What is food literacy?
Few subjects attract as many confident claims as nutrition. Food literacy means knowing which questions to ask when you meet one: What is the source? What does "per serving" actually refer to? What does "natural" on a package really mean? The content here does not push an eating style; it builds a framework you can use to evaluate any nutrition claim you come across.
Calories and energy balance
A calorie is a unit of measurement — neither an enemy nor a goal in itself. Daily energy needs vary from person to person with age, body, activity and much else, which is why every calculation should be read as an estimated range. In this section you learn the logic of energy balance and how to interpret the results of the calculators in the tools section sensibly.
Reading labels is a skill
To someone who can read it, a product label says a great deal: the difference between per-100-gram and per-serving values, what the order of the ingredients list means, and the many names under which sugar can appear. The label-reading content works through these practical skills with real examples, and the reference entries in the Atlas let you look up individual foods, vitamins and minerals whenever you need them.
The limits of this section
You will not find personalised diet lists, weight targets or supplement recommendations here; those belong to a dietitian or doctor who knows you. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are considering a major change to how you eat, talk to a professional first. This site's job is to send you into that conversation with better questions.