Skip to Content
A man shopping for produce.

Health Literacy for a Strong and Healthy Life

Health literacy is the degree that consumers are able to make informed decisions for their health. It can be something as simple as self-care, or more involved, like a health advocacy organization (that’s us!) encouraging individuals to better understand and act on the health information provided to them.

The Paleo Diet® advocates for all aspects of a healthy lifestyle, but as we are first and foremost focused on all things nutrition, we believe it is paramount to educate our audience on nutrition and food literacy. That includes diving into ingredients labels, exploring how different foods are processed, understanding marketing terms and health claims, and more.

When you improve your health literacy, you’re better positioned to take actions that will improve the health of you and the whole family.

A woman reads the label of a dairy product while shopping for groceries.

How Health Literacy Can Transform Nutrition & Lifestyle Choices

From understanding labels to decoding marketing—learning the basics of health literacy can help you make healthier decisions.

READ MORE

What Is Personal Health Literacy?

Personal health literacy, as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) define it, is “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.”

What Is Organizational Health Literacy?

Organizational health literacy, as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) define it “the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.”

Get to Know the Whole Package

Learn the meaning behind language and vague terms that grace many food products.
A couple grocery shopping and inspecting the label on a jar

Untangling the Confusion Around Food Health Claims  

Bottles with oils and natural flavors

What Do “Natural Flavors” Really Mean? 

Woman reading the sell-by date on a bag of salad mix.

How to Read Sell-by Dates and Best-by Dates

Weighting food on a scale with portions.

Americans are Fed up with the Portion Distortion Era

Explore Additives

Understand what additives are, why we sometimes need them, and how they're regulated.
Dishes displaying three different forms of lecithin, a food additive, on a blue background
Regulation of Food Additives in American Food Production
Food additives have been in the news lately, which has raised questions and confusion. How are food additives regulated in the U.S.? READ
Woman looking at the ingredients label of a food product while shopping for groceries
Glossary of Common Additives, Their Uses, and Health Concerns
Learn the uses and potential health concerns of some of the many natural and artificial additives out there. READ

Learn the Process

How food products are made can affect our health.
An array of ultra-processed foods including burgers, popcorn, fries, donuts, and candy

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?

Close-up of a man holding a bag of frozen vegetable while standing in front of a frozen food section

Fresh, Frozen, or Canned Vegetables and Fruits—Which Are More Nutritious?

A woman stands in her kitchen, taste testing a soup made with whole vegetables.

Why a Minimally Processed Diet Is a Paleo Diet

Why Food Certification Matters

Explore how food certification can help you make health-driven choices based on what is in your food and how it was made.

FULL ARTICLE
back to top