Interview with Jen Smiley, Founder of Wake Up and Read the Labels: Clean Eating 101 and What Food Labels Aren’t Telling Us

So many of us are trying hard to eat well and still end up bloated, tired, foggy, constipated, inflamed, or just plain confused in the grocery store. We buy the bread with seeds on the front, the yogurt with a healthy-sounding label, the milk alternative that says dairy-free and gluten-free, and we assume we are doing great. Then we wonder why we still do not feel good. That is exactly why this conversation matters.

Jen Smiley joins Dr. Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney to discuss clean eating. It’s not about perfection, punishment, or learning a hundred rigid food rules. It is about understanding what is actually in the foods we buy all the time and making simpler swaps that help our bodies work better.

Table of Contents

• Why labels matter more than marketing
• The clean eating filter that simplifies grocery shopping
• The biggest ingredients to avoid first
• How to compare everyday grocery products
• How to shop without getting overwhelmed
• Do different diet styles matter as much as ingredients?
• Food first, then supplements if needed
• Five practical tips for better eating and a better life
• FAQ
• What we want to remember

Why labels matter more than marketing

Why do so many foods that look healthy still leave us feeling awful?

Because the front of the package is doing a lot of the talking, and the ingredient list is telling a very different story.

Words like gluten-free, dairy-free, organic, no sugar added, non-GMO, and heart healthy create a halo around a product. We start associating those phrases with wellness, even when the actual ingredient list is long, ultra processed, and packed with additives. Meanwhile, foods in the produce section do not need a marketing team to convince us they are healthy.

That disconnect is where a lot of confusion begins. We think we are eating clean because the packaging sounds clean. But if the food is full of fillers, preservatives, flavorings, emulsifiers, gums, and inflammatory oils, our bodies still have to deal with all of that.

This is also why many people feel frustrated. They are not lazy. They are not failing. They are just making choices based on labels that were designed to sell, not necessarily to educate.

How did your approach to clean eating begin?

It started from a very personal place. Even while doing all the supposed healthy things, there were still struggles with inflammation, breathing issues, low energy, and confusing symptoms in early adulthood. There were appointments, medications being discussed, and that sinking feeling of asking, “How can this be happening if we are already trying so hard to be healthy?”

The first small changes were not dramatic. Trying vegetarian meals for a while, experimenting with gluten-free eating, making a few swaps. Nothing was perfect, but there were signs that the body was responding. Workouts felt a little easier. Energy started to shift. It was enough to realize that food quality might matter more than we had been taught.

The real turning point came with a bottled protein drink. On paper, it looked ideal: high protein, low sugar, low calories. But turning it over revealed an ingredient list so long and complicated it barely felt like food anymore. That was the wake-up moment. If a product looked healthy yet contained a wall of ingredients we could not even identify, maybe we needed to stop trusting the front and start reading the back.

What happened after you started making cleaner swaps?

The mission became simple: find versions of everyday foods made with real ingredients. A cleaner chip. A cleaner bread. A cleaner pasta sauce. A cleaner ice cream. Not a life built on restriction, but a life built on better ingredients.

That approach changed the whole game. Once we find foods made from recognizable ingredients, entire food groups that used to feel off-limits can come back in a way that feels supportive instead of inflammatory.

It also became deeply personal after helping family clean up their food before a major surgery. With a few months of consistent swaps, there were meaningful improvements in weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and overall inflammation. That experience reinforced something powerful: food really can change how we feel, and often faster than we expect.

The clean eating filter that simplifies grocery shopping

If we want one guiding principle, what is it?

Choose foods made with real ingredients your body can recognize.

That does not mean every ingredient must be something found in a home kitchen. It means we stop normalizing ingredient decks full of mystery compounds. A good gut check is this: if we do not recognize an ingredient and cannot understand why it is there, it deserves a second look.

That one principle simplifies a lot. It also moves us away from obsessing over calories and macros before we have handled the basics. The body often responds better when we remove unnecessary ingredients than when we merely keep portioning ultra processed food.

Can clean eating also be budget friendly?

Yes, especially when we stop assuming healthy means expensive and complicated. One of the most practical ideas here is that cleaner food often keeps us full longer. That can cut down on grazing, cravings, and the constant cycle of eating foods that never really satisfy us.

The goal is not to replace every single item in the cart overnight. It is to start with the foods we eat most often. If we swap breakfast staples, milk alternatives, sandwich bread, protein powder, condiments, and snacks, we can make a major difference without rebuilding our lives from scratch.

That same mindset is helpful in related conversations about processed food and cravings. For a deeper look at why so many packaged foods feel hard to stop eating, this explanation of why junk food is addictive is worth reading.

What about organic and pesticides?

Organic can be helpful, but it is not where everyone has to start. Clean eating often happens in layers. First, we learn to spot inflammatory ingredients and unnecessary additives. Then, when it is realistic, we move toward organic options and better sourcing.

That matters because a product can be technically organic and still ultra processed. Organic cookies are still cookies. Organic crackers can still be loaded with seed oils and fillers. Organic is useful, but it is not a free pass.

There is also a lot of misleading language on packages. “Non-GMO” may sound impressive, but sometimes it appears on products where the claim barely means anything. That kind of labeling creates the illusion of health and encourages us to pay more without actually solving the real issue.

The biggest ingredients to avoid first

If we only remember two things in the grocery store, what should they be?

First, look at the oils.

Second, look for preservatives and filler ingredients.

Why are seed oils such a big deal?

Because they are everywhere. Corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil. These are staples of the standard American diet, and they show up in foods that are marketed as healthy, convenient, or family-friendly.

The concern is not just that they are common. It is that they are highly processed and can contribute to an imbalance in fats that many of us already have too much of. If our everyday diet is overloaded with these oils, the body can feel it through inflammation, sluggishness, digestive issues, and a general sense that something is off.

When we start reading labels through this lens, we realize seed oils are in salad dressings, nut milks, crackers, chips, bars, sauces, and frozen foods. Once we spot them, we cannot unsee them.

What oils make more sense instead?

Extra virgin olive oil is one of the best staples, especially in a dark bottle because light can damage it over time.

Avocado oil and coconut oil are also common go-to options. For certain recipes, oils like sesame oil or walnut oil can work well too. The bigger point is that we should know what kind of fat we are consuming and not treat all oils as interchangeable.

That said, there are different opinions in nutrition on specific fats. For example, if you want another perspective on saturated fat and heart health, this article on coconut oil and heart health adds useful context.

What about preservatives and ingredients we cannot pronounce?

This is the other major category. Preservatives extend shelf life, which is exactly why some packaged breads can sit around for weeks while a cleaner loaf may last only a few days.

Somehow we have accepted the idea that food should last forever and never change. But real food is supposed to act like food. It separates. It spoils. It gets stale. That is not always a flaw. Sometimes it is the clue that what we are eating is less engineered.

If we scan an ingredient label and run into multiple items we cannot identify, pronounce, or understand, it is a sign the product is likely doing too much. This is especially true when those mystery ingredients appear in foods that could be simple.

How to compare everyday grocery products

What does this look like with bread?

Bread is one of the easiest places to get fooled. A loaf can have grains, seeds, earthy colors, and wholesome packaging, and still be built primarily around wheat gluten and other less supportive ingredients.

The first ingredients matter most because they make up the largest proportion of the product. That means we should not just read the health claims on the front. We should look at the first few ingredients and ask what this bread is mostly made of.

Cleaner bread options tend to have shorter ingredient lists and a more transparent structure. Sprouted grains or sprouted buckwheat can also be easier to digest for some people because soaking and sprouting can reduce compounds that may contribute to bloating or digestive discomfort.

Is oatmeal always healthy?

Not automatically. Oats are another example of a food that gets a very strong health halo. A plain one-ingredient oat product is still generally better than an oat product loaded with syrups, gums, and artificial flavors. But even here, sourcing matters.

Some oat products are better when they are specifically tested or labeled for lower pesticide exposure, and sprouted options may be gentler on digestion. So the answer is not “never eat oats.” The answer is “do not stop at the front label.”

And whenever we see a claim that one single packaged food is going to fix cholesterol or transform health on its own, it is worth pausing. Health rarely works that way.

What should we look for in yogurt?

Yogurt is one of the clearest examples of how dramatic the ingredient difference can be. One container may sound like a wellness food but be packed with sweeteners, flavorings, starches, and preservatives. Another might contain only a few ingredients such as coconut, water, tapioca, and live cultures.

Both products sit in the same part of the store. Both can be marketed as smart choices. But the ingredient list tells us which one is closer to real food.

This is also a reminder that clean eating does not mean giving up every creamy food or every breakfast favorite. There are cleaner versions of yogurt, sour cream, cheese, milk, and dessert. The goal is not restriction. The goal is replacement.

What is the issue with almond milk and other milk alternatives?

Many nut milks contain much more than nuts and water. A typical carton might include calcium additives, gums, oils, stabilizers, and flavorings. A cleaner version can be shockingly simple, sometimes just water and almonds.

Why do companies add all the other stuff? To improve shelf life, texture, and the creamy feel many of us expect. Those ingredients help the liquid look uniform and pour like a product we already recognize. But they also move it farther from food in its simplest form.

If we choose a cleaner nut milk, we have to expect it to behave naturally. It may separate in the carton. It may need a shake. It may not blend perfectly into hot coffee without a little extra help. That is not a defect. That is what happens when something has fewer stabilizers holding it together.

If coffee is part of the equation, a milk frother can solve a lot of this and make the cleaner option feel easy to use.

How should we think about bottled water?

Not all bottled water is the same. One of the easiest upgrades is learning the difference between spring water, purified water, and distilled water.

Spring water is generally the better choice in this framework. Purified water often means treated municipal water. Distilled water is not usually the ideal everyday drinking choice in this conversation, even though many people assume bottled equals healthy by default.

This is a great example of the bigger point: convenience can create trust where trust has not really been earned. Mainstream products are easy to grab, but easy does not always mean best.

How to shop without getting overwhelmed

If the grocery store feels overwhelming, where should we start?

Start in our own kitchen.

Before trying to decode every aisle, pull out the foods we eat all the time. Coffee. Protein powder. Bread. Yogurt. Salad dressing. Oils. Eggs. Bacon. Crackers. Kids’ snacks. Whatever is on repeat in our house. Those are the products worth reviewing first because those are the ones shaping our daily health.

This is much more effective than marching into the store determined to inspect every single package. That approach usually leads to overload and defeat. Instead, we want targeted swaps with the highest payoff.

What does that swap strategy look like in real life?

A simple way to think about it is this:

• Pick the foods we use most often.
• Read the ingredient labels on those specific items.
• Replace the worst offenders first.
• Repeat over time.

That is how this becomes sustainable. We are not asking ourselves to become nutrition detectives overnight. We are building a cleaner pantry one regular purchase at a time.

What about coffee?

Coffee can be a great example of quality mattering more than people realize. A higher quality coffee should taste better on its own, and part of that quality often comes from how the beans are sourced, roasted, and tested. Looking at a coffee company’s website can reveal whether they discuss mold and toxin testing and how they handle roasting.

If coffee tastes intensely bitter and unpleasant without a lot of creamer and sweetener, that can be a sign the quality is not great. Better coffee tends to be smoother, and it lets us keep the potential benefits without piling on the downsides.

For readers interested in coffee from another health angle, this article on coffee and longevity gives a useful research-based overview.

How should we buy eggs and bacon?

For bacon, a cleaner version will ideally keep the ingredient list short. Pork and salt is a far cry from bacon with added sugar, preservatives, and other extras. Organic can be helpful if available.

For eggs, labels can be very confusing. Brown versus white is not the important question. The better marker to focus on is pasture-raised. Organic is a plus. If we can find pasture-raised, that is a strong step in the right direction.

What about candy and kids’ foods?

This is one of the more frustrating parts of the food supply. Many candies and children’s foods are packed with artificial dyes, colors, and additives. It is easy to normalize that because those products are everywhere, but cleaner swaps are worth seeking out here too.

We do not have to pretend children never want treats. The point is that even treat foods can be made with fewer unnecessary ingredients.

Do different diet styles matter as much as ingredients?

What if we prefer intermittent fasting, macro tracking, vegan eating, or another nutrition style?

Those approaches can all exist within clean eating. The bigger message is not that everyone has to follow one exact plan. It is that whatever eating style we choose will usually work better when the food itself is cleaner.

If we like intermittent fasting, great. Then when we eat, let it be food made from better ingredients.

If we count macros, great. Then let those macros come from foods our bodies can actually work with.

If we eat mostly plant-based, great. Just because something is vegan does not mean it is automatically healthy.

Different bodies, life stages, and even different times of the month can change what feels best. Listening to the body matters. Clean ingredients simply make that process much clearer.

How quickly can people notice a difference?

Sometimes very quickly. Better energy the next morning. Less puffiness. Less bloating. Better skin. More stable digestion. Feeling lighter instead of dragged down. That rapid feedback is part of what makes this approach so motivating.

If we wake up not feeling great, it is worth asking what went into the previous day. The body often gives fast signals when food quality is off.

Food first, then supplements if needed

Where do supplements fit into this?

Food comes first. That is the lane to stay in. It is easy to get distracted by every new powder, capsule, and protocol, but many people still have not addressed the daily foods causing the biggest issues.

That does not mean supplements never help. Some probiotic and magnesium products can be useful. But they work best when we are not pouring inflammatory ingredients on top of them three times a day.

The central message stays the same: food is medicine, and simple food is often powerful food.

If someone has low energy, what is one of the first things to change?

Look for the processed ingredients hiding in the products we use most often. Protein shakes are a great place to start. So are salad dressings, wraps, and milk alternatives.

Maybe the “healthy” shake base is full of additives. Maybe the dressing is built on inflammatory oil. Maybe the wrap is packed with fillers. Swapping those foundations can change how we feel without requiring a massive diet overhaul.

What if sleep is the issue?

Here, clean eating still matters, but supporting magnesium status may also help. Many people are not getting enough. A high quality magnesium supplement and a simple Epsom salt bath can be helpful additions for some people.

What about constipation?

Constipation is one of those symptoms that can improve dramatically when the diet gets cleaner. In one example, a person who had cleaned up many foods still was not regular. After looking more closely, one remaining ingredient stood out: stevia. Removing it changed everything.

The lesson is not that stevia is always the problem for everyone. The lesson is that symptoms can be tied to ingredients we assume are harmless, and the answer is often in the labels.

On the flip side, some people go too often and find that once they clean up what they are eating, digestion becomes more stable. The body tends to speak through symptoms. Our job is to listen.

Can clean eating help brain fog too?

Yes, but not because there is one magic food for brain fog. Brain fog, sleep issues, constipation, fatigue, and bloating are all examples of the body sending signals. Different people experience inflammation differently based on their own genetics and health background.

So instead of obsessing over a miracle food for each symptom, it often makes more sense to remove the ingredients contributing to the bigger inflammatory picture. That is where the relief tends to happen.

Five practical tips for better eating and a better life

If we wanted a handful of takeaways to start today, what would they be?

There were five especially useful ideas that came out of this conversation.

1. Start the day with some intention. A mindful morning routine matters. It does not have to be elaborate. It just has to help us become more aware of how we are living instead of racing through the day disconnected from ourselves.
2. Pay attention to how we feel in the morning. Are we bloated, tired, puffy, headachy, cramped, or uncomfortable in our clothes? Those details are useful data.
3. Get the swaps. Replace the foods we eat regularly with cleaner versions. That is the engine of this whole process.
4. Sweat and support detoxification. Walk, move, hydrate, and let the body do what it is designed to do.
5. Take action. Health improves when we act, not when we stay stuck researching forever.

How do we get the rest of the family on board?

Usually by going first.

We do not need to wait for everyone else to be convinced before we make changes. The people around us often respond to what we do more than what we say. When better food becomes normal at home and people start feeling the difference, resistance tends to soften.

That also makes this approach especially powerful for parents. Modeling matters. If cleaner eating becomes part of everyday life rather than a dramatic health kick, it is much easier for the whole household to adopt.

FAQs

What is the first label ingredient we should check?

Start with the oils. Seed oils such as canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, and generic vegetable oil are common red flags in packaged foods.

Does organic automatically mean healthy?

No. Organic can be helpful, but an organic product can still be highly processed and filled with additives. We still need to read the ingredient list.

Is clean eating the same as dieting?

Not really. This approach is less about restriction and more about replacing ultra processed products with versions made from simpler, more recognizable ingredients.

Do we need to throw out everything in the pantry at once?

No. A better approach is to focus on the foods we eat most often and swap those first. That makes the process practical and sustainable.

Can clean eating help with bloating and fatigue quickly?

It often can. Many people notice changes in energy, digestion, and puffiness quickly once they remove the most problematic ingredients from daily staples.

Are shorter ingredient lists always better?

Not always, but in many everyday packaged foods, shorter and simpler ingredient lists are a good sign. They usually mean the product is less engineered and easier to understand.

What we want to remember

We do not need to become perfect eaters. We do not need to fear every packaged product. We do not need to overhaul our lives in a weekend.

What we do need is a better filter.

When we stop outsourcing our judgment to the front of the package and start reading ingredients with intention, the grocery store gets less confusing. The body gets clearer feedback. Health begins to feel less mysterious.

And that is the most encouraging part of all. We can start where we are. We can do this one swap at a time. We can keep the foods we love, just in versions that love us back a little better.

This article was created from the video Clean Eating 101: What Food Labels Aren’t Telling You with Jen Smiley | SHE MD for Dr. Thais Aliabadi’s website.