The Nutrition Revolution Podcast · Kimberly Brown and Tabitha Myers

Nutrition Lables Explained

May 30, 2025·29 min·2 clips

Tabitha's dad works for a snack food company and exposes how bags with farm pictures make you assume they're healthier without checking ingredients.

Kimberly and Tabitha, hosts of The Nutrition Revolution Podcast, answer a listener's question about interpreting food labels and ingredient lists. They position themselves as guides for women seeking to improve their health by moving beyond diet culture. The episode focuses on practical strategies for navigating grocery store marketing and making informed food choices. The hosts emphasize that reading ingredients is essential for improving health, not just weight loss. They share personal anecdotes, like Kimberly's initial year on a paleo diet where she made everything from scratch. They advise listeners to gravitate toward products with ten ingredients or less and to recognize that ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. The discussion covers how the Nutrition Facts label is based on a 2,000-calorie diet, which may not suit individual needs. Tabitha instructs clients to prioritize the ingredient list over calorie counts, looking for actual nutritional value from whole foods. They identify specific ingredients to avoid, such as high fructose corn syrup, which is sometimes renamed, and suggest opting for better oils like avocado or olive oil. Kimberly reveals insider knowledge from her father, who works for a snack food company, explaining how packaging with farm imagery or terms like "nature" can misleadingly imply healthfulness. They discuss how even trusted brands can change formulations or be bought by larger companies, as happened with Rao's tomato sauce. The conversation details the nuanced differences between labels like "cage-free," "free-range," and "pasture-raised" for eggs. They clarify that "non-GMO" does not mean pesticide-free, whereas "organic" certification limits pesticide use but doesn't guarantee a product is low in sugar or nutritious. The hosts recommend prioritizing organic produce for items like lettuce and strawberries, where the edible part is exposed, but suggest washing conventional produce is a good alternative. A key insight is that marketing strategies now include putting popular characters on healthier options like water bottles to influence children's choices. They advise finding trusted brands, such as Siete Foods or Primal Kitchen, to simplify shopping, while still checking labels periodically. For the Nutrition Facts panel, Tabitha suggests a specific order: first check protein, then fiber content, and finally added sugars, aiming for a balance that promotes stable blood sugar. They note that some unfamiliar ingredients, like tocopherols (Vitamin E), are natural preservatives and not inherently harmful. The hosts caution against an extreme fear-based approach to eating, emphasizing that the goal is nourishment, not perfection. The tone is conversational and educational, blending personal experience with practical advice. The style is supportive and anecdotal, with the hosts frequently agreeing and building on each other's points. This episode is ideal for listeners new to nutrition who feel overwhelmed by food labels and marketing claims. It would also appeal to parents seeking to make healthier choices for their families. Individuals strictly focused on calorie counting or those already deeply knowledgeable about food science might find the information too basic.

As heard by us

A plainspoken guide to reading food labels, spotting marketing spin, and rechecking trusted brands.

This episode is about reading food labels and ingredient lists with less guesswork. Kimberly and Tabitha keep the focus on practical shopping habits: checking ingredients, looking at nutrition facts, and staying wary of marketing language that can make a product seem healthier…

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Why you'd press play

When the box looks healthy but you want the facts.

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