The Role of the Food and Nutritional Sciences in Examining the Determinants of Health

Typically the food and nutritional sciences have been reviewed and viewed in isolation in regard to human health. However, the food and nutritional sciences are both dynamic and interactive disciplines that transcend the traditional labels often employed in an attempt to explain how we are what we eat. Although casually joined in a colloquial sense, the food and nutritional sciences are highly integrative and relies on understanding and applying concepts across many disciplines within the life sciences, social sciences and integrative biosciences. More recently, the contagious interest in functional foods has opened the door for the food and nutritional sciences to be applied within the areas of pharmacology, genomics, metabolomics, proteomics, nutrigenomics, and nutrigenetics- to name a few. In addition to capturing the relationship between food (i.e. nutrients) and subsequent biological structure and physiological function, the food and nutritional sciences are on the forefront in the battle to promote health, prevent disease and mitigate health disparities. This abbreviated synopsis provides a snapshot of the role of the food and nutritional sciences in understanding human health, with an emphasis on the multifaceted nature of the field and its potential application to bridge the gap from farm to table, as well as from the laboratory to the lifespan.