For anyone interested in human nutrition...

Thanks for posting Kate.  I had actually begun reading this earlier (haven't finished yet).  It's verrrrrry interesting.

It looks like a great article.  I've printed it out and will read it later on.  Thanks for posting the link.

I printed it out and read it just now. Very good article, I couldn't agree more with the author's premise that a good diet is really just about eating real food. I enjoyed getting the history of how dietary guidelines were corrupted by big business (big surprise [&:])... and I never thought about the difference between food and "nutrients" in that way before. The line about "mainlining glucose" was pretty good, if chilling, too.
 
My fiance says (and I swear he's not just buttering me up []), that he notices a dramatic difference between the way he felt on a daily basis before he met me - when he was eating nothing but takeout and frozen dinners - and the way he feels now when we eat mostly homecooked meals of real foods. And we both feel even better (and have slimmed down) since going vegetarian 6 mo ago. The extent of processed foods that we eat are white rice and pasta... occasionally some crackers or tortilla chips. I have even started baking a little, bc I would rather eat a cookie made of real ingredients than something made of corn syrup and chemicals.

Glad you enjoyed it, jones!  I agree about the line regarding "mainlining glucose" but I have to admit that my favourite quote from it has to be "the silence of the yams" lol. 
 
Christine and Cathy - I hope you like it too.  Oh and Christine, I had to take a break while reading it...as wonderful as it is, it is LONG.
 
Kate

I'm gonna bump this up to the top so I remember to read it when I'm off work.
 
I minored in dietetics at the Uni.

I'll definately read it, thank you! But from the synopsis Jones gave I think I'm probably all over it. My diet has deteriorated in a huge way in the past, like 9 months or so (and hmmm we adopted our second dog about 9 months ago...coincidence?) but prior to that....well, I worked in health food stores for about three years while in grad school. I've been vegetarian for 16 years (longer than I was not one) and I've never had to take supplements of vitamins or anything like that. I don't believe in it really. If there's a nutrient I'm not getting from my diet, I need to alter my diet to include it. Whole foods, whole foods, whole foods! It used to be a lot easier to do that as a vegeterian because that was often your only option: make from scratch with whole ingredients. Now there are so many tempting veggie convenience foods out there, it takes more will power.

I'm probably jinxing myself, but I haven't gotten sick, not even a sniffle, not even for one day, this entire winter. And this despite doing field work in elementary schools! Everyone else on my project has been massively ill, but not me (yet).

Cressida - he actually talks about the need to eat "food" rather than just eating "nutrients"...it's definitely an interesting way of looking at things. 
 
Kate

Bumping up for Ed.  []
 
Kate