Food, Science, and the Human Body

By: Alyssa Crittenden, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Alyssa Crittenden

Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

What foods did the human body evolve to eat, and why? How does the food we eat affect our genes and our minds? What foods are (and aren't) optimal for our everyday health? How can we use cutting-edge science to end world hunger?

In these 36 lectures, get eye-opening answers to these and other perplexing questions about the evolution of the human diet and its relationship to our bodies. Bringing together insights from a range of fields including history, anthropology, nutrition, economics, biology, and sociology, this exciting partnership between The Great Courses and National Geographic lays bare what science can teach us about food.

Taking you far beyond the supermarket and the laboratory, these lectures cross cultures, span time, and hop around the world from the most underfed to the most overfed human societies. Bringing a broad range of disciplines to these lectures, Dr. Crittenden offers an intriguing and illuminating catalog of some of the most pressing questions and concerns.

You'll compare and contrast food-related crises from mass starvation to obesity. You'll explore food trends and ideas, from the Mediterranean and MIND diets to the farm-to-table movement and the controversy surrounding GMOs. You'll bust common myths about how food acts on the body and mind. And you'll gain powerful scientific insights that will always be there in the back of your mind, every time you get hungry.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

Great information

Great research and presentation. All the lectures are on average 30 minutes, which is a small digestible blocks of time, pardon the pun. In addition to a better understanding of nutrition and cause and effect on the human body there are good lectures on the impact on the environment and culture of the development, consumption of food.

informative

this is a long book.
it's full of information and amazing facts that will educate you if you have no interaction with modern knowledge in this area

Fascinating

A wonderfully informative lecture series with fascinating historical and cultural case studies. Very well done.

Outstanding Infomation

From the history of Foods to it's role in solving world hunger. An invaluable read.

Solid Read with interspersed nuggets

There was a good amount of knowledge gained from this book, but at the same time still quite a bit of theory of what is believed about food and human past that doesn't stand against knowledge of things that will be uncovered. Loved 80% but remaining seemed still too much of a matter of fact attitude instead of remaining scientific and stating that its our best guess around aspects.

easy to listen to and follow

This book was In depth and informative. voice was nice to listen to and easy to follow .

stupid warning announcement

you will have to skip or listen to 33 warming announcements. nice course. stupid lawyers

Amazing Depth of Knowledge

If you like anthropology this lecturer is amazing. While I am not into anthropology I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I loved it

the whole book was educational and I enjoyed the topic. and the info was intriguing

Must listen

If you want to understand food and nutrition then you have to listen to this book. It’s fascinating.