{"id":18156,"date":"2025-06-27T04:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T04:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/18156\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T04:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T04:44:09","slug":"7-little-nutrition-facts-that-completely-changed-the-way-rds-think-about-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/18156\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Little Nutrition Facts That Completely Changed the Way RDs Think About Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

In theory, feeding yourself should be one of the easiest things in the world, but in practice, it\u2019s not always that straightforward. In a climate rife with conspiracy theories and baseless (and sometimes dangerous) social media trends, the line between true and false, substantiated and shady, can seem increasingly blurry<\/a>\u2014at least on the surface.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not an expert, the constant onslaught of new information can be tough to parse (not to mention overwhelming), so we asked a bunch of registered dietitians to share the top overarching revelations that altered how they thought about nutrition. We\u2019re not talking about the latest buzzy science news or fads, but firm, foundational tenets that have endured (and will continue to do so). Here\u2019s everything they said\u2014and how you can use their insights to bolster your own relationship with food. When misinformation threatens to drown everything else out, these truths can help cut through the noise, serving as a guiding light that helps ground your everyday eating decisions.<\/p>\n

1. You\u2019re eating for your brain, not just your body.<\/p>\n

You might think of your diet as a tool shaping the way your body looks and acts, but this interpretation overlooks a major piece of the puzzle. Whenever you tuck into a snack or meal, you\u2019re fueling your brain<\/a> as well as your body, Amber Young, MS, RDN<\/a>, founder of the North Carolina\u2013based practice Redefined Nutrition, tells SELF. Even though your brain only makes up 2% of your total body weight, it accounts for around a fifth of your total energy requirements\u2014needs that also have to be fulfilled by the food you eat, according to Young. Specifically, \u201cyour brain needs around 120 to 130 grams of carbohydrates<\/a> per day to function optimally,\u201d she says. While this often falls by the wayside in conversations about nutrition that focus only on, say, protein\u2019s muscle-building potential<\/a>, it makes it all the more important to maintain healthy habits like eating regularly and taking in a balance of nutrients.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cWhole\u201d and \u201chome-cooked\u201d isn\u2019t always possible\u2014or automatically the best.<\/p>\n

Early on in her career, Vincci Tsui, RD<\/a>, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in Canada, would recommend that her clients eat whole foods or cook more at home<\/a> so they had more control over the content of their meals, as she tells SELF. While that advice wasn\u2019t bad, she soon realized that many of her clients weren\u2019t able to put it into practice, whether due to time limitations, financial constraints, a lack of cooking skill, personal preference, or other reasons. People tend to \u201cput pressure on themselves to be cooking from scratch,\u201d Tsui says. As a result, folks can experience feelings of inadequacy and even guilt when they fail to meet those lofty expectations.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Tsui also became increasingly aware that the link between such \u201chealthy\u201d eating habits and better health isn\u2019t as clear-cut as it seems. \u201cMost nutrition research is observational, meaning that we can only determine correlations, not causation,\u201d she says. \u201cEven though eating more whole foods or home-cooked meals may correlate with better health outcomes, we don’t know that food is the cause. It might just be that these eating patterns are just a reflection of higher socioeconomic status, better access, and more privilege.\u201d Developing this awareness helped Tsui \u201cbring more compassion and flexibility\u201d to her nutrition counseling\u2014taking limiting factors like time and resources into account, and meeting clients where they\u2019re at rather than where they would be in an ideal world. Now, she\u2019ll often \u201cpush back on that misconception that whole foods or less processed foods are automatically \u2018better\u2019\u201d when she encounters it in her practice. To the contrary, ultraprocessed foods certainly can be a solid option\u2014which is why SELF decided to include them in our 2025 Pantry Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Being thin isn\u2019t the same as being healthy.<\/p>\n

While weight and BMI have traditionally been construed as a measure of how healthy you are, more recent research suggests that the correlation is actually deeply flawed<\/a> in several ways. Not only can dieting and weight-cycling cause psychological harm \u201cby promoting a rigid, judgment-based approach to food and eating,\u201d Thanh Thanh Nguyen, MS, RDN<\/a>, a registered dietitian at Mendinground Nutrition, tells SELF, they may even have negative effects on physical health, too. When Nguyen started digging, she came across a bunch of research that really helped cement her weight-inclusive approach to her own practice, including a 2012 study<\/a> published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine that found adopting healthy lifestyle habits was associated with a significantly lowered risk of premature death regardless of BMI; a 2014 review<\/a> published in the Journal of Obesity that concluded a weight-inclusive approach was safer for patients and more sustainable over time; and a 2019 article published in the journal Women & Therapy<\/a> that argued against sizeism and for a weight-inclusive approach to wellness. Reading the research, Nguyen felt so validated. Today, this information helps her support clients who feel like they need to lose weight by any means necessary to improve their health\u2014and challenge that entrenched belief. Rather than focusing on the number on the scale, she\u2019ll redirect their efforts toward lifestyle shifts under their control, like adding in movement and eating regularly.<\/p>\n

4. Snacking isn\u2019t bad for you\u2014it can actually have a ton of health benefits.<\/p>\n

Denying yourself food when you\u2019re hungry outside of normal mealtimes is actually the harmful habit, according to Young. Even though the division of the day into breakfast, lunch, and dinner might lead you to believe that you should only eat at those set intervals, eating consistently (and in adequate amounts) throughout the day is \u201creally helpful all around\u201d for our health, Young says. \u201cSome of my clients might describe something like a brain fog that sets in when they’re not eating enough or they’re low on carbohydrates,\u201d she adds. If that sounds like you, trying to eat every three to four hours<\/a> may help keep your mood, focus, appetite, and energy levels stable. Without sufficient food, not only can the hanger<\/a> rush in, but you\u2019ll also miss out on opportunities to make other changes to your diet, like tweaking the macro balance or incorporating a wider array of micronutrients.<\/p>\n

5. Implementing healthy habits slowly works better than making big, sweeping changes all at once.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re considering a nutrition change, your first impulse is probably to go big. \u201cOftentimes, the instinct is to overhaul or 180-degree our entire diet overnight,\u201d Young says. Tempting as it might be to do a radical about-face, however, try to resist that urge: Those kinds of sudden, dramatic shifts aren\u2019t sustainable in the long term and will only make you feel like you\u2019ve failed. \u201cIt leads to overwhelm and shutdown, and it’s really easy to get discouraged,\u201d Young says. Instead, try making smaller tweaks to your diet and lifestyle, and scaling up from there. You might not notice as big of a difference, but on the flip side, you\u2019ll be more likely to stick with your new regimen. Some little ways to eat just a little healthier<\/a>: build in a mid-afternoon snack if you often go long stretches without eating, focus on what you can add to your plate rather than subtract (tossing a handful of chickpeas into a smoothie, for instance), or buying pre-washed or pre-chopped produce to get more veggies throughout the day.<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t let fiber fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n

Among the big nutrition convos of the day (protein<\/a>! Food dyes<\/a>!), fiber<\/a> often gets lost in the shuffle. Despite its critical role in keeping your gut happy and healthy, and helping you poop on the regular, most people\u2014more than 90% of the population, according to some estimates\u2014don\u2019t take in nearly enough. In fact, the estimated average daily intake\u201416 grams\u2014is around half of the recommended 25 (for women) and 38 (for men), according to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>. If you, too, find it hard to pack an adequate amount of fiber into your diet, consider taking a pragmatic approach to the problem\u2014\u201cthinking about how to get the best bang for your buck,\u201d Anthea Levi, MS, RD, CDN,<\/a> a Brooklyn-based health writer and founder of Alive+Well Nutrition, tells SELF. Plant-based foods as a whole tend to be high in fiber, she explains, but some are still \u201cway better sources\u201d than others, so make a conscious effort to prioritize those that are especially dense in the nutrient. \u201cOne cup of fresh spinach has less than one gram of fiber in it, whereas one tablespoon of chia seeds<\/a> has four or five grams of fiber in it,\u201d for example, Levi says. Other fiber-rich foods include lima beans<\/a>, green peas<\/a>, raspberries<\/a>, and shredded wheat cereal<\/a>. By leaning on those, it\u2019ll be \u201ceasier for us to hit our [fiber] goals,\u201d Levi says. That\u2019s big, because the benefits of fiber can affect your whole body; getting enough can lower your risk for colon cancer<\/a>, cardiovascular disease<\/a>, and other serious health conditions (and even premature death).<\/p>\n

7. That said, nutrition information shouldn\u2019t be your sole consideration in deciding what to eat.<\/p>\n

Yes, we know we just said that fiber content is important (and it is!), but at the same time, don\u2019t let factors like that completely drown out your other needs. When the exact nutritional breakdown of any product is right there on the packaging, it can be easy to base your eating decisions on calories, macros, or some other nutritional component alone, rather than considering what would truly satisfy you in the moment, Janice Dada, MPH, RDN<\/a>, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in California, tells SELF. If you see your choice contains more calories or less protein than you expected, for example, you might then second-guess your selection, feeling stressed, anxious, or pressured into opting for a less-fulfilling alternative. Then, you run the risk of \u201cending up unsatisfied at the end and still searching for food,\u201d Dada says.<\/p>\n

Instead, she suggests viewing nutrition info through a neutral rather than a negative lens\u2014treating it not as a critique of your personal dietary choices, but as a helpful guide to maximizing your satisfaction (like knowing what you need to contribute to a snack or meal in order to balance it out or beef it up). Food is more than its nutritional makeup, after all; it can also be a source of joy, camaraderie, cultural connection, and more, and you risk missing out on those non-tangible benefits if you only see what you\u2019re eating as the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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