How Label Reading, Organics, and Culture Can Transform Our Health with Melinda Hemmelgarn, RD | ANEW Ep 67

On this thought-provoking episode of the ANEW Body Insight Podcast, Dr. Supatra Tovar is joined by Melinda Hemmelgarn, RD, registered dietitian, media literacy expert, and host of the nationally syndicated Food Sleuth Radio. Together, they explore how our food choices reflect not only our personal health priorities but also broader systemic forces—agriculture, food justice, cultural respect, and environmental sustainability.

In this first half of their two-part series, Melinda opens up about her unexpected journey from aspiring textile designer to one of the country’s most passionate voices in food advocacy. With over 30 years of experience, she shares how clinical nutrition work inspired her to shift upstream—toward prevention and media outreach—to combat health misinformation and industry-driven narratives about food.

Listeners will discover:

• How reading ingredient labels can help you uncover the truth behind what’s marketed as healthy.
• The critical differences between "natural," "sustainable," and USDA-certified organic labels—and why it matters.
• What food sovereignty means and how introducing children to cultural cuisines can spark empathy and social change.
• The role of media messaging in shaping public perception of “good” vs. “bad” food—and how that fuels eating disorders and confusion.
• Why community gardens and local food networks are more than trends—they are powerful tools for public health, especially in underserved areas.
  
  

Melinda and Dr. Tovar also dive into the psychological effects of moralizing food, how this contributes to shame and disordered eating, and why shifting the conversation to mindful, empowered nourishment is essential for both personal and planetary healing.

Learn more about Melinda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-hemmelgarn-m-s-r-d-a92b304 , https://www.facebook.com/melinda.hemmelgarn/,  https://foodsleuth.transistor.fm/,   https://x.com/food_sleuth,  https://www.instagram.com/melindahemmelgarn/?__d=1%3Futm_source%3Dig_embed 

Whether you're a health professional, parent, advocate, or simply someone trying to make better food choices, this episode offers a deep, human-centered approach to reconnecting with food and honoring the people, cultures, and systems behind every bite.

Ready to break free from dieting and reclaim a healthier relationship with food?
 Explore Dr. Supatra Tovar’s online course Deprogram Diet Culture at anew-insight.com and take the first step toward intuitive eating, self-compassion, and lasting well-being.

🎙️ Don’t forget to tune in for Part Two, where the conversation continues with insights on media literacy, f

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

Transcript

0:00 Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:01

Yes. Yes, absolutely. So I'm going to read a little bit about Melinda, and then I'm going to drill her with some amazing questions. So hang on to your hats. Melinda Hemmelgarn, known as the Food Sleuth, is a registered dietitian and investigative nutritionist with over 30 years of experience in clinical, academic, and public health nutrition. Yes, we had such an amazing conversation she interviewed me about my book, Deprogram Diet Culture, and all of the concepts behind that, and we were really kind of batting back and forth good food and bad food, so we were like, you know what, we need more of a conversation on this. But before we get into that, I would love to know about your inspiration, both in how you became a registered dietitian and why, and then what motivated you to create Food Sleuth Radio?

Melinda Hemmelgarn, RD: 0:03

Well, I became a dietitian quite by accident. I was going to be an art history major. And then I was going to work in textile design and I ended up at going to Florida State University and textile design somehow planted me in the College of Home Economics and the rule at the College of Home Economics is that you have to take one class in all of the different disciplines offered within that college. And so I took child development, I took home economics, and then I took a nutrition class. I still remember the day I sat in that classroom and learned that you could actually heal disease and prevent disease with food. And I have never stopped loving this profession. And, typical of the dietetics trajectory, you, do a dietetic internship, Which I did at the New York Hospital in New York City. realized then that I wanted to work farther upstream and I wanted to work in prevention. And I live in Columbia, Missouri, which is a college town. I went back to school and got my master's in human nutrition and food systems. that opened the door and I thought If that's where people get nutrition information, then I am going to be in the media. And I

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:06

Yes. Yes. Well, that, I mean, I do relate to you a lot. I think when you go into your clinical dietetics rotation, you do see all aspects of health and disease and you do see how it could have been prevented people would always make fun of us dietitians in the cafeteria having salad at lunch And we're like, well, we were just up on the floors. We're in a time right now, especially, when you connect it to diet culture that they have, there's so many misconceptions about nutrition about what we should be eating, what we shouldn't be eating. It is so confusing when you look at your, your media feed on your phone or you're watching television.

Melinda Hemmelgarn, RD: 0:08

look at food truth as pulling back curtains to find out more about the food that we are putting in our bodies. I have a great reverence for food, and I think that probably came from having immigrant grandparents who knew hunger. And so, it all comes back to the professions that we end up doing, but it's very important that the quality of the food that we put in our body serves us. So that we can be fully functioning and live our best lives, reach our fullest potential through good food and Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion because there's a lot of money to be made. And I, I've always seen myself as a consumer advocate and trying to help people pull back that curtain. Where I really prefer to look at food not only for a personal priority for health. What about that food that we're eating? How was it grown? simply how many calories? How many grams of protein? How much carbohydrate? We've all done those calculations. And it's not that they're not important. But it's also important to think above and beyond ourselves. There is I'm going to start with a really big truth, and that is that everything is connected. Everything is connected. So, we're going to start our conversation there. Now, if we want to tease down some finer truths, of the best ways a person can find food truth to read the ingredient label. And I had the opportunity to do a Kellogg fellowship that really changed my life because it helped me get to the truth more because it introduced me to the importance of agriculture. So the help me see the nuances to growing good food and to protecting the soil and the water and how all of those things are connected to get to There is a group, a real organic project, and people can go online and learn about how a group of organic farmers and advocates have really come together to keep the integrity in that organic seal. I'm that's sort of where where we are today. that in the richest nation in the world we have to have people who are living in poverty by no choice of their own and then there are the the food industry the fast food industry loves to go into impoverished neighborhoods and sell their highly processed ultra processed foods that we know hurt people. So you think, well, you're a dietitian. Why are you talking about living wage legislation? I'm talking about living wage legislation because we want to make sure that our patients, our clients are able to, to buy the food that they want to eat, the healthy food that we recommend, Supatra, right? That's right. And you can grow the kinds of foods that are culturally appropriate to you that may not be available to you in a supermarket. So if you look at big urban areas, Los Angeles, absolutely. Look at Detroit, right? Look at these empty lots that were converted to community gardens. There So I got a community garden plot this year and I grew okra for the first time. And do you know that by eating okra all summer long? I was able to drop my cholesterol and my, my blood sugar dropped by 10 points.

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:20

This food's good. It's got the halo. This food is the devil and what that actually ends up doing is creating a lot of psychological battle within yourself. You're trying to stay within the good food, but if you go to the bad food, you're, gonna go into a guilt and shame spiral. And actually removing that label of good and bad helps people to then actually stop binging. And what's your thoughts on maybe even shifting the narrative to healthful and less healthful? How do you navigate that as an RD?

Melinda Hemmelgarn, RD: 0:22

did foods get good or bad connotation like who owns that message like how did somebody get to feel badly about themselves for eating a food Well, it's interesting. I'm listening to you. Think back, 40 to the 1940s, 1950s, whatever. So I'm really blessed in that my mother never dieted. So I did not grow up with good food, bad food. But the whole good food, bad food. I got to tell you a story. I promised you in an email we had that I would tell you the story of Carlo Petrini, who is the father of Slow Food, and it's really where I started thinking of food as good or not. And you can imagine sitting at this long table, white tablecloth, delicious food complemented with wine. He to purchase it because there's a lot of money behind it. And so, Yeah, even on the ag side, what kinds of foods are our tax dollars subsidizing, we're

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:27

I think when people are really struggling with disordered eating or eating disorders, it's a very myopic view to begin with. And then the more they work on it, the more they open up that worldview. That's why I think opening up as opposed to shutting down and saying you can't eat this or you can eat this is the beginning of that because of all the misinformation that they've received from diet culture, because of all the messaging we needed to just break down the, the barriers and the classifications and just look at food. Then I have them delve into their body. And that is integral to them opening up the idea about what food is doing to my body. And when they really listen to their body and say they've had something on the less healthful side, they, when they really are mindful, they can feel how that food feels in the body, and they can compare it with something that's on the more healthful side and when they really realize how much they're fueled by the healthful side of foods and how much they're actually harmed by the less healthful side of foods, that's when that conversation can open up. Where is this food coming from? If we love that our body feels fueled, energized, happy, we reduce our depression, we reduce our anxiety, our you know metabolic numbers come into, the kind of normal range. these animals. Oh, I see how they're treating these farm workers. I do think it really does start with, the internal process. What is this food doing for my body? And then really opening up to looking beyond that. And I really do hope that people are listening to your radio station. I hope that people are really trying to uncover the truth because that's my whole goal. We want to keep going on and on, but we're going to come back for the second half of this amazing episode with Melinda Hemelgarn. She is Food Sleuth Radio's host. She is an RD and she is a pioneer and an advocate for our health. Thank you so much for joining me, Melinda, for this half. And everyone else, please join us for the second half.