Making Science A Good Read

Although lengthy, Dr. Schwartz’s chapter on food attracts the general public to important topics involving health and chemistry and makes the topic interesting through daily-life examples and a little humor. I registered for this course because I want to learn the applications of the concepts taught to me over the past four years, which also helps me strengthen my knowledge of such concepts. Many chemistry courses have a lab component and the last portion of Food Matters is similar to the laboratory in that experimenting can be fun and educational. I enjoyed this article because it was an adventure through different time periods, different foods, and different parts of the world all using science and chemistry common to everyday habits.

The past experiments and scientists that are mentioned in this article are a constant source of motivation. With our technology and experimental capabilities, we have the potential to overcome many of the medical problems we are faced with today, just as our predecessors, like Sylvester Graham, embarked on methods to overcome obesity. As an advanced nation, America is the source of many medical facilities necessary throughout the world, however, we ourselves are suffering from many medical conditions, which we have ability to overcome. This article is one in many to come which will be the source of such improvement. Allowing the reader to understand the scientific and medical jargon, which is vital to one’s health, is the most important step towards a healthier life, nation, and world.

The constant relationship between economics and science is another interesting part of this article. As Dr. Schwartz outlines, it is competition that produced a healthier alternative to butter though such competition and economics can be detrimental and misleading. The underlying and most effective method of weight loss is “Eat less and exercise more!” However, this message gets diluted by the always anxious public to find the token successful diet and they develop a dependence on the smallest findings by the media. Thus, when chocolate became a healthy food option, the recommended dose was absent to the general public. I learned of the recommended dose, three bars per month, through this article. Thus, one’s health is very important and when faced with a problem, the fastest and easiest route is more attractive than eating less and exercising more. However, Dr. Schwartz does a good job of presenting each of these food items and their benefits with a common message of taking his results with a grain of salt and always returning to eating less and exercising more.

I enjoyed this article and others similar to it because their goals and methodology match mine as I pursue a career in medicine. As a physician, I hope to use my knowledge to initiate conversation and planning with my patients in order to enhance their visit. Along with diagnosis and treatment, my patients will be able to understand the many aspects of their condition and have a plan ready to improve their health and maintain such.