On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 497

Nutritionalsciencehasundergonea
profoundrevolutioninthattime.Formostof
the20thcenturyitaimedtodefinean
adequatediet.Itdeterminedourbody’s
minimalrequirementsforchemicalbuilding
blocks(protein,minerals,fattyacids),for
essentialcogsinitsmachinery(vitamins),and
fortheenergyitneedstorunandmaintain
itselffromdaytoday.Towardtheendofthe
century,itbecameclearfromlaboratory
studiesandcomparisonsofhealthstatisticsin
differentcountriesthatthemajordiseasesof
theadequatelynourisheddevelopedworld—
cancerandheartdisease—areinfluencedby
whatweeat.Nutritionalsciencethenbeganto
focusondefiningtheelementsofanoptimal
diet.Sowediscoveredthatminor,
nonessentialfoodcomponentscanhavea
cumulativeeffectonourlong-termhealth.
Andplants,theplanet’sbiochemical
virtuosos,turnouttobeteemingwithtrace
phytochemicals—fromtheGreekphyton,


meaning“leaf”—thatmodulateour
metabolism.
Antioxidants
Oxidative Damage: The Price of Living One
majorthemeinmodernnutritionisthebody’s
needtocopewiththechemicalwearandtear
of life itself. Breathing is essential to human

lifebecauseourcellsuseoxygentoreactwith
sugars and fats and generate the chemical
energy that keeps the cellular machinery
functioning. Unfortunately, it turns out that
energy generation and other essential
processesinvolvingoxygengeneratechemical
by-products called “free radicals,” very
unstablechemicalsthatreactwithanddamage
our own complex and delicate chemical
machinery. This damage is calledoxidative
because it usually originates in reactions
involvingoxygen.Itcanaffectdifferentparts
of the cell, and different organs in the body.
For example, oxidative damage to a cell’s