Eat Your Molecules – Nautilus

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Fgood, food, food. Eat salmon, but not farmed. Wine is good for you. No, that’s not the case. Fasting strengthens your immune system. Check this out, it gives you migraines. Cottage cheese is the best protein. What do you mean you don’t like kale? He fights cancer. No, really, ice protects against diabetes. Blueberries are the best antioxidant. Anything. Vitamin supplements don’t do anything. The omega-3s in anchovies boost your memory.

Oh, too bad.

Meet Albert-László Barabási, professor of network science and physics at Northeastern University, who studies the molecular composition of foods. “We have absolutely no idea what’s in our food.”

Barabási and food scientist David Wishart are on a mission to identify the “dark matter” of chemical compounds found in food. They estimate that the average food contains between 20,000 and 50,000 compounds. Their goal is to magnify the hidden environment that surrounds us, seeps into our food and affects our health, for better and for worse.

Indeed, food diversity and the environment are at the center of this section. Our writers reveal what we can learn about ourselves today from the fact that our hominid ancestors were once prey. They explain what is likely to happen when our planet is frying. And they brush aside negativity to explain how the environment brings out the many pleasures of eating here and now.

Enjoy your food.

• Kevin Berger

  Published on December 18, 2025

  Kevin Berger is the editor-in-chief of Nautilus.