Transcript

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For Food Safety in a Minute, I’m Susie Craig.

It may surprise you, scientists don’t know that much about the naturally occurring chemical make-up of our food. Nutrition research has historically focused on protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Though researchers have identified 139,000 molecules in food, scientists do not know if they are absorbed, how they are metabolized in our bodies, to which protein they bind, and what cellular processes they affect.

Consider the complexity of the chemicals and food along with the complexity of how our bodies metabolize and use those chemicals. With research focused on chemical mapping of foods paired with artificial intelligence, it’s possible nutritional science will be revolutionized, new drugs from food chemicals will be developed. Food is Medicine.

From Washington State University Extension, this Food Safety in a Minute.

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Resources

Menichetti, Giulia, A Barnabas and J. Loscalzo. Chemical Complexity of Food and Implications for Therapeutics. New England Journal of Medicine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2413243