This website started out as a private record of my educational journey into the research and factual information on nutrition and food.  As I advanced through the reams of information it occurred to me that other people might find it useful so I pushed the ‘public button’. Now anyone who wants can use the information.  This is my  journey that hopefully will lead to a better understanding for me, and you if you want, of what food and the nutrients in it do for us.

The internet, MRI’s and the mapping of the human genome have something in common.  They all provide valuable information about ourselves.

Scientists are mapping how our DNA instructs different cellular activities and how what we eat affects these pathways.  With MRI’s they have a window through which to view many of the activities that are going on in our bodies and with the internet the information freely flows out to anyone and everyone with access to it.

The knowledge gained from science about how nutrients in food affect us has escalated dramatically. For years most of us believed that all fat was bad. For years most of us believed that margarine created with trans fats was good.  For years we believed that sugar was harmless and had no really bad effects on our health. For years some of us believed that if we ate just one particular food such as (insert super food of choice) it would cure-all cancers in our body and prevent heart disease to boot.

Now we’re able to see, through the gift of science, how some of this has some basis in truth and some of it is totally bogus.

This is the most exciting time in history for food science and for medicine as well. For sure it is the most confusing time because the information changes by the hour and with every research paper.

No wonder most of us just throw up our hands and say, “What the hell! I just don’t care anymore.”

Take heart. What scientists are finding out is what’s real and what isn’t and just like any other process that any of us go through it takes much trial and error.

These are the criteria I go by:

The information is from respected sources. Sources such as University web sites, particularly the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, Pub Med, Google Scholar and from Wikipedia. Information from Wikipedia is cross-referenced with other sources.

The website will also be updated periodically.

Information using the words ‘may have’ or ‘may be’ or any other terms revealing unsubstantiated information are avoided or used sparingly.

The information is laid out systematically on the pages on vitamins and minerals as follows:

a. What is it?

b. What does it do for us?

c. What happens when we don’t get enough?

d. What happens when we get too much?

e. Where do we get it?

Information for the macro nutrients proteins, fats and carbohydrates is broken down into specific nutrients and how each subtype of that nutrient performs.

References are either with the text or at the end.

On a personal note, I would like to say that I am not a cellular biologist nor am I a nutritionist. I do however have  an undergraduate degree that trained me to do critical evaluation.  I did this research so that I could sort out fact from potential fiction and  I did it because I’m tired of not knowing what’s true and what’s not. “Knowledge is power,” as they say and, like you, I want power over my  health.