WHOLE FOODS VERSUS SINGLE NUTRIENTS
Scurvy, a serious deficiency of vitamin C that has caused tremendous human suffering throughout history, was first described by ancient Egyptians, and then by the Greeks and Romans (Carpenter, 1986).
For hundreds of years, scurvy was a scourge of long-distance sailors, soldiers, explorers and the poor in many countries where there was a lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables. However, it was not recognized that scurvy could be prevented and cured by consuming citrus fruit until the eighteenth century. And it would be another 200 years before vitamin C was isolated and its deficiency identified as the cause of the disease.
For hundreds of years, scurvy was a scourge of long-distance sailors, soldiers, explorers and the poor in many countries where there was a lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables. However, it was not recognized that scurvy could be prevented and cured by consuming citrus fruit until the eighteenth century. And it would be another 200 years before vitamin C was isolated and its deficiency identified as the cause of the disease.
The lesson from this is still important today; people do not need to understand everything about individual nutrients in order to consume nutritionally adequate and well-balanced diets. Even though the current understanding of nutrition, health and disease has advanced well beyond nutrient deficiencies, there is still much that is not known, and probably never will be known, about the relationships between diet and health. Fortunately, however, with a bit of common sense, people can still be well nourished even though the understanding of nutritional science may be incomplete.
For example, research efforts exploring the possible protective effects of phytochemicals against various forms of chronic diseases have often shown an association with the consumption of various foods rich in these compounds, but not with specific phytochemicals themselves. There are several possible explanations for this, including: the specific phytochemicals being investigated may not be the ones that have an effect; the effects of individual phytochemicals may be additive; and it may be the interaction of two or more phytochemicals and nutrients that produces an effect.
Since the understanding of nutrition science and the complex functions and interactions of the many vitamins, minerals, macronutrients and phytochemicals contained in food is still so incomplete, it is important that a rational and time-tested approach be taken to the promotion of good nutrition.
It is also important to continue emphasizing the benefits of nutrient-dense foods, such as citrus fruits, and to recognize that the consumption of whole foods and natural juices is preferred over the consumption of individual nutrients that have been isolated from food and then consumed as dietary supplements.
Focusing on single nutrients, instead of foods and the total diet, does not constitute a healthful approach to good nutrition.
Since the understanding of nutrition science and the complex functions and interactions of the many vitamins, minerals, macronutrients and phytochemicals contained in food is still so incomplete, it is important that a rational and time-tested approach be taken to the promotion of good nutrition.
It is also important to continue emphasizing the benefits of nutrient-dense foods, such as citrus fruits, and to recognize that the consumption of whole foods and natural juices is preferred over the consumption of individual nutrients that have been isolated from food and then consumed as dietary supplements.
Focusing on single nutrients, instead of foods and the total diet, does not constitute a healthful approach to good nutrition.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) .
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