Enjoyment is a complete reason to keep a ritual, and so is curiosity about the people who keep it. Neither has to be upgraded into a measured outcome. The line worth watching is the one the FDA already draws: a statement about the structure or function of the body puts a dietary supplement under 21 CFR 101.93, which requires the label to say that FDA has not evaluated the claim and that the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Your afternoon cup carries no such obligation, because it makes no such claim. The condition that changes it: the moment someone sells you the ritual with a promise, the promise is the product, and the promise is what you check.
Three statements, three kinds of support
Scroll sideways to see the full table →
| Statement | What would support it | Who has rules about it |
|---|---|---|
| "Setting out two cups after lunch is a pleasure." | The person saying it. | Nobody. |
| "UNESCO inscribed couscous knowledge and practices in 2020." | The institution's own entry, with its file number and the states that nominated it. | UNESCO, under its 2003 Convention. |
| "This cup changes a measured health outcome." | Research in people, on that product, measuring that outcome. | FDA for what the label may say; NCCIH for what the evidence shows. |
The rows are not ranked. They identify which question is being asked, and each question has its own kind of answer. A personal account is the right evidence for the first row, good evidence for nothing below it, and no evidence at all for the third.
An inscription records a practice, not an outcome
UNESCO's entry for knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous, inscribed in 2020 at the 15.COM session under file 01602, was nominated jointly by Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. It describes growing the cereal, grinding the seeds into semolina, rolling that semolina by hand, steaming it, and the clay and wooden utensils that potters and family workshops make for the work.
Read the entry again for what is missing. No participants, no measurement, no comparison, no outcome. It is a strong source for the second row of the table and not a source for the third. Saying so takes nothing from the practice; accuracy is the whole point of the record, and the four states that nominated it wrote it that way. If you want to use the name as well as the dish, check the entry before you borrow the word.
Where the sentence becomes the FDA's business
A structure or function claim describes what a nutrient or ingredient does to the normal workings of the body — the FDA's own example is "calcium builds strong bones". Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, a manufacturer using such a claim must send FDA the text of the claim no later than 30 days after it starts marketing the product, and must print the disclaimer. A claim to treat or prevent a disease is a different category again: only a drug can legally make it.
Here is an example of a sentence growing, written to show the joins. One: "Two cups go out on the table after lunch." Two: "UNESCO's 2020 entry describes couscous as a shared, ceremonial preparation." Three: "So this habit is the secret to a long life." The first sentence belongs to whoever set out the cups. The second belongs to a named institution and a numbered file. The third arrived without a study, a product, a measurement or a notification, and it is the one that would need all four.
NCCIH names the same slide in plainer terms, warning about anecdotes disguised as evidence and excessive claims made by supplement manufacturers. Delete the third sentence and the first two still stand. Keep the reason you actually have: the taste, the company, the ten quiet minutes, the fact that someone you miss used to do it this way. That reason survives every check, because nothing in it was ever a claim about your body. When a promise is what makes a product appealing, treat the promise as a separate question and answer it on its own evidence.
Sources and further reading
- Structure/Function ClaimsAccessed 2026-09-17
- Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscousAccessed 2026-09-17
- Know the ScienceAccessed 2026-09-17