It was a simple moment—just me and my son Darius sitting together, enjoying a sweet treat. I had a cupcake in one hand and a can of soda in the other. As I took a sip, something made me glance at the nutrition label on the can. It’s not something I do all the time, but that day, it caught my eye. And what I saw sparked a surprisingly thoughtful and educational conversation between the two of us.
“Whew! My carbs are sky-high right now,” I said with a laugh, scanning the numbers on the label. “Can you believe there are 39 grams of carbs in this Coke?”
Darius looked up, genuinely curious. “What’s a carb? Tell me what that means!”
I smiled. “Carb is short for carbohydrate. It's one of the main types of nutrients our bodies use for energy. And you know what? It’s not bad to have carbs—our bodies actually need them. The problem is just when we have too many or the wrong kinds.”
I pointed to the part of the label that mentioned the percentage of daily value. “This Coke has 39 grams of carbs, which is about 14% of the recommended daily amount for an average person.”
That led us into a little math exercise together. We rounded 39 up to 40 grams, and figured that if 40 grams equals roughly 15%, then the full recommended daily intake must be somewhere around 250 to 260 grams of carbs. I told Darius that I usually try to keep mine under 100 grams a day—far below the official recommendation.
Then I paused and asked aloud, more to myself than to him: “But honestly, does anyone actually follow these recommendations? And who are they even based on?”
That’s when I shared something I’d come across recently. “I heard somewhere that these nutrition guidelines we all see on packages—like the daily values and serving sizes—they’re actually based on some average white man from back in the early 1900s. I think it was like 1921 or something.”
Darius raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what do you mean?”
I explained that most of the nutrition science used to create those labels was modeled around a very generalized profile. “It’s not based on women, or people of color, or children, or really anyone outside that narrow definition. That doesn’t mean it’s all wrong, but it does mean that a lot of these numbers might not reflect what your body actually needs.”
He listened closely as I continued. “Everyone’s body is different. How we digest food, how we process sugar, how many nutrients we need—that all varies. It depends on so many things: your age, your lifestyle, your genetics, even your stress levels. So it’s kind of wild to think that we’re all expected to use the same nutritional chart like it’s one-size-fits-all.”
That afternoon snack turned into a pretty eye-opening learning moment for both of us. What started as a lighthearted look at a soda can label turned into a real talk about nutrition, individuality, and the importance of questioning the standards we’re given.
It reminded me that food labels can be a helpful guide—but they’re not the ultimate truth. Our bodies are unique, and understanding how nutrition works for us personally is one of the most important steps we can take toward real wellness.
And just like that, over cupcakes and Coke, I got to pass a little life wisdom down to my son.
