Chapter 2 – Planning Healthy Diets
2.7 Evaluating Nutrition Information and Sources
What is Nutrition Literacy?
Nutrition literacy is the ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use nutrition information to make informed decisions about food and health. It includes understanding basic nutrition concepts, interpreting food labels, evaluating nutrition claims, and recognizing reliable sources of information.
Nutrition literacy and food literacy go hand in hand. While nutrition literacy focuses on understanding nutrition information, food literacy includes practical skills such as selecting, preparing, storing, and safely handling food. Together, these skills help people make choices that support their health and well-being.
In today’s digital world, nutrition information is available on websites, social media, in advertisements, and in news sources. Developing nutrition literacy helps you identify trustworthy information, recognize misinformation, and make evidence-based decisions about what you eat.
Who Should You Trust for Accurate Information?
Every day, social media influencers, celebrities, and news outlets offer advice about what to eat. Some of that information is accurate, but much of it is misleading, oversimplified, or unsupported by science. In an age when nutrition information is available with just a few clicks, learning how to evaluate sources and identify credible information is an essential skill.
Trustworthy Nutrition Sources
Reliable nutrition information is based on scientific evidence rather than personal opinions, testimonials, or marketing claims. It is typically supported by multiple studies and reviewed by experts before publication. You can find reliable nutrition information from many reputable organizations, websites, and professionals—if you know how to evaluate your sources. No matter where the information comes from, always apply the evaluation criteria from this unit to judge its credibility. especially for information found on the Internet.
Even if nutrition information is shared by a popular influencer, celebrity, or news outlet, it should still be evaluated using the criteria in this section.
Evaluating Website Domains
All websites have a web address, or URL, that ends with a domain such as .gov, .edu, .org, or .com. A domain can provide clues about a website’s purpose and ownership, but it does not guarantee that the information is accurate. Always evaluate the quality of the content, the sources of information, and the credentials of the author or organization.
| Domain | Typically Indicates |
|---|---|
| .gov | Government agency |
| .edu | Educational institution |
| .org | Nonprofit or professional organization |
| .com | Commercial business |
Many trustworthy organizations provide evidence-based nutrition information to support health and prevent disease. Table 2.15 lists several websites considered reliable by most nutrition professionals that can help you find accurate nutrition and health information.
| Organization | Purpose | Website URL |
|---|---|---|
| USDA MyPlate | Healthy eating guidance, meal planning | https://www.myplate.gov |
| Food and Drug Administration (FDA) | Food labels, food safety, dietary supplements | https://www.fda.gov |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Disease prevention, nutrition-related health information | https://www.cdc.gov |
| NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) | Information on vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements | https://ods.od.nih.gov |
| Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | Consumer nutrition information | https://www.eatright.org |
| Mayo Clinic | Consumer-friendly health and nutrition information | https://www.mayoclinic.org |
| American Heart Association | Heart-healthy nutrition | https://www.heart.org |
| World Health Organization (WHO) | Global nutrition and public health information | https://www.who.int |
The CRAAPP Test
While there is a wealth of information about nutrition on the internet, in books, and in magazines, it can be challenging to separate accurate information from hype and half-truths. You can use the CRAAPP Test [1]to help you determine the validity of the resources you encounter and the information they provide. By applying the following principles, you can be confident that the information is credible. We’ve added several notes to the traditional CRAAPP Test to help you expand your analysis and apply it to nutrition information. [2]
| CRAAPP Principle | Questions to Ask |
|---|---|
| Currency |
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| Relevance |
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| Authority |
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| Accuracy |
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| Purpose |
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| Process |
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Trusted Nutrition Professionals
When seeking nutrition advice, consider the qualifications of the person providing it. The most reliable information typically comes from Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), Licensed Dietitians (LDs), Licensed Nutritionists (LNs), Certified Nutrition Specialists (CNSs), physicians with nutrition training, and professionals with advanced degrees in nutrition. Be cautious of titles that sound official but do not require standardized education, certification, or licensure.
In Tennessee, both Licensed Dietitians and Licensed Nutritionists are authorized to provide professional nutrition services, although employment requirements vary by practice setting.[3]
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Have you ever followed nutrition advice from a social media influencer, celebrity, or online article? What made the information seem trustworthy, and would you evaluate it differently after reading this section?
- A website ending in .gov or .edu is often viewed as more trustworthy than a .com website. Do you think a website’s domain is enough to determine whether information is accurate? Why or why not?
- Think about a nutrition claim you have recently seen online, such as advice about supplements, weight loss, detoxes, or a specific diet.How could you use the CRAAPP Test to evaluate whether that claim is credible?
Optional Debate Question
- Should social media platforms be responsible for removing nutrition misinformation, or should individuals be responsible for evaluating the information they encounter? Why?
Review Questions
attributions
This section is an adaptation of “Finding Accurate Sources of Nutrition Information” and “Who Can You Trust for Nutrition Information?” in Nutrition: Science and Everyday Application, v. 1.0 by Alice Callahan, PhD; Heather Leonard, MEd, RDN; and Tamberly Powell, MS, RDN under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Blakeslee, Sarah (2004). The CRAAP Test, LOEX Quarterly, 31(3)6-7. https://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/vol31/iss3/4 ↵
- Fielding JA. Rethinking CRAAP: getting students to think like fact-checkers when evaluating web sources. C&RL News. 2019;80(10):620-622. ↵
- Tennessee General Assembly. Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Act. Public Chapter No. 1002. 2026. ↵
