The food industry’s devious, ingenious, magical misuse of science

“In fact, people are human. They have limiting processing capacity, and you can’t just stuff information down their gullet.”

I recognize myself in that. Studies come and go, and not only do I not have time to keep up with them, I don't have time or ability or desire to judge them, and then apply that to what I buy.

That, together with the idea that products are designed by marketers and advertisers rather than nutritionists who care about you, leads me to this strategy: Start with non-packaged, least ingredient foods, and use packaged foods where necessary.

If it's in a box, it's likely made of highly processed grain and lots of chemicals. If it's from the meat and produce sections, less or none so.

Don't drink fruit juice, eat fruit. Drink water.

Some things are unavoidably packaged, but mimimize what's in the package. Milk, packaged of course; go for non-hormone laden varieties. Peanut butter, use the one that has one ingredient: peanuts. I've tried Jiffy recently, after eating only peanut butter for a long time, and it's unbelievably sweet, because it's sweetened. Oatmeal, packaged, notwithstanding the oatmeal that you get out of the feel-good hopper at Whole Foods.

No package, because most packages have lots of non-food ingredients. When packaged, least ingredients. Adjust for personal tastes and needs.