Slide 6 Today we are entering the third phase, the recognition that selected constituents in foods have a health potential that goes beyond sustenance and differs from deficiency. We now know that there are certain foods which can actively improve health. A great amount of this understanding is a consequence of the discoveries in areas such as nutrition, physiology and biochemistry. Let me give you one example. There is ample evidence to suggest that humans and other living creatures are exposed to entities called free radicals.
Free radicals are very small molecules of extremely short life that are highly reactive.
On the other hand, there are destructive free radicals. Many of them are derived from oxygen and they can be damaging to our cell membranes, our proteins and our genes. We believe that these unwanted free radicals can trigger many aspects of heart disease and in some cases cause genetic damage that leads to cancer. In fact, while on the one hand we need oxygen to sustain life, on the other hand oxygen radicals contribute to our destruction. One possibility is to look and see how other organisms tackle this process.