As a research scientist in the area of human nutrition, I have observed a sea change in emphasis within my field over the past 10–15 years. There have always been dynamics within the subject: During the first half of the twentieth century, scientists grappled with discovering the essential micronutrients and with characterizing the biological effects of their deficiency. This interest in “too little” was supplanted in the mid-1980s by a preoccu- pation with too much—too much fat, too much sugar, and too much obesity. Unfortunately nutritional research that looks at the relationship between dietary components and disease has often been dogged by equivocal, even contradictory research publications,.
