Food SynergyFood Synergy: A Paradigm Shift in Nutrition Science

A major focus of nutrition science has centered on identifying the various macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals and then investigating their mode of action. Many associations between diet and risk of disease are best understood by looking at food as a whole and not merely as a collection of individual nutrients and other bioactive substances. Because of the limitations of epidemiology, it is extremely difficult in many cases to identify the substances in food that account for protection against disease. This is especially the case with phytochemical-rich plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole-grain cereal foods. The concept of food synergy, that the compounds in food act in a concerted way on the biology of the eater, underlies the need for more research into foods and dietary patterns. Furthermore, such findings can be directly translated into dietary recommendations. They also serve as a scientific anchor point to which studies of food components must conform.