Reiss, M; (2019) Food and nutrition. In: Reiss, MJ and Watts, F and Wiseman, H, (eds.) Rethinking Biology: Public Understandings. (pp. 213-230). World Scientific

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Abstract

What we eat is core to our health, how we understand ourselves and a substantial part of our enjoyment in life. Yet today’s diets differ greatly from those that we evolved to have. Furthermore, public understanding of nutrition is not strong and, for many people, there are major mismatches between what they would like to eat and what they actually consume, both in terms of amount and quality. In this chapter, I begin by describing the diets that were typical in our evolutionary past, explaining how they differ from those that are increasingly common today. Then, I examine what is meant by ‘a good diet’, broadening the notion from a narrow focus on physical health. I also look at how official advice about diet is sometimes less secure than is admitted and examine the current state of knowledge about fats and carbohydrates in our diet. I conclude by examining what good education about nutrition might entail both in schools and for adults, considering the role of food in identity and culture as well as in nutrition.

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