The world is becoming increasingly complex. It is hard to keep up with everything that is going on in the news, let alone all the information needed to know just to navigate your day-to-day life. Every day, people worldwide feel confused about what to eat for health. People look for science-based information but struggle with the vast amount of information and do not know what to believe. People feel that scientists do not agree with each other and are constantly changing their minds. With so much information about what people should eat and how much exercise they should do each day, it can be difficult for even the most educated people to sort through it all, and this confusion can lead them to make unhealthy choices when they are not aware of what they are doing [1,2]^[1][2]. In the first part of the preseaper, werch, it was attempted to clarify the differences between nutrition and food literacy, which are often wrongly used as synonyms. WeIt was explored that food illiteracy as a major global issue that leads to poor health outcomes and even death ^[3]. Food illiteracy also promotes health inequities, especially if it is combined with other factors such as poverty and a lack of access to fresh foods or proper nutrition education programs ^[4]. Food literacy is an important aspect of health literacy because it helps individuals make informed decisions about what they eat and how it affects their health ^[2]. In a world where processed and fast foods are often more convenient and accessible than nutritious options ^[5], having food literacy can make a big difference in a person’s overall health and well-being. It can also help to prevent chronic health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, which are often related to poor diet and nutrition ^[6].

2. Relationship between Health, Nutrition, and Food Literacy

According to Scopus and Web of Science, nutrition literacy appeared first in the title of a scientific document in 1995 in a study carried out by Sullivan and Gottschall-Pass that was carried out to assess the food label nutrition knowledge of healthy Canadians, i.e., to evaluate their nutrition literacy ^[7]. Nutrition literacy continued to be used without a specific definition; it was used under the umbrella of the more general term health literacy. The definition of nutrition literacy evolved from the tripartite model of health literacy developed by Don Nutbeam, who defined it as a set of cognitive and social abilities that affect an individual’s motivation and capacity to access, understand, and manage information that allows the promotion and maintenance of a healthy status. According to this definition, health literacy is more than being able to read package inserts or being successful in appointments and exam schedules, rather it is being able to make informed decisions ^[8]. Don Nutbeam ^[8] identified three health literacy levels: functional, communicative/interactive, and critical. A functional or basic level of health literacy implies knowing how to read and write, understanding simple health messages, and being able to act according to the health information provided. The functional level highlights the importance of knowing health risks, health services, and a set of healthcare recommendations. This includes understanding the labelling of prescription drugs and the ability to read instructions for taking prescription medication. This information is usually distributed to the public through leaflets as the objective is to obtain global benefits ^[8]. The communicative/interactive level involves a more advanced cognitive level and developed skills that allow individuals to seek and use health information to respond to changing needs. At this level, the focus is on improving individual capacities such as lifestyle changes and the effective use of health services. It also involves the ability to discuss information with health professionals to make informed decisions ^[8]. For example, it includes understanding a treatment option and how that treatment compares with other options. The most advanced level is critical literacy, which implies an even more advanced cognitive level that allows the individual to critically analyze health information and use the results of their analysis to be alert and thus acquire control over their life events ^[8]. However, the definition of these three levels of health literacy has some limitations. They only apply to literate communities and assume that a high level of education corresponds to a high level of health literacy and that this is a prerequisite or guarantee that the person will respond in the desired way, which may not correspond to reality ^[9]. Nutrition and food literacy are two linked concepts related to the ability to understand and apply knowledge about food. Understanding the differences between these concepts is crucial. Definitions in the literature are presented in Table 1. Briefly, nutrition literacy (sometimes mentioned as nutritional literacy) has to do with understanding the role of various nutrients in healthy eating, as well as how to read nutrition labels and make healthy food choices. Food literacy focuses more on the social aspects of food: how it is produced, where it comes from, who grows it, and how these things affect ourthe health.

Nutrition Literacy Definition	Reference
“Nutritional literacy, as a specific form of health literacy, requires both general literacy and computational skill. It is not surprising to find that higher levels of nutrition knowledge have been associated with nutrition label use.”	Blitstein, J.L.; Evans, W.D. Use of Nutrition Facts Panels among Adults Who Make Household Food Purchasing Decisions. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2006, 38, 360–364, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2006.02.009. (p. 1)
“Adequate health literacy and nutrition literacy require an individual not only to read well, but also to understand health and nutrition concepts and to have basic quantitative skills (defined as numeracy: the ability to use and understand numbers in daily life, including the ability to read and interpret nutrition information. People without these skills may have difficulty understanding concepts of healthful diets, reading nutrition information, and measuring a portion size.”	Neuhauser, L.; Rothschild, R.; Rodríguez, F.M. MyPyramid.gov: Assessment of Literacy, Cultural and Linguistic Factors in the USDA Food Pyramid Web Site. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2007, 39, 219–225, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2007.03.005. (p. 220)
“Nutrition literacy can be defined similarly to health literacy as the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, and understand the basic health (nutrition) information and services they need to make appropriate health (nutrition) decisions, with the qualification that the definition is nutrition-specific.”	Silk, K.J.; Sherry, J.; Winn, B.; Keesecker, N.; Horodynski, M.A.; Sayir, A. Increasing Nutrition Literacy: Testing the Effectiveness of Print, Web site, and Game Modalities. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2008, 40, 3–10, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2007.08.012. (p. 4)
“Nutrition literacy may be defined as the degree to which people have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic nutrition information.”	Zoellner, J.; Connell, C.; Bounds, W.; Crook, L.; Yadrick, K. Nutrition literacy status and preferred nutrition communication channels among adults in the lower Mississippi Delta. Preventing Chronic Disease 2009, 6, doi:19755004. (p. 2)
“In other words, at what point is this client no longer dependent on expert knowledge? When do his or her food choices reflect what is right for him or her 80% to 90% of the time? That is when the person achieves nutrition literacy. Fortunately, the term can and should be individualized according to the goals set at the beginning of the relationship. When that individual says, “I can do this on my own”, the dietetics practitioner will have succeeded.”	Escott-Stump, S.A. Our nutrition literacy challenge: Making the 2010 dietary guidelines relevant for consumers. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2011, 111, 979, doi:10.1016/j.jada.2011.05.024. (p. 979)
“…‘nutrition literacy’ can mean the extent to which people access, understand and use nutrition information. In this context, consumers’ nutrition literacy is critical in their interpretation of noninterpretative front-of-pack food labelling and menu labelling.”	Watson, W.L.; Chapman, K.; King, L.; Kelly, B.; Hughes, C.; Yu Louie, J.C.; Crawford, J.; Gill, T.P. How well do Australian shoppers understand energy terms on food labels? Public Health Nutrition 2013, 16, 409–417, doi:10.1017/s1368980012000900. (p. 410)
“Functional nutrition literacy refers to proficiency in applying basic literacy skills, such as reading and understanding food labelling and grasping the essence of nutrition information guidelines. Interactive nutrition literacy comprises more advanced literacy skills, such as the cognitive and interpersonal communication skills needed to interact appropriately with nutrition counsellors, as well as interest in seeking and applying adequate nutrition information for the purpose of improving one’s nutritional status and behaviour. Critical nutrition literacy refers to being proficient in critically analyzing nutrition information and advice, as well as having the will to participate in actions to address nutritional barriers in personal, social, and global perspectives. CNL is part of scientific literacy– ‘the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions’ i.e., proficiency in describing, explaining and predicting scientific phenomena, and understanding the processes of scientific inquiries as well as the premises of scientific evidence and conclusion.”	Guttersrud, O.; Dalane, J.O.; Pettersen, S. Improving measurement in nutrition literacy research using Rasch modelling: Examining construct validity of stage-specific ‘critical nutrition literacy’ scales. Public Health Nutrition 2014, 17, 877–883, doi:10.1017/S1368980013000530. (p. 887)
“Nutrition literacy focuses mainly on abilities to understand nutrition information, which can be seen as a prerequisite for a wider range of skills described under the term food literacy. Thus, nutrition literacy can be seen a subset of food literacy.”	Krause, C.; Sommerhalder, K.; Beer-Borst, S.; Abel, T. Just a subtle difference? Findings from a systematic review on definitions of nutrition literacy and food literacy. Health Promotion International 2016, 33, 378–389, doi:10.1093/heapro/daw084. (p. 387)
Food Literacy Definition	Reference
“We defined food literacy as the capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret and understand basic food and nutrition information and services and the competence to use that information and services in ways that are health-enhancing. This definition was derived from the accepted definition of health literacy…”	Kolasa, K.M.; Peery, A.; Harris, N.G.; Shovelin, K. Food Literacy Partners Program: A Strategy To Increase Community Food Literacy. Topics in Clinical Nutrition 2001, 16, 1–10. (p. 5)
“…food literacy as more than knowledge; it also involves the motivation to apply nutrition information to food choices. Whereas food knowledge is the possession of food-related information, food literacy entails both understanding nutrition information and acting on that knowledge in ways consistent with promoting nutrition goals and “food well-being”.”	Block, L.G.; Grier, S.A.; Childers, T.L.; Davis, B.; Ebert, J.E.J.; Kumanyika, S.; Laczniak, R.N.; Machin, J.E.; Motley, C.M.; Peracchio, L.; et al. From nutrients to nurturance: A conceptual introduction to food well-being. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 2011, 30, 5–13, doi:10.1509/jppm.30.1.5. (p. 7)
“…expands traditional measures of nutrition knowledge to include not only what people know about food but their ability to use that information to facilitate higher levels of food well-being. Food literacy ranges from declarative types of knowledge (e.g., knowing what asparagus is and what types of the nutrients asparagus might provide) to procedural knowledge (e.g., how to cook this vegetable).”	Bublitz, M.G.; Peracchio, L.A.; Andreasen, A.R.; Kees, J.; Kidwell, B.; Miller, E.G.; Motley, C.M.; Peter, P.C.; Rajagopal, P.; Scott, M.L. The quest for eating right: Advancing food well-being. Journal of Research for Consumers 2011, 1. (pp. 3–4)
“Food literacy was seen mainly as an individual’s ability to read, understand, and act upon labels on fresh, frozen, canned, frozen, processed, and takeout food.”	Fordyce-Voorham, S. Identification of essential food skills for skill-based healthful eating programs in secondary schools. J Nutr Educ Behav 2011, 43, 116–122, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2009.12.002. (p. 119)
“I take the inspiration for food literacy from the notions of ‘health literacy’ in public health literature. The concept was born out of public health policy’s endeavor to educate people to seek healthier lifestyles and adhere to prescribed advice and was used to explain ‘the relationship between the patient literacy levels and their ability to comply with prescribed therapeutic regimens’.”	Kimura, A.H. Food education as food literacy: Privatized and gendered food knowledge in contemporary Japan. Agriculture and Human Values 2011, 28, 465–482, doi:10.1007/s10460-010-9286-6. (p. 479)
“Food literacy is the ‘capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret and understand basic food and nutrition information and services as well as the competence to use that information and available services that are health enhancing.’”	Pendergast, D.; Garvis, S.; Kanasa, H. Insight from the Public on Home Economics and Formal Food Literacy. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 2011, 39, 415–430, doi:10.1111/j.1552-3934.2011.02079.x. (p. 418)
“…the relative ability to basically understand the nature of food and how it is important to you, and how able you are to gain information about food, process it, analyze it and act upon it.”	Vidgen, H.A.; Gallegos, D. What is food literacy and does it influence what we eat: a study of Australian food experts. 2011. (p. ii)
“… a complex, interrelated, person-centred set of skills that are necessary to provide and prepare safe, nutritious, and culturally-acceptable meals for all members of one’s household.”	Thomas, H.M.; Irwin, J.D. Cook It Up! A community-based cooking program for at-risk youth: Overview of a food literacy intervention. BMC Research Notes 2011, 4, 495, doi:10.1186/1756-0500-4-495. (p. 6)
“A collection of inter-related knowledge, skills and behaviours required to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat foods to meet needs and determine food intake. Food literacy is the scaffolding that empowers individuals, households, communities or nations to protect diet quality through change and support dietary resilience over time.”	Vidgen, H.A.; Gallegos, D. Defining food literacy, its components, development and relationship to food intake: A case study of young people and disadvantage. 2012. (p. vii)
“…the capacity of an individual to obtain, process and understand basic food information about food and nutrition as well as the competence to use that information in order to make appropriate health decisions.”	Murimi, M.W. Healthy literacy, nutrition education, and food literacy. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2013, 45, 195, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2013.03.014. (p. 195)
“…focuses on food and nutrition information to help individuals make appropriate eating decisions.”	Rawl, R.; Kolasa, K.M.; Lee, J.; Whetstone, L.M. A Learn and Serve Nutrition Program: The Food Literacy Partners Program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2008, 40, 49–51, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2007.04.372. (p. 49)
“…a set of skills and attributes that help people sustain the daily preparation of healthy, tasty, affordable meals for themselves and their families. Food literacy builds resilience, because it includes food skills (techniques, knowledge and planning ability), the confidence to improvise and problem-solve, and the ability to access and share information. Food literacy is made possible through external support with healthy food access and living conditions, broad learning opportunities, and positive socio-cultural environments.”	Desjardins, E. Making Something out of Nothing: Food Literacy Among Youth, Young Pregnant Women and Young Parents Who are at Risk for Poor Health. A Locally Driven Collaborative Project. 2013. At: http://www.osnpph.on.ca/upload/membership/document/foodliteracy-study.ldcpontario.final.dec2013.pdf (accessed on 23 January 2023) (p. 70)
“Food literacy can be defined as an individual’s food related knowledge, attitudes, and skills. This broad definition of food literacy incorporates household perception, assessment, and management of the risks associated with their food choices. Individuals’ food literacy level influences their food-related decisions, which ultimately impact their diet and health as well as the environment.”	Howard, A.; Brichta, J. What’s to Eat?: Improving Food Literacy in Canada. 2013. (p. 2)
“Food literacy is the ability to “read the world” in terms of food, thereby recreating it and remaking ourselves. It involves a full-cycle understanding of food—where it is grown, how it is produced, who benefits and who loses when it is purchased, who can access it (and who can’t), and where it goes when we are finished with it. It includes an appreciation of the cultural significance of food, the capacity to prepare healthy meals and make healthy decisions, and the recognition of the environmental, social, economic, cultural, and political implications of those decisions.”	Sumner, J. Food literacy and adult education: Learning to read the world by eating. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education 2013, 25, 79–92. (p. 86)
“Functional food literacy: basic communication of credible, evidence-based food and nutrition information, involving accessing, understanding and evaluating information. Interactive food literacy: development of personal skills regarding food and nutrition issues, involving decision making, goal setting and practices to enhance nutritional health and well-being Critical food literacy: respecting different cultural, family and religious beliefs in respect to food and nutrition (including nutritional health), understanding the wider context of food production and nutritional health, and advocating for personal, family and community changes that enhance nutritional health.”	Slater, J. Is cooking dead? The state of Home Economics Food and Nutrition education in a Canadian province. International Journal of Consumer Studies 2013, 37, 617–624, doi:10.1111/ijcs.12042. (p. 623)
“Food literacy is the scaffolding that empowers individuals, households, communities or nations to protect diet quality through change and strengthen dietary resilience over time. It is composed of a collection of inter-related knowledge, skills and behaviours required to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat food to meet needs and determine intake.”	Vidgen, H.A.; Gallegos, D. Defining food literacy and its components. Appetite 2014, 76, 50–59, doi:10.1016/j.appet.2014.01.010. (p. 54)
“Food literacy is the ability of an individual to understand food in a way that they develop a positive relationship with it, including food skills and practices across the lifespan in order to navigate, engage, and participate within a complex food system. It’s the ability to make decisions to support the achievement of personal health and a sustainable food system considering environmental, social, economic, cultural, and political components.”	Cullen, T.; Hatch, J.; Martin, W.; Higgins, J.W.; Sheppard, R. Food literacy: Definition and framework for action. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research 2015, 76, 140–145, doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2015-010. (p. 143)
“We suggest using the term food literacy instead of nutrition literacy to describe the wide range of skills needed for a healthy and responsible nutrition behaviour. When measuring food literacy, we suggest the following core abilities and skills be taken into account: reading, understanding, and judging the quality of information; gathering and exchanging knowledge related to food and nutrition themes; practical skills like shopping and preparing food; and critically reflecting on factors that influence personal choices about food, and understanding the impact of those choices on society.”	Krause, C.; Sommerhalder, K.; Beer-Borst, S.; Abel, T. Just a subtle difference? Findings from a systematic review on definitions of nutrition literacy and food literacy. Health Promotion International 2016, 33, 378–389, doi:10.1093/heapro/daw084. (p. 387)
“‘food literacy’ encompasses a more holistic approach to describe the practicalities needed to meet nutrition recommendations: plan, management, selection, preparation, and consumption.”	Garcia, A.L.; Reardon, R.; McDonald, M.; Vargas-Garcia, E.J. Community Interventions to Improve Cooking Skills and Their Effects on Confidence and Eating Behaviour. Current Nutrition Reports 2016, 5, 315–322, doi:10.1007/s13668-016-0185-3. (p. 316)
“…food literacy is a complex phenomenon made up of multiple attributes, including those that are both intrinsic and extrinsic. By conceptualizing these attributes, the results of the present scoping review provide the foundation for the development of a measurement tool that can support monitoring and the evaluation of interventions to support food literacy.”	Perry, E.A.; Thomas, H.; Samra, H.R.; Edmonstone, S.; Davidson, L.; Faulkner, A.; Petermann, L.; Manafò, E.; Kirkpatrick, S.I. Identifying attributes of food literacy: A scoping review. Public Health Nutrition 2017, 20, 2406–2415, doi:10.1017/S1368980017001276. (p. 2413)
“Food Literacy (FL) is the combination of knowledge, skills, and behaviours required to plan, select, manage, prepare, and consume foods that meet nutritional recommendations. Understood to be an important component of healthy living, FL is associated with confidence, autonomy, and empowerment towards food.”	Bomfim, M.C.C.; Wallace, J.R. Pirate bri’s grocery adventure: Teaching food literacy through shopping. In Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems—Proceedings, 2018., (p. 2)

Nutrition literacy is the level to which people can acquire, process, and comprehend the fundamental nutritional data and services that they need to make correct dietary decisions ^[10]. This implies having the knowledge of nutritional principles and the ability to understand, analyze, and use nutritional information; that is, to know the nutrients and their health effects ^[11]. It involves an individual’s capacity to acquire, understand, and use nutritional information from several sources ^[12]. This includes knowing how foods are digested, their relationship with health, and how to use this information to make healthy choices. Having nutrition literacy may not be sufficient to achieve the desired well-being and health. It is necessary to have food literacy; that is, to have knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are interrelated and that are necessary to decide, handle, choose, cook, and eat food [13,14,15]^[13][14][15]. Food literacy is an individual’s ability to make decisions that lead to better individual health status and lead to a sustainable food system considering all social, environmental, cultural, economic, and political factors ^[16]. Krause et al. (2016) defined nutrition literacy as a subfield of food, with both being specific dimensions of health literacy ^[17]. According to the reseauthorchers, nutrition and food literacy are different but complementary concepts. The main difference lies in the skills needed to be literate in nutrition, food, or health. Thus, nutrition literacy consists of the ability to understand basic nutritional information, which is a requirement for a broader array of skills defined for food literacy. The authoresearchers suggest the use of food literacy instead of nutrition literacy as it is broader and includes the skills necessary for healthy and responsible eating behavior ^[17]. Vidgen (2016) identified eight domains of food literacy: (1) access; (2) management and planning; (3) selection; (4) knowledge of food origin; (5) preparation; (6) eating; (7) nutrition; and (8) language ^[18]. Truman et al. (2017) expanded the components of the definition of food literacy by considering six core themes: (1) capabilities and behaviors; (2) healthy food and choices; (3) culture; (4) knowledge; (5) emotions; and (6) food systems ^[15]. Food literacy measurement involves evaluating the following skills: reading, understanding, and analyzing information; gathering and sharing nutrition and food knowledge; shopping and preparing food; and evaluating the factors that impact their individual food choices and their influence on society ^[17]. Vettori et al. (2019) highlight the importance of evaluating the skills needed to access and adhere to a healthy diet when measuring nutrition and food literacy ^[19]. A nutrition and food-literate community includes people who eat to ensure their health and well-being while ensuring a sustainable food system. Nutrition and food literacy reflect the individual’s inspiration to adopt suitable behaviors and healthy food choices for oneself, others, and the environment ^[19]. Health, food, and nutrition literacy are critical factors that impact every level of prevention in health and disease (Figure 1). Primary prevention refers to actions taken to prevent the disease onset. Health literacy is essential in promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors that can prevent chronic diseases. Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can reduce the risk of developing conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Education about the importance of a balanced diet and how to read nutrition labels can also help people make healthier food choices [20,21]^[20][21]. Secondary prevention refers to actions taken to detect and treat a disease early before it causes significant harm. Food and nutrition literacy is critical in secondary prevention because it enables individuals to make informed decisions about their diet and lifestyle to manage chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. For example, individuals with food and nutrition literacy may be able to modify their diet to reduce their risk of developing complications from these conditions ^[20]. Finally, tertiary prevention focuses on managing the complications and symptoms of chronic diseases. Health literacy is essential in tertiary prevention because it enables individuals to understand their condition and adhere to their treatment plan. Education about how to read food labels, plan meals, and cook healthy foods can help these individuals better manage their condition and prevent complications ^[20]. A comprehensive understanding of nutrition literacy is imperative in today’s complex world. It should not be isolated from the two other critical components of health and food literacy. This integration is of paramount importance in providing individuals with a comprehensive understanding of how their dietary choices affect their overall health and broader societal and economic well-being. Health literacy emphasizes the importance of informed decision making in health matters. Food literacy extends health literacy scope to include the social, cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions of food. This broader understanding of nutrition literacy extends beyond simply acquiring knowledge and interpreting food labels. It serves as a reminder that nutrition literacy encompasses a wider social, cultural, and political context, operating at personal, interpersonal, and societal levels. The inclusion of these elements in nutrition literacy helps individuals make healthier food choices and appreciates the wider implications of their dietary decisions. Therefore, a comprehensive conception of nutrition literacy ought to incorporate crucial components of both health and food literacy to provide individuals with a comprehensive understanding of the significance of nutrition in their lives. It is not simply a matter of knowing what to consume; it also involves understanding the rationale behind its significance and integration into the broader context of health and sustainability. This comprehensive approach has the potential to lead to healthy individuals and a sustainable global community ^[12].