Where do you read reliable nutrition information?

Nutrition information can be found everywhere, but it does not all carry the same weight. The reliability of a sentence is measured not by the confidence of the person saying it but by whether the source it rests on can be shown. A number whose source cannot be shown is a claim, however firmly it is stated.

Below we look at which sources count as reference sources, how a text is tested, where personal experience stands and how numbers are shown on this site.

What a reference source means

In nutrition data, a reference source is the institution that analyzes the value, publishes it and gives it a record identifier. For foods produced and consumed in Türkiye, the national food composition database TürKomp does this job.

Recommendation and requirement values come from a different source. TÜBER, Türkiye's national dietary guideline, gives portion definitions and reference intake values by age and sex group.

For foods with no equivalent in Türkiye, international composition databases are used. Which source was used is always written down, because the values really are different.

What rule-stating sentences rest on

The basis of every sentence does not have to be numerical data. The basis of a sentence such as "ingredients are listed on the label in descending order of weight" is a regulation.

What you look for in sentences of this kind is the full name, number and publication date of the regulation. The ingredient order rule, for example, appears in Article 21 of the Türk Gıda Kodeksi regulation on food labelling and consumer information (the Turkish Food Codex labelling regulation).

If one of the three is missing, the basis counts as not shown. The phrase "according to the regulation" is not a source on its own.

How a text is tested

You can quickly judge a text you are reading with a few questions:

• Is it written next to the number which amount it belongs to?
• Are the name of the source and the record identifier stated?
• Is the rule treated as holding for everyone, or is it said who it fits?
• Is the text selling a product?

A text that cannot answer all four does not have to be wrong; but it is not solid enough to build a decision on either.

Why a number without a portion is incomplete

A calorie or macro value cannot be used when it is given without saying which amount it belongs to. The same number may have been written for a hundred grams or for one portion.

The cooking method is stated in the same way. One standard portion of bread is defined as two thin slices, that is 50 grams; when the thickness of the slice changes, this measure shifts.

Where personal experience stands

A result told to you by someone you know is concrete and convincing; this is why it carries more weight than data read from a table. But a single experience formed together with that person's circumstances.

There is no need to discard experience either. Its correct use is to test with your own observations whether a method works for you.

The pull of definite sentences

Short, definite sentences are better suited to being shared. A correct explanation that starts with "it depends" does not spread as fast as a wrong sentence that says "never eat that".

Another pull of certainty is that it removes the decision load. A ban that ends the thinking feels like a relief; that is also why it does not last.

This is why you have to look at what a text rests on, not at its tone. A sentence written cautiously is usually more reliable.

Texts that sell a product

If there is a product being sold at the end of a text, the purpose of the text differs from informing. This does not mean the content is wrong, but it is kept in mind while reading.

The same principle holds for texts containing personal advice. A text that describes a method and a text that sells that method are read differently.

The simplest check is to look for the same information in a reference source. If an equivalent is found, the basis of the text is confirmed as well. If no equivalent is found, the sentence remains a claim.

How much the date matters

Nutrition sources are updated too; reference values and portion definitions can change in new editions. This is why the edition of the source and the date it was accessed are written in the source note as well.

A value taken from an older edition does not have to be wrong, but which edition it came from has to be known. Otherwise the difference between two sources cannot be explained.

How numbers are shown on this site

On Dada Diet, next to every calorie, macro and portion value shown on screen it is written which source it came from. The record identifier and the access date stand in the source note too.

A value whose source cannot be shown is not published. This is a rule kept at the cost of having fewer numbers. A table with few numbers whose basis is shown is more useful than a crowded table with no source note.

In short: look for the number's portion, its source and who it fits; and ask the fourth question too. You can find the individual values on the nutrition values page and a breakdown of frequently heard sentences in this guide.