What is the food matrix?

Twenty-four years ago, the Wachowskis astonished moviegoer minds around the world. But after a string of subpar sequels, many people are basically over The Matrix.

That would be a mistake. Hear me out.

I’m metaphorically offering you a choice of two pills. If you take the blue pill, nothing will happen. You’ll go on with your daily life, eating whatever you usually eat, reading nutrition research findings like you usually do.

If you take the purple pill, I will teach you about the food matrix in an upcoming email.

Here’s the thing: food that you eat is not equivalent to the sum of individual nutrients in isolation. That is a lie repeated over and over again by modern society until it became the fabric of nutritionism.

Rather, you’re eating a sometimes dazzling variety of compounds all bound up in a consistent structure. This structure helps determine whether the food is easy or hard to digest, pleasant or foul tasting, and realistically harmful or harmful only in theory.

This is a complex interplay of form and function that rarely gets discussed. This is the food matrix.

If you’re ready to unplug from the world of isolated nutrients, just reply to this email and let me know if you’re particularly interested in learning about the food matrix of a specific food. We’ll use your replies to figure out what to focus on in a future email.

One more thing. If you’re a programmer (like Neo!), you might be interested in applying for a new job we’ve posted. We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to run Examine’s web dev team. You must have experience running a development team along with excellent communication skills. And if you know someone who may fit the bill, forward them this email and you’ll get a $1,000 referral bonus if we end up hiring them.

Sincerely,

Morpheus Kamal Patel
Co-founder, Examine

P.S. We’re celebrating Examine turning 12 years old (wow, time flies!) in early April. If you’ve been thinking about checking out the Examine+ membership, get on our early bird list — you’ll get access to an exclusive discount that won’t be available publicly and get entered to win one of three lifetime Examine+ memberships, normally available at $799!