Jacobs & Tapsell 2007

Research paper

Jacobs DR Jr, Tapsell LC. Food, not nutrients, is the fundamental unit in nutrition. Nutrition Reviews. 2007 Oct;65(10):439-450. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2007.tb00269.x. PMID: 17972438.

Why we cite it

Foundational paper arguing that nutrition science should shift from focusing on individual nutrients to focusing on whole foods as the fundamental unit. Introduces the concept of food synergy — that the health effects of whole foods are greater than what would be predicted from their individual nutrient components, because of the food matrix.