Food history holds the clues to our modern health crisis.

Deena has always been a firm believer in “We are what we eat” and recognizing that life expectancy is decreasing in the 21st century, she began a search to explain the decline of our public health by looking to history for the answer.

Before the 1960’s the foods we consumed and even textiles we wore were “natural” and “made from scratch”. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, America became the “land of plenty” and a programmed shift was underway from “natural” and “made from scratch” to “processed” and “made for convenience”.

Deena observed that after decades of eating nutrient deficient ultra-processed foods it became clear that our collective health has suffered. Such unhealthy foods, abundantly consumed, created an epidemic of “lifestyle illnesses” and continued the reduction in average life expectancies.

Drawing on her pharma background, interest in nutrition, health and lifelong love of pets, she reached out to PhytoSmart co-founder Hiro Hara. Hiro is a scientist, who grew up in a veterinary family and who understood the value of nutrients found only in fresh foods, the fresh foods that are so important to keep pets and people active and vital throughout life.