Why your food labels are hiding the true nutritional value of your dinner
In short: Cooking is more than a culinary technique; it is a biological catalyst that reshaped human evolution. Rachel Carmody explains how heat alters the chemical structure of food, changing how our bodies process nutrients in ways that standard labels fail to capture.
On March 6, 2019, at the American Museum of Natural History, Harvard University’s Rachel Carmody explored the chemistry behind the kitchen. The discussion highlights that the simple act of cooking—chopping, sautéing, and heating—fundamentally shifts the chemical properties of ingredients.
This process is central to understanding human evolution, as the way we prepare food dictates how effectively our bodies extract energy and nutrients. Because these chemical transformations occur before we even take a bite, the nutritional data printed on modern food packaging often provides an incomplete picture of what we are actually consuming.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Raw Truth About Cooking with Rachel Carmody – AMNH SciCafe
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