Welcome  to  Public  health  moment  from the  University  of  Minnesota  in  order to  learn  more  about  the  health  benefits  of  food. Researchers  have  typically  focused  on individual  nutrients  such  as  beta  carotene,  calcium, and  vitamin  E.  But  David  Jacobs, a  University  of  Minnesota  epidemiologist, believes  that  scientists  need  to  examine  food  itself. The  way  that  foods  work  is  that  they're orchestrated  combinations  of  constituents. Food  was  once  alive,  life  is  complex. For  researchers,  I  would  say  that  they  should  study  food. And  if  they  find  something  about  a  food, that's  an  important  thing. But  they  should  be  telling  us  what happens  to  health  on the  basis  of  eating  particular  foods. While  many  people  use  supplements  to increase  their  intake  of  certain  nutrients, Jacobs  recommends  instead  a  healthy  diverse  diet. A  tried  and  true  safe  way  to  get  nutrients  is  from  food. What  I  would  suggest  is  diversity. We  scientists  don't  know  everything  by  far. My  suggestion  is  diversity  and  moderation, and  I  would  avoid  those  foods  which  I know  have  very  limited  nutrient  content. With  another  public  health  moment. I'm  John  Finnegan.