# In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

5 Hacker News commenters recommended In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers recommend it as a short, memorable guide to eating well, summed up as eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.

## Why people recommend it

- Simple, concise eating advice (3 comments): "are a good answer to how we should eat if we can't eat McDonald's" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50039896)) "Extremely well phrased for my minimalist brain." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48259839)) "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49597401))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Outlive by Peter Attia](https://hackerapproved.com/p/outlive.md): 7 recommend
- [Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starting-strength.md): 6 recommend
- [Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/where-there-is-no-doctor.md): 3 recommend
- [Body By Science by McGuff and Little](https://hackerapproved.com/p/body.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143114964?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780143114963) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan", https://hackerapproved.com/p/in-defense-of-food/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).