Real World Nutrition News You Can Use
There is a lot of misinformation about nutrition. And nothing in this field is black-or-white, yes-or-no, but many shades of gray and a lot of “it depends.” So, my goal is to help clear up some of that misinformation with some snark, entertainment, and facts (with some opinion thrown in).
Many of these topics come from interactions with the public, friends, clients, and students. I see sheer misinformation about the science of nutrition, and I do my best to clear things up one blog post at a time.
If you have a topic you are wondering about, let me know.
Looking for a specific topic? Search to see if it is already here.
Deconstructing Food Labels – Part 2 Optional (and Regulated) Information
With so much information on food labels, it is hard to sift through what it all means and if you even need to pay attention to these things.
There are many “front of the package” labels too. Some of these are regulated. Others are mostly there for the hype and marketing to imply that one food brand is what you should choose. There are things like “natural,” “gluten-free,” and “no GMOs.” These are not regulated terms for the most part.
In this article, there are three types of statements allowed on food labels that the Food & Drug Administration regulates. These are Nutrient Claims, Health, Claims, and Structure-Function Claims. Can you trust these? As with many items in nutrition, this is another “it depends” situation.
This is part 2 of a series.
Deconstructing Foods Labels – Part 1 Required Information
There is a lot of information packed onto a food label. There are required items and other items that are voluntary. Some of the voluntary things seen on the front of the package could be there merely to help sell a product, such as when peanut butter claims it is gluten-free (it is, but then all peanut butter is).
There are regulations about what is required and the use of certain statements making specific claims.
Because this topic is so extensive, I am breaking it into several articles to cover the various aspects. This entry is part 1.