Beyond nutrients: advancing nutritional Life Cycle Assessment towards food context and health effects

Over the past century, nutrition science has undergone a significant transformation (Moughan 2020 ; Mozaffarian et al. 2018 ). Initially focused on identifying essential nutrients and preventing deficiencies, the field gradually expanded to consider whole foods, meals and, more recently, dietary patterns. As chronic diseases have emerged as the leading public health challenge, their complex and multifactorial etiology underscores the limitations of a reductionist, nutrient-centric approach. This evolution reflects a growing recognition that health outcomes are shaped not only by the amount of nutrients consumed but also by their source, the food matrix in which they are embedded, and the broader dietary context.