Food and nutrition: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Abstract

The concept that health is in part dictated by diet is well recognized, but the focus is often on the putative negative effects of “bad diets” and “bad foods,” rather than on the identification of diets and foods that may confer significant positive health effects. New educational programs are needed that inform the public about the potential health benefits of foods and communicate the principles of benefit-risk analysis. The agricultural industry in general and the food industry specifically are poised to make significant new advancements in the generation of what might be viewed as revolutionary health-promoting foods; after 2,500 years we are getting closer to meeting Hippocrates’s challenge.