15.3.7: Ultimately, Wise Food Selection is a Personal Matter

Ah, pleasure! Let’s not forget that a healthful diet doesn’t mean giving up favorite, not-so-nutritious foods. Individual foods aren’t good or bad. As with individual nutrients, it’s the amount that matters most.

Nutrient labeling of foods focuses on the nutritional merits and demerits of individual foods. So it’s perhaps ironic that we should circle around to say that individual foods aren’t necessarily good or bad. It’s one’s overall diet that counts.

For all that’s been said about nutrition labeling, and all the healthier choices nutritionists hope consumers will make because of them, we know all too well that consumers first need to be motivated to make the changes.

What good is nutrition information on a label if it isn’t read? Moreover, the information is only useful in the hands of a nutritionally literate consumer. Only if there’s some real understanding of the roles of the various nutrients will nutrient content be meaningful.

As consumers become more knowledgeable about food and nutrition, there’s less of a need to read labels. One develops a comfortable familiarity with foods, and is able to choose wisely without having to rely much on labels. Also, the most nutrition-conscious are those who tend to eat fewer processed foods and more fresh foods—foods without much labeling.

The hope is that those who have read this book are now more knowledgeable about food and nutrition, and will increasingly find pleasure in diets they know to be healthy. As we’re freed from the spell of food rumor and fantasy, we can confidently choose from the wonderful variety of foods—fresh and processed—available in the marketplace.