Our body survives based upon chemical reactions. Digesting food, processing thoughts, and flexing muscles all use a chemical reaction to achieve their purpose. Knowing about proper nutrition is essential to a healthy life and therefore the concepts behind these chemical reactions have been simplified into 3 macronutrients and calorie counting.
But this simplification doesn’t work. We are taught that each of these macronutrients is basically interchangeable – that a calorie is a calorie. But that isn’t true. The chemical reactions for different types of calories are different and therefore their outcomes will be different. Sugar intake is the start of a long chain reaction because it changes the chemical state of your body. So many factors are involved that it would be very difficult to know the exact impact.
But I believe the real problem is figuring out ways to simplify knowledge without going too far. Maybe this is where wearable technologies can help out. If your belt can keep track of the state of the chemical reactions in your digestive system then it can provide contextual information to keep you healthier. Computers are great at taking data like the state of your digestive system, comparing it to other data like all the available foods on the plant, and providing an output.
This belt would know when you’re low on potassium and recommend a banana. It would be able to help you consistently maintain an equilibrium that should mean a much healthier life, free of unknown chemical chain reactions.