue among many people nowadays and consumption of excess

sugar is a contributor to Type II diabetes

● It is not an issue for me right now, but I should be cognizant as I age because it could be

problematic especially when I reach my senior years in a few decades

● Sugar isn’t healthy in the human diet, but naturally occuring sugars are better than added

sugar

2
Week 4

24. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) in the

top three ingredients

● This is also related to the point I chose for Week 3, which is to eat less sugar

● Sweet foods are comforting and taste great, but admittedly not great for my health and I

have made conscious efforts to eat less sugar, especially added sugar

● I read the ingredient label more often on the food I eat

● It’s important to read the label because the ingredients listed in order of how much each

item is in the food

● Previously, I haven’t committed to not eat foods with sugar in the top 3 of the ingredient

listing, but I probably would upon further reflection especially with some of the topics in

this course

● Sugar and the different forms of sugar (usually foods with the ending suffix “-ose”) are in

so many foods and is difficult to completely cut out, so I try to minimize at the very least

● The nutritional information has also changed whether I decide to eat a food product

● For instance, if one portion of a snack is something like 20% of the recommended sugar

or fat amount in one day

● Sometimes even if I intended on buying a product I have changed my mind because I

quickly scan the ingredient list while in the supermarket

● I remember once reading the ingredient list and seeing two types of sweetener in the top

five -- probably sucrose and corn syrup

● The named sugars in the ingredient list doesn’t include the natural sugar in the other

ingredients, which likely all adds up to even more sugar than we might think from just

reading the label

3
Week 5

39. Shop the peripheries [fresh food aisles] of the supermarket and stay out of the middle

[processed food aisles]

● Overall, in the last 2 years I have cut out afternoon snacking out of my diet, which

probably would have included processed junk food

● The pandemic and especially the beginning of the quarantine in spring 2020, left me with

less opportunities to be active and at home, so I didn’t snack at home as often

● Less snacking meant I bought less snacks and junk food at the supermarket

● Going to the grocery store was a stressful process because of the need to physical

distance from stranger and my focus was more on getting the essentials like fresh

produce, canned foods, and non-perishables

● Less opportunities to go out meant I had more time on hands at home where I, like many

other people, learned to bake

● Tried to eat less sugar, but I did learn to bake shortbread cookies (Alison Roman’s recipe

that had gone viral). Even though I did make sugary snacks, I was fully aware of what

went into them. Off the top of my head the ingredients were flour, butter, sugar, salt, dark

chocolate, vanilla extract.

● I was comfortable making them because of how basic the recipe and ingredient list was

● It breaks the rules I chose in Weeks 3 and 4, but it follows my Week 2 rule -- all the

ingredients are ones that a third grader could pronounce and understand

● From personal experience, the pandemic made me realize that the shelves that carry the

processed foods are not important to my grocery shopping

● I had to prioritize the supermarket experience and buying natural and healthier food was

more important to me than buying junk food

4
Week 6

56. Consult your gut [i.e. listen to your body]

● This rule about eating food is about eating food that make your digestion feel good

● From personal experience, I have occasional issues with lactose intolerance where my

digestive system has difficulty breaking down the lactose in milk and dairy products

● Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar found in milk, so this also connects to my earlier

comments about consuming less sugar

● Although lactose isn’t as harmful as added sugar in foods, it would be beneficial for me

to cut more of it out of my diet

● Dairy comes in forms that I enjoy, such as latte coffee drinks, ice cream, and yogurt, but

it would be better for my digestion if I didn’t eat as much of it (the lactose-free or

non-dairy forms of these are occasionally hard to come by)

● I should listen to how my body responds to the food I eat because even if I emotionally

and psychologically enjoy eating the food, what good is it doing if I feel terrible a few

hours later?

● I had a recent experience with a latte at Starbucks (I didn’t swap out the regular 2% milk

for a non-dairy option). I really enjoyed drinking it and it tasted great. A few hours later I

could feel my digestive system rumbling and I felt terrible for the next day. This anecdote

was the first that came to mind when I read this rule.

● Another personal experience is with overly greasy food, which always makes me feel

exhausted after eating. Food, generally should be seen as fuel for the body, but greasy

food makes me feel exhausted and lethargic and my gut feeling heavy. It makes my gut

feel terrible but also reminds me that excess oil and fried foods aren’t healthy and that I

should cut a majority of it out of my diet.