Even if you knew the exact nutrient composition of the foods you were eating, you would have a hard time computing 50 nutrients.įortunately, you don't need to. We require or do better if we eat enough of about 50 nutrients - vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants and water - that our bodies cannot make. For one thing, all three have to be done at the same time. Nothing could be more overused than nutritionists' endlessly intoned advice: 'Balance, variety and moderation are the keys to healthful diets.' But that advice is worth a fresh look. Digestive efficiency is one reason why we put on weight when we eat too much food. We get rid of the rest as fiber and lots and lots of bacteria. Our digestive enzymes can take just about anything we eat, raw or cooked, and turn it into absorbable molecules that we can use to build our own body parts or break down and use for energy.ĭigestion is so efficient that 90 percent or more of what we eat is converted to usable molecules. The human body is set up to handle and make excellent use of an enormous variety of edible plants and animals. I never gave the nutrient content of those foods a single thought.

In India, I ate dosas every chance I got. In Australia, I went to a Chinese restaurant one night and sampled kung pao kangaroo. When I give lectures in Australia or India, as I did last year, I see people eating food - all kinds of food. Except for people in hospitals who are fed intravenously, I don't know anyone who eats nutrients. A: I can't speak for all nutritionists, but my guess is that we are all jealous of how well he writes.

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