From a Reductionist to a Holistic Approach in Preventive Nutrition to Define New and More Ethical Paradigms

• Main Authors: Anthony Fardet, Edmond Rock
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-10-01
• Series: Healthcare
• Subjects: preventive nutrition; healthy life years; sustainability; reductionism; holism; healthy core metabolism; intervention studies; food ranking; food structure
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/3/4/1054

This concept paper intends to define four new paradigms for improving nutrition research. First, the consequences of applying a reductionist versus a holistic approach to nutrition science will be discussed. The need for a more focused preventive nutrition approach, as opposed to a curative one, will then be presented on the basis of the ‘healthy core metabolism’ concept. This will lead us to propose a new classification of food products based on processing for future epidemiological studies. As a result of applying the holistic approach, health food potential will be redefined based on both food structure and nutrient density. These new paradigms should help define a more ethical preventive nutrition for humans to improve public recommendations while preserving the environment.