In recent decades, we have become accustomed to looking at food through a strict "chemical lens" as a tabular sum of the individual nutrients it contains - whether from the perspective of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats), micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements) or "risk" components such as high levels of saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, sugar or salt.
The problem with this view, however, is that people never consume any nutrient in isolation, but always consume whole foods and food combinations in the form of meals that together contain a wide variety of many nutrients and other bioactive compounds, and that interact with each other. In fact, research and findings in recent years show that the same absolute nutrient content consumed as different foods and meals has different health effects. For example, although fatty cheeses (and some yoghurts) have relatively high levels of saturated fat and salt, eating them regularly does not have the same negative health effects (e.g. on blood triacylglycerol and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, etc.) as eating the same amount of these nutrients from other foods (e.g. chips or butter).
So, although most doctors still recommend limiting the consumption of, for example, these fatty cheeses, research shows that regular consumption is in turn associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The main reason for this is most likely that, in addition to their high proportion of saturated fatty acids and salt, fatty cheeses contain a wide complex of bioactive substances, including MFGM ('milk fat globule membrane'), calcium (which binds saturated fatty acids in the gut), beneficial bacteria and an overall positive effect on the gut microbiome.
Other examples are the "dreaded" carbohydrates or the very popular nut butters. A bowl of chopped fruit and vegetables and a bowl of cornflakes or breakfast cereals may have the same complex carbohydrate and sugar content, but their dynamics in the body and their effect on health and weight loss will be very different due to their different fibre, vitamin and mineral content. Likewise, some amount of nut butter may have the same amount of fat and calories as a corresponding amount of whole nuts. However, although the nutritional value may be the same, more nutrients and therefore calories are digested and absorbed from nut butters than from whole nuts because chewing nuts does not disrupt the plant structures as much as industrial processing, which increases the overall digestibility of nut butters. Finally, as I explained in my recent article on white and brown rice, there is a big difference between eating white rice on its own or as part of a complex meal that includes, for example, meat, oil and vegetables.
Conclusion
Food cannot be viewed solely in terms of the current "chemical" tabulation of individual nutrients, even "risky" ones such as saturated fatty acids, sugar or salt. People never consume individual nutrients in isolation, but eat a variety of foods and meals that invariably contain a wide range of other nutrients and bioactive compounds that interact with each other. Fortunately, this view of food has begun to change in the last few years and, for example, an important article on the subject by 18 internationally renowned experts in epidemiology, nutrition and preventive medicine was recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which changes this traditional view of food. Whether we like it or not, SOME previously banned or discouraged foods (e.g., high in animal fat or salt) may also have a direct positive health effect. Note: fried bacon is not one of them.
Literature
1) Fardet, Anthony, and Edmond Rock. „Toward a new philosophy of preventive nutrition: from a reductionist to a holistic paradigm to improve nutritional recommendations.“ Advances in nutrition5.4 (2014): 430-446.
2) Hjerpsted, Julie, Eva Leedo, and Tine Tholstrup. „Cheese intake in large amounts lowers LDL-cholesterol concentrations compared with butter intake of equal fat content–.“ The American journal of clinical nutrition 94.6 (2011): 1479-1484.
3) Spitsberg, V. L. „Invited review: Bovine milk fat globule membrane as a potential nutraceutical.“ Journal of dairy science88.7 (2005): 2289-2294.
4) The Problem With Diet Studies: We Don’t Eat Macronutrients – Medscape – Sep 05, 2018.
5) Thorning, T. K. et al., 2017. Whole dairy matrix or single nutrients in assessment of health effects: current evidence and knowledge gaps. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 105(5), 1033–1045.
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