Food - Not Nutrition

Food - Not Nutrition

Last New Year’s eve we were with friends.  A potluck sort of thing, we had copious quantities of food and drink and ate like people who would be reined in by restrictive resolutions momentarily.  Not to worry, with the second cup of post-feast coffee, the hostess passed around the walnuts.  "Have one," she suggested to us all. "The omega 3 fatty acids will neutralize all the bad fats we had for dinner."

Of course, such a gesture is harmless enough.  Walnuts are a perfectly good food.  But, despite a fervent wish that is was true, the chance of the humble walnut “neutralizing” our earlier indulgence is perhaps a bit off the scale.

It occurred to me, as I reached for a second walnut, that this suggestion on the part of our hostess illuminates two of the major nutritional misunderstandings in our “world of plenty" era.

One – that nutrition has within it a property of magic.  Something small like a walnut, or a pill, or a “special combination of foods”,  can make up for nutritional irresponsibility and/or bring health about effortlessly.

Two – that problems resulting from over consumption, can be rectified by - wait for it -  consuming more.

It is a tribute to the talent and determination of the food industry advertising efforts that in a country that suffers from dramatic overconsumption, most of us still harbor a belief, or at least a  hope, that the solution to our problems lies in increasing our consumption.     

I like the idea of magic the same as anyone.  We all want to believe.  We all buy, looking for a little magic in new shoes, a bigger house, or a cutting edge piece of technology that will enhance our lives.  And, at least temporarily, all of these things seem to produce as promised.   A pill, a lotion, a different kind of cereal will cure what ails me.  Even if it doesn’t work out, even if we realize at some point that we’ve been duped, well, maybe there is something else that will fill the bill.  Hope springs eternal.  

To be sure there have been times in history when nutrition would appear to perform miracles.  To a sailor on a British ship who had not seen fresh fruits or vegetables for months and was near death from disastrous effects of scurvy – the restoration of health from a little citrus juice would seem nothing short of miraculous.

Children in the 18^th century, who were kept out of the sun and developed rickets, could be cured by a few spoonfuls of a rather disgusting fatty material taken from the livers of cods.  Amazing!

But these people were cured of deficiencies that even in their day, were relatively rare.  Today, in the western world it is fairly safe to suggest that such serious deficiencies and their dramatic cures are not the sort of nutritional problems from which we commonly suffer.

Despite the constant barrage of “studies” that find their way into the popular press about amazing nutritional facts and promise new effortless ways to health, the fact is that we understand human nutrition pretty well and there have been few, if any, dramatic changes in our understanding for quite sometime.  And, to be honest, omega three fatty acids and essential vs. non-essential amino acids, notwithstanding, good nutrition its relatively simple and easily fulfilled.  Frankly, if it was complicated, or unavailable without the help of pill manufactures or calculators, we, as a species, would have died out long ago.

Frankly, I don't like the word nutrition.  It sounds so clinical, so chemicalish.  One visualizes walls of bottles of pills usually in a comfy brown color and  screaming "natural," like there is anything natural about a pill.  It conjures up ideas like special combinations of hard to pronouces substances that will solve all our problems, combined with fear and trepidation if we get it "wrong".

By all rights I should like the word.  I spent a lot of time learning about it. I majored in nutrition and biochemistry as an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, and have a Master's degree in public Health Nutrition from UCLA.  But I'm tired of it, the fads, the hysteria, the swooning, the hopes for magic, the confusion and the guilt.

When we say "nutrition" we are talking about food parts.    The implication is that the food does not matter - only the parts.  This idea couldn't be less true for a number of reasons.  Food is much more than the sum of its parts.

Its time to calm down.  Lets talk about food, just food and take a good look at just what food is, what it does for us and, just as important, what it doesn't do. Let's discuss the wonderful diversity of ways to eat and enjoy food.  

As the recently deceased Joan Rivers would put it,  let's talk.

Why Eat?

Why Eat?

Really, what's the point?   Yes, as a rule, food tastes good, and we get hungry.  But why does it taste good, why do we get hungry?  Why is our body programed to "get hungry" and to like eating?

We are aware that if we don't eat we will die - although that remains largely an abstract concept for most people in the west.  At least for awhile.

What exactly would we die from?  Simple. When anything starves, it dies from a lack of energy.

To understand food requires an understanding of energy, which happens to be the main reason we eat.  All living things from the humblest  bacteria, to the blue whale, or to the tallest redwood tree need a constant uninterrupted supply of energy.  Every cell calls out for the stuff.  Much of life consists of the quest of energy.  The availability, or lack thereof, has determined the survival of life forms throughout time. We live in odd times right now in that we have death and disease also resulting from consuming too much of the stuff. In any case, the importance of energy can scarcely be overemphasized.

Lets back up a minute, however.  The word energy, like the word “love,”  has many definitions which leads to misunderstandings and confusion.  We need to get specific.

So let’s begin first with what we don’t mean when we refer to energy in our food.
Sometimes we use the word  “energy” when we are referring more to being “energetic”, as in - feeling good, awake, alive, “king of the world” type thing.  This doesn’t really have much to do with food.  Someone shouting “fire” or “there’s a group of naked people running down the street” can often bring on a burst of this sort of "energy" to the most exhausted of people.  

Then there is the drug thing.  Certain substances can make you feel like swinging from the chandeliers, tap dancing, or partying more enthusiastically than decorum would dictate.  We would marvel at the “energy” such a person has. Likewise, other substances can seem to sap one’s “energy” causing lethargy.  

Other times it is more of a spiritual thing.  Energy may be lined up according to “chakra’s" in some traditions.  One can feel the “life energy”.  Or sense the “energy" in a room.   A friend of mine was seeing someone concerning pain in her back and was given certain exercises that would cause “the negative energy to flow from her back, to her arms and out her finger tips.”  Again, not what we are talking about with food.

These are probably all defensible uses of the word energy and, in each case,  I would be hard pressed to find a substitute.  But these are not related to the type of energy we consume in food or that run our body processes. Our lack of clarity about what we mean by nutritional energy results products being touted as “high energy” and having “no energy” at the same time.  The “high energy” generally comes from a drug, something like caffeine, which gives a bit of a buzz, but does not fulfill a nutritional need.  

Energy that we receive in food does not necessarily make us “feel” anything – except perhaps less hungry.  It is a measureable physical substance.  It is defined in science as the “ability to do work”.  “Work” is further defined as moving something against a resistance.

Bottom line – energy is the ability to move things.  And yes, all of us, even when we sleep are moving, all the time.  A reasonable definition of death would be “not moving." Your heart, lungs, circulation, eyelids, and the intercellular activities of several trillion cells are in motion however subtlety, and require a constant source of energy.

Your body will cajole you finding and  maintaining sources of energy.  Try going hungry for awhile, you’ll be amazed at what you are willing to eat, and the lengths you will eventually go to satisfy you needs for energy.  The pursuit of energy is basic for all life because without it, life ends.

When I taught nutrition I would sometimes ask students if they felt there was a “most important” nutrient.  I got a variety of answers, but protein was usually the popular favorite.  Not to discount the importance of protein, but, in fact, if energy needs are not met, the body will quickly use any availble protein for energy purposes.  If one is in a state of starvation, the body  is breaking down protein from muscle and other proteins in the body and using it for energy.   Death comes, usually, due to organ failure, often the heart, because it has been quarried to the point that it can no longer perform its function.   

So, truth is, and despite its bad name in the popular press, energy is the most essential ingredient in our food - by a long shot. Throughout history, the  deficiency that has caused the most death and illness has been, hands down, the deficiency of energy.   All of our other nutrients pretty much come along for the ride.

It is important to note that, like all food substances, energy can be taken in excess and that too, will result in morbidity and mortality.  In our “food, food everywhere type culture” this has become predominant nutritional disease in western cultures and we will deal with this in due course.  

For the time being, let’s look at the basics.

Measuring Energy and Its Forms

Measuring Energy

I mentioned that energy is quantifiable.  That is, we can measure it.  Over time we have come up with a number of different definable measurements.   Just like we measure, say, length as inches, yards, meters etc.  we have different ways of discussing amounts of energy.   

There are two units that are used in nutrition.  One is the Kilojoule (KJ) – named after Jame Prescott Joule (. . . ..  Not that it matters right now, but for definition buffs, it is the amount of energy needed to move a mass of one kilogram, 1 meter.   In countries other than the U.S. you will often find the energy content of foods measured in Kj's.  

In the U.S. the unit we are all familiar with is the Calorie.  The Calorie is the amount of heat necessary to heat a kilogram (about 2.2 lbs)  of water 1 degree Celsius, and equals a bit over 4 Kj.

(Word of caution, the "Calorie" - uppercase C, that is used in food energy is 1000 times as much as the "calorie" - lowercase c that often shows up in scientific research.  Although most of the science world is now unified on the joule or the Kilojoule.)

Of course the word “Calorie” brings to many of us in the modern western world a sense of foreboding, a shudder goes through our sensibilities.  We have come to dread that word and think of Calories, and therefore food energy, as a bad thing. This is because we live in a unique time in history when much of the western world suffers under the weight of excess calories rather than too few.  We will discuss this rather prejudicial view presently.  But for the time being, let’s remain clinical and, if possible, be willing to accept a broader view of the importance of food energy.

Very often you will see a food advertised as low in Calories but high in energy.  Well, this is perfect nonsense of course.  Its like saying your house is very tiny but has a very large square footage.  The implication is that this is not offering food value, but, presumably some sort of drug like caffeine that get the juices flowing, and comes about because the multiple meanings of the world "energy."

Forms of Energy

One aspect about energy that leads to confusion in every beginning science student is the fact that energy comes in several different interchangeable forms.  It routinely morphs from one form to another.  Interestingly, it is not destroyed - the amount in the universe, as best we can tell, remains constant.*(For the science buffs, Einstein pointed out that energy is also interchangeable with mass – famous equations E = mc2, but lets not go there).  It isn't born, it doesn't die, it just changes form.

In understanding food energy and what we do with it we have to be acquainted with several forms. You don't need to memorize this or anything.  Just know that they exist and that the each are of importance to our bodies and our lives.   

First: Solar energy, sometimes called radiant energy.  The sun produces staggering amounts of energy that is radiated out into the universe.  Some of it hits the earth.  That’s a good thing. 

Second: is chemical energy – this is a stored form of energy which is contained within the structure of chemicals or molecules.  And, I might add, your body.

Third: mechanical energy – the form that actually does the work.  Our bodies are constantly converting stored chemical energy into mechanical energy.  My typing on the keyboard, and you moving your eyes from left to right are examples of mechanical energy in use.

Finally: we will be discussing heat.  

All of these are interchangeable, all are measured in Kilojoules or Calories.  We will stick to Calories.

The next question is where does the energy that we get from our food, come from originally?

So - Where does the Energy in Food Come From?

So - Where does the Energy in Food Come From?

In a word – the sun.  That’s right, you are running on solar energy at this moment.  Every blink of the eye, heart beat, synapse connection, breath you take – from the sun.  

Lying out in the sun to rejuvenate yourself, however, will likely produce nothing more than a good sunburn.  You are simply incapable of accessing this marvelous energy source for your own biological purposes.  Good thing, too.  Otherwise sunshine could make us fat and who wants that.

You are absolutely reliant on intermediaries to collect that sunlight and convert it to a form that your body can access.  

Enter – plants.  This might be an appropriate time for you to take a step outside and hug a tree or kiss a bush.  These are your friends.  Even those dandelions you pulled out of your lawn last week – biological associates.  

Plants have the ability to trap the energy of sunshine into chemical structures that we can then eat and utilize.  This is no small thing. No plants, no you.  

Wait, say you, I eat cows for food, none of that wimpy plant stuff.   Well, not that I necessarily endorse this particularly culinary plan, you are still running off of solar energy.  The cow got its energy from grass or grain.  You might eat meat from a lion that ate a hyena, which ate a gazelle.  The gazelle ate plants.  It will always come back to somebody that can gather up radiant energy and turn it into chemical energy for the rest of us.  Hence, the lowly plant is at the bottom of the food chain, because of its incredible energy mining capabilities.

Now, I will be using the word "plants" fairly consistently.  What I mean, for those who are fussy about such things, is "photo synthesizers", a term that includes all living things  that can gather and store energy from the sun.  That would include plankton, in the oceans, little tiny microscope beings, certain bacteria, etc.  These guys do make up a large and important group of organisms that are busy collecting sunlight and providing food energy for other creatures.  But, in an effort to keep things relatively simple, we will usually refer to "photo synthesizers" by the somewhat inaccurate term of "plants".

Up next - how do they do it?

The Linchpin of Life - Photosynthesis

The Linchpin of Life - Photosynthesis

I say, without hesitation, that this is the most important process of life as we know it.  No one should graduate from high school, be involved in public policy or industry, be a religious leader, be a parent or just be a person who cares about the future without a complete and thorough understanding this process, how it works and why it is critical.  It is the source of virtually all of our energy (with the exceptions of nuclear and geothermal energy) and key to understanding and solving most of our environmental problems  including global warming.

And yet, when most people are asked what "photosynthesis" is they give a "who cares" shrug of their shoulders.  Clearly the priorities of our education system are a tad confused.  

On the off chance that it may not be completely clear to you, you might want to stay tuned. . .


Photosynthesis sounds a bit like chemistry or, well boring.  It does, after all, have 5 syllables.  Let's break it down.

Photo means "light".  (Photography = picture (graph) from light)
Synthesis means "make or produce".

Photosynthesis simply means to make something from light.  Not so bad - right?

Make what?     Sugar.

Yes, sugar that stuff we love and love to hate.  Try for a bit to drop your prejudices one way or another; we will be talking a lot more about sugar and all its relatives shortly.  Just take my word for it right now that it is really really important and we should be very grateful for it.

Photosynthesis is dance of four substances (your science teacher called them chemical compounds,  but substances will do).

Water, carbon dioxide, sugar and oxygen.

What a plant can do, that you and I cannot, is take water, combine it with carbon dioxide and, given sunlight, produce sugar and oxygen.

carbon dioxide + water + sunlight   =     sugar + oxygen.

 (  For those who like the chemical explanation:

6CO2 + 6H20 + solar energy = C6H12O6 + 6O2  )

It is worth noting that at this point, oxygen is just a waste product because, chemically, there are too many oxygen atoms left over, so they are jettisoned.

The energy from the sun is held in the sugar molecule - sort of like a little battery.  

Whether you are in a well trimmed garden, an ancient forest, or a weed covered lot, you are seeing literally trillions and trillions of little factories trapping sunlight into sugar molecules made from water and carbon dioxide, and filling the atmosphere with needed oxygen - making life possible for the rest of us. 

Up next:  What does the plant do with all these trillions of sugar molecules?