It’s beyond strange that so many humans are clueless about how they should feed themselves. Every wild species on the planet knows how to do it; presumably ours did, too, before our oversized brains found new ways to complicate things. Now, we’re the only species that can be baffled about the “right” way to eat.

Really, we know how we should eat, but that understanding is continually undermined by hyperbolic headlines, internet echo chambers, and predatory profiteers all too happy to peddle purposefully addictive junk food and nutrition-limiting fad diets. Eating well remains difficult not because it’s complicated but because the choices are hard even when they’re clear.

READ: GUT HEALTH IDENTIFIED AS IMPORTANT BIOMARKER

With that in mind, we offered friends, readers, and anyone else we encountered one simple request: Ask us anything at all about diet and nutrition and we will give you an answer that is grounded in real scientific consensus, with no “healthy-ish” chit-chat, nary a mention of “wellness,” and no goal other than to cut through all the noise and help everyone see how simple it is to eat well.

To read the exhaustive list of over 100 questions and answers — about everything from seltzer water to wine, eggs to algae — compiled Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and Dr. David L. Katz, founder/president of the True Health Initiative and author of The Truth About Food, for Grub Street, click here.