While co-teaching a five-day food and nutrition intensive, a student approached me in tears. “How do you eat anything knowing all that you know?” After a long pause, I offered, “Knowing what I know actually makes it easier. Then, educated choices are possible.” She was listening. “Picture a pitch-dark tunnel you must walk through. Do you want to do so with a flashlight or without?” She replied, “With a light of course.” I added, “Well, the tunnel is nourishment, do you want to make your food choices in the dark or with some light?”

While there are multiple sources driving your food choices–from media to health “experts” to labeling, claims, and lingo—it’s what’s in your food and what’s being done to your food that really matters.

Food is expensive. With the rise of big box stores, access to and affordability of food, healthy or otherwise, has fast become the way to go for most. Going to Costco, Target, Trader Joes, and others is not a bad thing and each has a place.

Confusion about what to eat is a very real thing. But, if you read Food Labeling and Hogwash you may feel empowered to make some smarter choices in the grocery aisles. Facilitating your nourishment journey is our goal, so here are five simple ways to actively engage in reshaping your eats. By following these guidelines, you can apply small everyday changes that lead to long-term benefits to your health.

While all food products have Nutrition Facts Labels and ingredient lists, it’s the flashy food label claims that often sway you to reach for a product. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the government body that is charged with ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, there are three categories of claims that are defined and regulated by the FDA: health claims, nutrient content claims, and structure-function claims.

For many, the kitchen represents a gentle (or perhaps not so gentle) thorn in the side. From food shopping to putting groceries away to cooking and cleaning, the whole process around meal creation can often seem more daunting than welcoming.

There are countless forces thwarting your ability to make healthy choices. Two big ones are lack of knowledge and absolute confusion about what and how to eat. They both stem from a plethora of mixed messages from industry, healthcare, media, and the government, as well as your own learned behaviors, illnesses, and possibly even trauma. Despite all of this, as human beings, we all have a “knowing.”

Have you noticed that everyone seems to be a food and nutrition expert? Even when they have very little, if any, formal training in the subject matter. The fact that calling oneself a “nutritionist” is poorly regulated makes it even more difficult to distinguish professionals from hobbyists.

Recently a journalist reached out regarding a story she was writing for a national health magazine. Her assignment was to reveal how a gluten-free diet is more nutritious than a gluten-containing one. Her specific question: “Can you please offer insight into the superior nutrition of flours without gluten versus those containing gluten?”