Nutrition and Health

There are a variety of ancient texts that describe the benefits and dangers of certain foods, and the relationship between diet and health. The absence of essential nutrients and resulting deficiency diseases were recognized even before vitamins and minerals were ‘discovered’ in the 18th and 19th centuries. Throughout our lives, and even before we are born, we are exposed to a complex mixture of food compounds that can have a positive or negative impact on our long-term health. Intricate biochemical processes extract the energy and other useful components that enable us to grow and function, and many compounds, seemingly unimportant in the past, are now recognized as being beneficial.