Human nutrition is a very broad scientific disciplin but based mainly on natural scientific investigations of the body and its reactions to food intake. From cells to whole bodies. Aiming to study humans as a whole entity, it is not surprizing that natural science alone is not sufficient. Social science and human science aspects are required as well, to understand how we relate and react to food.

Classical Western health science is based mainly on natural science investigations of the human body during health and disease. Nevertheless, social science, and even human science, are useful tools to understand the function of the human body body. We need to apply a degree of multi-disciplinary research to fully understand and relate to the complex human being during health and disease.    

Natural science has made enormous progress in the food, nutrition and health sciences. Likewise, we now start to understand why physical exercise is so important for the human body. Our working framework is that the body is a machine and food is one of the molecular inputs. When we compare our Western view towards food, health and physical exercise with classical Eastern (Chinese) health views, some marked differences appear. This is challenging.

How does natural science relate to different religions? Are the religions similar in their views towards natural science? Are there any room for collaboration between the two, or should we keep the issues separate?

The classical tension between natural science and theology is a conclict between different views towards the natural world around us. Does the tension continue? What does natural science say about theology? What does theology say about natural science?

Western culture, theology and science are to a large degree based on a relatively distinct separation of the concepts of body and spirit, the material and the immaterial, the physical and the meta-physical. Examples from natural science and from theology indicate that the two are not always as separate, as we may think.

Millions of animals are used for experiments each year, serving to help human progress. Some animals are subject to various degrees of suffering in the course of experiments. Our pet animals and farm animals also do not always live a perfect "happy" life. Are we reasonable? Which guidelines do we use when deciding what is reasonable? Which ethics? Do different parts of the world think differently?

Take a walk in cemetries around the world. You will see that we relate very differently to death and our ancestors. What are the general trends in the West versus the East? What are the philosophies behind? Or is it all intuition, culture and tradition?