Essay on importance of food science and our diet

Most of us today believe in taking vitamin tablets to supplement the much needed vitamins which are found in the whole foods. But Dr. Vic Shayne, Food Science Researcher & Director, Nutrition Research Center, Boulder, CO, has shown that vitamins are best when consumed through whole foods and are worst when consumed as vitamin or multivitamin pills. According to him naturally available food is well balanced in nutrition and does not pose any danger of side effects.

Moreover, foods have many other nutrients which are not found in multivitamin pills and are more important as nutrients than vitamins or minerals alone. Dr. Shayne promotes the advantages of eating whole foods. He has formulated whole food supplements under the brand NutriPlex Formulas. He believes that people should take whole food formulas as supplements if they do not want or cannot eat whole natural foods.

Our lifestyles force us to bank on ready-to-eat meals. We tend to grab food from the fast food joints. Such food habits lead to neglect of whole foods in our diet. As a result, we take multivitamin products in order to supplement the vitamins and minerals. But is that the right way? What about other vital nutrients which are more important for our health and which are naturally found in whole foods only? Nutrients such as fiber, vitamin and mineral “ complexes”, chlorophyll, antioxidants, biofalvonoids and nitrilosides are found only in whole foods and not in any vitamin pills.

Looking at the great benefits of eating whole foods, in my opinion today’s dietitians should focus more on insisting people to switch to whole foods in their diet. They should make efforts to educate their customers and patients about the benefits of eating whole foods. For someone like me who has college education in food science, it makes good sense to pursue career as a dietitian. I have the understanding of technical aspects of food such as structure of proteins or vitamins. As today’s dietitian I would be able to contribute to research in food science like Dr. Shayne and introduce new formula foods to supplement a diet.

Knowledge about superior benefits of foods will also help food science to explore better ways of cooking so that the quality of nutrients is preserved.

Work Cited

“ Food Science Researcher Reports That Foods Are Superior to Vitamin Pills (press release).” Naturalnews. com. NaturalNews, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.