Have you heard about ANDI?

ANDI is a nutrition rating system based on Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutrient Density Scoring System which analyzes a range of nutrients in a food product.

Make every bite count
Dr Joel Fuhrman is the founder of Eat Right America and their Health Equation is to eat foods that give you the most nutrients on a per calorie basis or said another way: MAKE EVERY BITE COUNT. When you make every bite count, the body will become properly nourished and you will conquer your food cravings, achieve superior health and your ideal weight automatically.

In order to identify which foods give you the most bang for your buck, Eat Right America created the ANDI scoring system. ANDI stands for ‘Aggregate Nutrient Density Index”. This scoring system was developed so people can quickly view the total micronutrient content of a food. It is the simplest and most accurate way to compare nutrient levels between foods, as of yet.

The A stands for aggregate, which means all the measurable nutrients are added up. ANDI Scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of food factors, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidant capacities, based on an equal number of calories for each food.

1-1000
After completing the calculations, foods are ranked on a numerical scale of 1 to 1000, with the highest nutrient foods given a score of 1000. All other foods are then scored relative to them. Kale, a dark leafy green, scores 1000 while Coke scores 1.

Here is a table with some sample scores. The highest score is 1000, the lowest is close to zero.

This is an interesting table. Take a look at these 4 healthy products and their scores:

Kale – 1000
Orange – 109
Sunflower Seeds – 78
Olive oil – 9

You might be led to believe that kale is the only product worth consuming. But all 4 of the aforementioned are healthy and needed by our bodies. Dr. Fuhrman addresses this:

Keep in mind that nutrient density scoring is not the only factor that determines good health. For example, if we only ate foods with a high nutrient density score our diet would be too low in fat. So we have to pick some foods with lower nutrient density scores (but preferably the ones with the healthier fats) to include in our high nutrient diet.

Sufficient rating?
According to Eat Right America these rankings may not consider the phytochemical number sufficiently, but they are still a reasonable measurement of their content. Nutritional science in the last twenty years has demonstrated that colorful plant foods contain a huge assortment of protective compounds, mostly unnamed at this point.

One thing we do know is that the foods that contain the highest amount of known nutrients are the same foods that containt he most unknown nutrients too.

So what to do at the supermarket?
Stick to the least processed products. Choose more whole foods and colorful produce; and add lots of the leafy greens to your diet. Opt for the right fats, more from plants and less from animals.

At home
Avoid destroying nutrients further by baking, boiling or barbecuing them. Learn how to create colorful and delicious raw food dishes that taste great containing the highest nutrient density and have fun while doing it!

More about ANDI and Eat Right America
Dr Joel Fuhrman, author, MD, is the founder of Eat Right America, an organization which has spent years proving that a diet high in micronutrients will quickly make us reach our ideal weight and stay there, as well as reverse most diet-related chronic conditions. They are essential for a normal immune system and to enable our body’s detoxification and cellular repair mechanisms that protect us from cancer and other diseases.

In the ANDI scoring evaluation the following nutrients were included: Calcium, Carotenoids: Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Lutein & Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, Fiber, Folate, Glucosinolates, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, plus ORAC score X 2 (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a method of measuring the antioxidant or radical scavenging capacity of foods).

Visit www.eatrightamerica.com for more information.

By Åsa Paul-Johansson
On the Lime – Raw Foods
Fort Lauderdale area, Florida