“Naturally Nutrient Rich”--an approach to counter an American diet that has become calorie-rich and nutrient-compromised--was presented at the American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo held in Anaheim, Calif. in October 2004. It explained the science behind a new nutrient density index that ranks foods by nutritional value, and encourages nutrient-dense natural whole food selections. This framework is about getting the most nutrients for the least calories, ultimately for healthful weight loss and maintenance.
A goal of the Naturally Nutrient Rich effort is to gain a consensus on how to measure and assess the nutrient density of individual foods for a nutritional value-ranking index. Nutrients per calorie or calories per nutrient are two possible ways to achieve this. Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., director, Center for Public Health Nutrition, University of Washington (Seattle), presented a “nutrient per calories” scoring method he developed collaboratively, based on the mean percent daily value from 14 nutrients. Percent daily values for protein, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin A (retinol), vitamin D, vitamin E, monounsaturated fat, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and folate are calculated based on 2,000 calories of each food, then summed and divided by 14 to arrive at the nutrient-per-calorie score of the food. Stellar foods from each basic group in this system include brown rice, spinach, avocado, low-fat milk and beef steak.