Use Reliable Resources for Nutrition Information

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) supports research on the way the body absorbs and responds to nutrients, how nutrient levels are regulated in the body through gut-brain signals, how nutrients affect the body from infancy through the aging process, and how over- or under-nutrition affect physical function and metabolism. Read their article, Some Myths about Nutrition & Physical Activity

National Library of Medicine is the world's largest medical library. It offers a free online health information resource for consumers. Use Medlineplus.gov to find various topics on nutrition, Diet myths and facts, as well as Healthy Recipes both in English and Spanish.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website is good source of reliable information on food and nutrition. You also can locate registered dietitians, licensed nutritionists and extension agents. Read the article, 10 nutrition myths debunked (MayoClinic).

U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Food is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply. Nutrition.gov serves as a gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers, Nutrition Fact Labels that you find on packaged foods and beverages help you make informed food choices that can have positive effects on your health and wellness, and MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you create an eating style that meets your individual needs and can improve your health. 

U.S. Federal Trade Commission is the government agency assigned to protect consumers from deceptive business practices and fraudulent activities through law enforcement, advocacy, and education. Read their report, The Truth Behind Weight Loss Ads English and Spanish

The American Heart Association is dedicated to Healthy Eating for improving heart health and reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Make Every Bite a Meditation PDF

Promote Fun and Educational Activities

Ask a Dietitian

Invite a local dietitian to offer a nutrition health program whether it is how to read food labels, calculate your BMI, or prepare healthy meals. Public health departments and supermarkets often have registered dietitians available to provide cooking and food-related programs for all ages.

Screen a Film

Food, Inc., an Oscar-nominated documentary, is considered "the definitive cinematic investigation of the modern American food industry." This 2008 film connects the dots between big business and government, farmers and consumers, convenience eating and sickness.

Nourish, a series of short PBS films, can spark a meaningful conversation about food, health, and sustainability. The DVD set comes with a curriculum and a Nourish Discussion Guide.

Plant a Seed

Create a library seed exchange program or cultivate your own edible garden with the help of community friends and partners such as County Cooperative Extension Services or a Master Gardener program. Perhaps host a local farmer's market, organize a food pantry, or sponsor a lunch program.

Children's Play

• Whyville Snack Shack is an interactive educational game created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. To play, point your library browser to http://whyville.net/smmk/top/gates/flax
• For young and old, download and print the Make Smart Choices! Nutrition Label Word Search puzzle in English and Español

Book

"Psyche A. Williams-Forson is one of our leading thinkers about food in America. In Eating While Black, she offers her knowledge and experience to illuminate how anti-Black racism operates in the practice and culture of eating. She shows how mass media, nutrition science, economics, and public policy drive entrenched opinions among both Black and non-Black Americans about what is healthful and right to eat. Distorted views of how and what Black people eat are pervasive, bolstering the belief that they must be corrected and regulated. What is at stake is nothing less than whether Americans can learn to embrace nonracist understandings and practices in relation to food"-- Provided by publisher

Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America | Williams-Forson P. A. | University of North Carolina Press | 2022 | 253  pages | ISBN: 978-1469668451 | WorldCat |   

Author

Interview with Psyche Williams-Forson at Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Official Website of Psyche A. Williams-Forson

Book

"Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer's best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass is adapted for a young adult audience by children's author Monique Gray Smith, bringing Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation"-- Provided by publisher

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults:Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants | Robin Wall Kimmerer | Zest Books an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group | 2022 | 304 pages | ISBN: 978-1728458984 | WorldCat | 

Author

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. (from the Milkweed Editions website)

Robin Wall Kimmerer Official Website

Interview

Book

"“It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.” You've probably heard this phrase from any number of people in the wellness space. But as Christy Harrison reveals in her latest book, wellness culture promotes a standard of health that is often both unattainable and deeply harmful.

Many people with chronic illness understandably feel dismissed or abandoned by the healthcare system and find solace in alternative medicine, as Harrison once did. Yet the wellness industry promotes practices that often cause even more damage than the conventional approaches they’re meant to replace. From the lack of pre-market safety testing on herbal and dietary supplements, to the unfounded claims made by many wellness influencers and functional-medicine providers, to the social-media algorithms driving users down rabbit holes of wellness mis- and disinformation, it can often feel like no one is looking out for us in the face of the $4.4 trillion global wellness industry.

The Wellness Trap delves into the persistent, systemic problems with that industry, offering insight into its troubling pattern of cultural appropriation and its destructive views on mental health, and shedding light on how a growing distrust of conventional medicine has led ordinary people to turn their backs on science. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice, Harrison illuminates the harms of wellness culture while re-imagining our society’s relationship with well-being." --from the publisher

The WellnessTrap | Christy Harrison | Little Brown Spark | 2023 | 320 pages | ISBN: 978-0316315609 | WorldCat |  

Author

Christy Harrison is a journalist, anti-diet registered dietitian, and certified intuitive eating counselor. She also is host of the podcast Food Psych and author of the books Anti-Diet and the forthcoming The Wellness Trap and coauthor of The Making Peace with Food Card Deck.

Christy Harrison Official Website