Public Resources
What makes a carbohydrate food “healthy,” how experts and consumers each judge it, and the gaps between them.
A running list of our public-facing work on what makes a food “healthy” — and who gets to decide. It spans how expert rating systems score carbohydrate foods, how everyday consumers actually judge them, and the gaps between the two — the educational and communication priorities that follow. The IAFNS Carbohydrate Quality series and the peer-reviewed papers behind it, all open to watch or read.
IAFNS Webinars
The IAFNS Carbohydrates Committee series opens with a consumer-research lead-in from NORC — how everyday Americans judge carbohydrate foods — followed by three webinars I presented on how expert rating systems score the same foods, and where experts and consumers pull apart.
Carbohydrate-Quality Beliefs & Behaviors
NORC’s consumer research: what everyday Americans believe makes a carbohydrate food healthy — and why it’s so hard to judge.
Watch on YouTube →
A Tool to Compare How Experts Rate Carbohydrate Foods
A meta–nutrient-profiling tool for seeing how different expert systems score the same carbohydrate foods.
Watch on YouTube →
Insights from the Tool Comparing Rating Systems
Where expert systems agree, disagree, and leave gaps — roughly 20% of carbohydrate foods, and half of grains, sit in uncertainty.
Watch on YouTube →
Alignment Between Experts and Consumers
Consumer perceptions set against expert ratings: 85% of foods land an alignment grade of C or D, and four are flagged as priorities.
Watch on YouTube →
The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences convened the Carbohydrates Committee behind this series.
NORC at the University of Chicago led the consumer focus-group research that opens the series with the public’s own view of carbohydrate healthfulness.
Published Papers
The integrative food framework
A meta-framework that pools six nutrient-profiling systems to find foods that are healthy, impactful, and equitable — demonstrated on 100% orange juice.
Read the paper →
Educational gaps in carbohydrate healthfulness
Where public understanding of carbohydrate healthfulness breaks down — and the communication priorities that follow.
Read the paper →