Early in my nutrition coaching career I proudly, loudly, and often repeated this as ‘my #1 food rule’ … “Read The Ingredients!” It is important to read the ingredients. But, how important? It’s Not A ‘Rule’Over the years as I work with more people and learn more, I find that there is less I know for certain. And that’s a good thing, because nutrition & lifestyle are a bio-individual. There are not many ‘rules’ that apply to everyone. Is it a good habit to read the ingredient label of every food you purchase? I can not say ‘yes’ to that; it’s not for everyone. For most people it is. I still do. But what about someone who struggles with food anxiety or disordered eating? This is a widespread problem. For such a person, reading the ingredients could be a negative trigger. What % Of Your Diet Is It?Assuming that you do not struggle with disordered eating, what percentage of the food that you consume even has an ingredient label at all? Fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, nuts, & seeds don’t. If 100% of your food has labels, then it’s highly important for you to read them. If 10% of your food has labels, then, practically speaking, it’s almost completely unimportant to worry about the ingredients. But What About Chemicals?Let’s look at ‘the hard case.’ I’ll push back on my own last statement:
But what if that 10% is full of harmful chemicals, highly processed additives, etc.? For some people, like say, people with a medical condition that might be exacerbated by a specific ingredient, then yes, those people should pay attention the labels. But I said ‘practically speaking’, which implies that those people already know that. But what about someone who doesn’t even know they have a condition or symptom as a result of consuming these ingredients? That’s a fair question that I’m open to discussing … … as long as we can agree that it’s the 90% of their diet that’s the most important thing to focus on. The truth that that most people who are in poor metabolic health or obese are simply not home cooking 90% of their food from fresh ingredients. That’s where they need to begin. Maybe that should be a rule. ⚡️ Coach Matt
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Saturday, October 4, 2025
How much do ingredients matter?
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