On the occasion of my ninth birthday, my beloved Uncle Lenny gave me a book called The Human Body, which still owns a place on the shelves that hold my medical books. I called it “The Body Book,” and I carried it everywhere until I had learned everything in it, cover to cover. I was fascinated not only by the contents, but also by the idea that each part of the body was uniquely designed to do exactly what was required of it. Form followed function, and I couldn’t get enough. That, parenthetically, was also the year I realized I was going to become a doctor.

When I left for college years later there was no question what I would study. Form followed function: A girl who is interested in how the body works studies biology and, more specifically, physiology. I took every single physiology course offered at my university, including cell, human, animal, abnormal, and many more. I was absolutely fascinated by how everything fit together, worked together, in such a spectacular and beautiful way. Kidney, heart, liver, muscle, brain. I was also spellbound by the realization that gaining insight into why things went wrong helped us to see better how things worked right.  

As much as I loved the science, and I really did, it was the design that drew me in so deeply. Everywhere I looked, form followed function. I was transfixed; the artistry was never-ending.

I discovered the work of the architect Louis Sullivan [a teacher of Frank Lloyd Wright], who said “It is the pervading law…of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function.” From the time I was young, I knew that science engaged my mind, but it was not until much later that I understood how the art of science had captured my heart.

What is the connection with magical fruit?

Long, long before we understood enough chemistry to know that there is something uniquely nourishing about beans (namely that they are simultaneously rich in both fiber and protein), human beings still knew that there was something special about them. You don’t need formal training in cardiology to know that beans are good for your heart; most of us know that by the time we’re in the second or third grade! Any child can tell you: “Beans, beans, the magical fruit…”

There are certain truths that are apparent long before we understand the science inside them, and the artistic expression of these truths dates back centuries, at the very least. In song and story, the value of beans is made clear. Jack and the Beanstalk is not the only example; the literary traditions of many cultures include stories about the magical properties of beans. Human beings have known this for a very long time. The reason is clear: beans are a nourishing and valuable foodstuff. 

So eat your beans at every meal.

“Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart,
the more you eat, the more you fart.
The more you fart, the better you feel,
so eat your beans at every meal.
Beans, beans the musical fruit,
the more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel,
so eat your beans at every meal.”