Fallen_Horse Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi all! Until very recently I have been using nutritiondata.com to figure out which foods are the healthiest to eat, since they have a massive database and a massively detailed database, but I am starting to question some of their math. For example, their system rates the healthiness of raw blueberries at a 3.1 out of 5, but it rates fortified orange juice as a 4 out of 5. It also rates apricots (canned in light syrup) at a 4.2 out of 5. Now what kind of math results in orange juice and canned fruit being healthier than fresh blueberries?? I think that their calculator does not take into account antioxidant capacity, or phytochemicals, but even without those I still don't really get it. The problem is that I don't know of a better system than theirs! Does anyone here use a different site or book? I know some people will just say to follow your gut, but I am a stats person, and sometimes I just want to know if a banana is healthier than an apple (for example)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I never look at that number, but I would be interested to know how they calculate that index as I am a stats person as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kckas Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Would this help you? http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Yeah the USDA links are good but they also don't spit out a single number that will compare a banana to an apple (for example). What is healthier, a banana or an apple? We can't be 100% certain, but we can use all that we know about food science to come up with a mathematical formula for the healthiness of a food. Until recently I used NutritionData's, but now I am looking for another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 but we can use all that we know about food science to come up with a mathematical formula for the healthiness of a food. Until recently I used NutritionData's, but now I am looking for another one. Do you know NutritionData's formula for their index? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Nah it's proprietary but I know it's related to the fullness factor, the completeness score, and the ratio of 'good qualities' to 'bad qualities'. Maybe I will play around with my own a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 It's interesting to think of different ways to weight different qualities. Or at least it's interesting to ME, but I'm a giant nerd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Thanks for the input 2097. I will get to work on a formula after I get home from class today. This sounds like a project worthy of a nutrition journal publication, but I doubt I will have enough desire to put that much into it haha. If anyone else has any other input that would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 I might also start with a Weight Watchers style formula, although I would have to modify it a bit...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_Watchers#Food_Values Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I like playing with numbers and stuff so if you ever want a second opinion or something let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Fallen_Horse, I have very great ideas about this, however I am not going to state them. From your reply, it seems you'll only do something to get a trophy(nutrition journal publication). I've been skimming through food documentaries like Food Inc, etc... and have come to notice that the majority of people are always trying to PROVE themselves. How great they are; just makes people look empty on the inside. Please take this as a positive way to grow.Perhaps this is a language barrier issue, otherwise I am at a loss for words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 So I have been working on my healthiness index and it is in it's infancy but I am coming along. I am currently frustrated because I am trying to find PDCAAS information about different foods, but I can only find very short (and not terribly useful) lists of foods. Does anyone know where a good list might be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegimator Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Good luck! The only scores I've seen are for soy, wheat gluten, chickpeas, black beans, hemp and a few others. If you search pubmed.gov for a specific food that might have been assessed nutritionally (like quinoa) it's likely that there's a study out there that tested the amino acids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Ok guys here is the setup so far. I do want to mention at the beginning that at this point this calculator is geared towards a typical vegan bodybuilder, i.e. someone who wants to maximize the amount of protein they intake while also maximizing the amount of nutrients they get. See more details at the bottom of the post for what I will be adding later, and how this formula will eventually cater to all groups of vegans. So here we go! My formulas currently only take four inputs, total protein, protein score, total calories, and nutrient score. These values are taken from the NutritionData website and I have chosen them because I think they are the most accurately calculated scores available and I know exactly how they are formulated. All of my calculations are done using the numbers for 100g of each food. I have one equation for determining overall protein quality, and that is to take the total protein, multiply by the percentage that is complete protein, and add to that the amount of incomplete protein times 1/2. This is assuming that if a protein is 50% complete, the other 50% is about half complete, which seems to be a good rule of thumb for the foods I have seen. The first formula for this is then: Amount of Complete Protein = Total Protein * Protein Score / 100 It is divided by 100 because the protein score is in % and I want it unitless so I divide by 100 to get grams = grams * percent / percent. The second equation for this section is: Average Useful Protein = Amount of Complete Protein + (Total Protein - Amount of Complete Protein) / 2 So I take the total protein and subtract the complete part, then divide by 2 because of the '50% complete' concept. I then add this to the amount of complete protein to get an average amount of useful protein. For the last formula (in the protein section) I then take the Average Useful Protein and divide by Calories / 100, or otherwise stated I take the Average Useful Protein * 100 then divide by Calories. This looks like: Protein Per 100 Calories = Average Useful Protein / Total Calories / 100 = 100 * Average Useful Protein / Total Calories I added this formula into the equation because I noticed that very high calorie foods were getting overly high scores in my final ranking, and since I want this to be a calculator of getting the most protein and nutrients per calorie, having high calorie foods is contrary to the scoring. Now for the second part of my formula, I am currently only taking into account two variables, the average useful protein and the healthiness per calorie of a food. The healthiness of a food is determined by the nutrient score over the total calories (nutrients per calorie), and the average useful protein is what I just calculated above. This equation is then: Formula Score = 10 * Average Useful Protein + Nutrient Score / Total Calories Now, you might be asking. Why multiply the Average Useful Protein by 10? That's a good question, and I don't have a scientific answer. Essentially it is because I wanted the amount of protein in a food to have a powerful effect on it's Formula Score, because my lifestyle is more geared towards getting a higher protein diet while maximizing the nutrients per calorie I get. The bad thing about this is that it is essentially an arbitrary number that you can change based on what your preferences are (so it's not standardized) but that is also a benefit, because someone that values carbs more, or fiber more, or whatever, could then edit the final formula (once I have all the variables put in) and be able to find healthy foods that are high in protein, or high in fiber, or low in fat, or whatever someone wants. Currently I am doing this in Excel (ugh) because it has been easy to import and list foods, but the equation editor is a hassle. I can't currently think of anything better though. I am still playing around with it, and I plan on adding carbs, fiber, and types of fats to the spreadsheet and into the Formula Score. I would love to hear feedback and input into the process. Perhaps someone else out there has some ideas I could try to implement! And if anyone knows a better way to post spreadsheet information that would be great! So I will leave you with a list of foods I have already added to the spreadsheet and their respective scores. Keep in mind that the current Formula Score is for those people looking to add high protein foods to their diet while also adding healthy calories. Thanks to everyone for reading and for contributing! 185 Tofu, silken extra firm lite, fresh134 Spinach, cooked134 Spinach, raw127.7 Tofu, silken extra firm, fresh112.5 Mushrooms, white, raw110.6 Tofu, extra firm, fresh98.4 Beans, soy, boiled91.3 Morningstar, grillers90.2 Cauliflower, boiled87.6 Edamame, boiled84.7 Broccoli, raw83.2 Cauliflower, raw83.2 Cocoa, powder82.2 Tempeh, cooked73.2 Clif, Builder Bar72.5 Lentils, boiled72.4 Beans, white, boiled71.4 Beans, kidney, boiled71.1 Kale, boiled68.4 Peas, split, boiled68.4 Beans, black, boiled63.1 Seeds, pumpkin, dry roasted61.6 Lettuce, red leaf, raw59.7 Kale, raw59.6 Broccoli, boiled58.3 Cucumber, with peel, raw58.2 Lettuce, romaine, raw56.2 Clif, Luna Bar56 Peas, green, boiled55.8 Lettuce, iceberg, raw55.3 Beans, chickpeas, boiled55.1 Celery, raw52.1 Soymilk, Silk DHA, fresh49.1 Pepper, green, raw48.4 Tomatoes, raw43.2 Garlic, powder39.1 Buckwheat, flour38.7 Pepper, green, cooked37.4 Garlic, raw35.1 Peanuts, dry roasted33.4 Quinoa, cooked33.3 Pepper, black33.1 Nuts, cashews, raw32.6 Potato, with skin, baked32.2 Bread, wheat, fresh32.1 Flax, seeds, raw31.1 Carrots, boiled30.2 Lemons, raw29.3 Spaghetti, wheat, boiled29.2 Bread, wheat, pita28.7 Melon, watermelon, raw28.1 Nuts, almonds, rawish26.9 Strawberries, raw26.5 Corn, yellow, boiled26.1 Nuts, cashews, dry roasted23.8 Carrots, raw23.3 Melon, honeydew, raw23.2 Cereal, Grape Nuts23.1 Seeds, sesame, tahini22.8 Melon, cantaloupe, raw20 Nuts, almond, butter19.2 Onions, boiled18 Nuts, walnuts, raw16.9 Kiwi, raw16.3 Rice, brown, cooked16.3 Onions, raw16.2 Orange, raw14.9 Juice, orange, commercial13.3 Avocado, raw12.7 Blueberries, raw12.5 Grapes, red or green, raw11.8 Mango, raw10.1 Coconut, milk, canned9.5 Banana, raw8.1 Raisins, fresh0.6 Apples, raw0 Sugar, maple0 Oil, olive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Ok I have edited it already! I added a fiber category, and now the Formula Score takes into account Fiber / Calories / 100, AKA 100 * Fiber / Calories. So the new formulas are: Fiber Score = 100 * Total Fiber / Total CaloriesandFormula Score = 10 * Average Useful Protein + Nutrient Score / Total Calories + Fiber Score And the new rankings are below. 185 Tofu, silken extra firm lite, fresh144.5 Spinach, cooked143.5 Spinach, raw127.9 Tofu, silken extra firm, fresh117 Mushrooms, white, raw112 Tofu, extra firm, fresh101.8 Beans, soy, boiled100.2 Cauliflower, boiled97.8 Cocoa, powder95.2 Morningstar, grillers93.2 Cauliflower, raw92.4 Broccoli, raw91.8 Edamame, boiled83.8 Tempeh, cooked79.3 Lentils, boiled78.3 Kale, boiled77.3 Beans, kidney, boiled76.9 Beans, white, boiled75.4 Peas, split, boiled75 Beans, black, boiled74.7 Clif, Builder Bar69.1 Broccoli, boiled67.2 Lettuce, red leaf, raw65.2 Lettuce, romaine, raw65.1 Celery, raw64.4 Lettuce, iceberg, raw63.8 Seeds, pumpkin, dry roasted63.7 Kale, raw62.5 Peas, green, boiled61.6 Cucumber, with peel, raw60 Beans, chickpeas, boiled57.9 Clif, Luna Bar57.6 Pepper, green, raw55.1 Tomatoes, raw53 Soymilk, Silk DHA, fresh52.3 Tomatoes, cooked46.1 Garlic, powder43.7 Pepper, black43 Pepper, green, cooked42.1 Buckwheat, flour39.9 Lemons, raw39.7 Carrots, boiled38.8 Garlic, raw37.2 Flax, seeds, raw36.4 Peanuts, dry roasted35.7 Quinoa, cooked35 Bread, wheat, fresh34.9 Potato, with skin, baked33.7 Nuts, cashews, raw33.1 Strawberries, raw32.9 Spaghetti, wheat, boiled31.9 Bread, wheat, pita30.6 Carrots, raw30.2 Nuts, almonds, rawish30.1 Melon, watermelon, raw29.1 Corn, yellow, boiled26.6 Nuts, cashews, dry roasted25.6 Cereal, Grape Nuts25.6 Melon, honeydew, raw25.5 Melon, cantaloupe, raw24.6 Seeds, sesame, tahini22.4 Onions, boiled21.8 Kiwi, raw21.3 Orange, raw20.6 Nuts, almond, butter20.6 Onions, raw19.1 Nuts, walnuts, raw17.9 Rice, brown, cooked17.5 Avocado, raw16.9 Blueberries, raw15.3 Juice, orange, commercial14.5 Mango, raw13.8 Grapes, red or green, raw12.4 Banana, raw10.6 Coconut, milk, canned9.3 Raisins, fresh5.2 Apples, raw0 Oil, olive0 Sugar, maple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegimator Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Does it take into account added sugar as a negative factor? I find it hard to believe that a clif builder bar is healthier to eat than broccoli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 It currently does not. The difficulty comes in determining which sugars are healthy. For example, a Clif Luna Bar has 9 grams or so of sugar, but some of that sugar can come from fruit in the food, while other sugar is added, and I have no way of telling how much of each sugar is in the food. I was thinking of adding a section simply for sugar like a Sugar Score = 100 * Sugar / Calorie, which would subtract from the Formula Score. So this would reduce the score of foods with more sugar in them, but it would be unable to determine where the sugar is coming from, which is why I was hesitant to add it. Also a Builder Bar is not as healthy as broccoli, but it does have a good balance of added vitamins and is definitely better for building muscle (20g/serving compared to just a few) so you are seeing the results of the 'protein emphasis' of the Formula Score. Anyway, I will try implementing the Sugar Score and seeing how it comes out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 EDIT: I am in the process of adding the ORAC score to the equation. For those that don't know, ORAC is a measurement of the antioxidant capacity of different foods. It has it's flaws, but it currently is the only method for determining antioxidant capacity that has useful data from the USDA. A new tweak with the update will be along shortly... Ok I added in the sugar score, which does NOT distinguish between where the sugar comes from, only that it is sugar (mono or disaccharide). I'm not sure that I like it better than before... 184.2 Tofu, silken extra firm lite, fresh143.1 Spinach, cooked142.2 Spinach, raw126.4 Tofu, silken extra firm, fresh111.5 Tofu, extra firm, fresh106.7 Mushrooms, white, raw100.4 Beans, soy, boiled97.3 Cocoa, powder94.8 Morningstar, grillers91.1 Cauliflower, boiled90.0 Edamame, boiled86.3 Broccoli, raw83.6 Cauliflower, raw83.5 Tempeh, cooked78.0 Lentils, boiled76.9 Beans, kidney, boiled76.6 Beans, white, boiled74.4 Beans, black, boiled73.8 Kale, boiled70.2 Peas, split, boiled67.3 Clif, Builder Bar65.2 Broccoli, boiled63.8 Seeds, pumpkin, dry roasted61.3 Kale, raw60.0 Lettuce, red leaf, raw58.9 Peas, green, boiled56.9 Beans, chickpeas, boiled54.6 Lettuce, romaine, raw51.5 Lettuce, iceberg, raw51.3 Celery, raw51.3 Cucumber, with peel, raw50.1 Clif, Luna Bar46.5 Soymilk, Silk DHA, fresh45.7 Garlic, powder42.8 Pepper, black42.1 Pepper, green, raw41.0 Buckwheat, flour38.9 Tomatoes, raw38.6 Tomatoes, cooked38.1 Garlic, raw37.3 Flax, seeds, raw35.6 Peanuts, dry roasted33.9 Potato, with skin, baked33.5 Quinoa, cooked32.8 Bread, wheat, fresh32.2 Spaghetti, wheat, boiled32.1 Nuts, cashews, raw31.4 Bread, wheat, pita29.6 Nuts, almonds, rawish29.3 Carrots, boiled29.1 Lemons, raw29.1 Pepper, green, cooked25.8 Nuts, cashews, dry roasted25.6 Corn, yellow, boiled24.9 Seeds, sesame, tahini22.3 Cereal, Grape Nuts19.7 Nuts, almond, butter19.4 Carrots, raw18.1 Nuts, walnuts, raw16.6 Avocado, raw16.5 Rice, brown, cooked15.9 Strawberries, raw12.3 Onions, boiled10.4 Onions, raw9.5 Coconut, milk, canned7.7 Melon, watermelon, raw7.5 Kiwi, raw2.2 Melon, honeydew, raw1.6 Orange, raw0.9 Melon, cantaloupe, raw0.0 Oil, olive-0.8 Blueberries, raw-1.2 Banana, raw-1.6 Juice, orange, commercial-9.0 Mango, raw-9.3 Grapes, red or green, raw-10.9 Raisins, fresh-14.8 Apples, raw-23.9 Sugar, maple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen_Horse Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Ok I added in the ORAC score but I don't have the ORAC for some foods so they are an estimate (based on the ORAC score of their 'relatives', etc.). Here is the new list: 185.5 Tofu, silken extra firm lite, fresh149.7 Spinach, cooked148.8 Spinach, raw127.3 Tofu, silken extra firm, fresh121.7 Tofu, extra firm, fresh112.0 Mushrooms, white, raw109.9 Beans, soy, boiled101.0 Cocoa, powder95.0 Morningstar, grillers94.3 Cauliflower, boiled90.8 Edamame, boiled90.7 Broccoli, raw87.1 Cauliflower, raw84.2 Tempeh, cooked83.7 Lentils, boiled83.7 Beans, kidney, boiled79.2 Beans, white, boiled78.1 Beans, black, boiled76.1 Kale, boiled75.1 Peas, split, boiled71.3 Clif, Builder Bar70.7 Broccoli, boiled67.4 Seeds, pumpkin, dry roasted64.3 Kale, raw63.9 Lettuce, red leaf, raw60.6 Peas, green, boiled59.6 Beans, chickpeas, boiled57.4 Lettuce, romaine, raw56.2 Lettuce, iceberg, raw54.8 Celery, raw54.6 Cucumber, with peel, raw52.8 Clif, Luna Bar50.2 Soymilk, Silk DHA, fresh49.8 Garlic, powder47.7 Pepper, black46.7 Pepper, green, raw42.0 Buckwheat, flour41.4 Tomatoes, raw41.0 Tomatoes, cooked40.9 Garlic, raw37.4 Flax, seeds, raw36.1 Peanuts, dry roasted35.7 Potato, with skin, baked33.8 Quinoa, cooked33.8 Bread, wheat, fresh33.4 Spaghetti, wheat, boiled33.4 Nuts, cashews, raw32.4 Bread, wheat, pita32.0 Nuts, almonds, rawish31.3 Carrots, boiled30.4 Lemons, raw30.2 Pepper, green, cooked29.4 Nuts, cashews, dry roasted26.5 Corn, yellow, boiled26.1 Seeds, sesame, tahini26.1 Cereal, Grape Nuts24.9 Nuts, almond, butter21.1 Carrots, raw20.4 Nuts, walnuts, raw20.2 Avocado, raw17.8 Rice, brown, cooked16.7 Strawberries, raw14.4 Onions, boiled12.7 Onions, raw9.6 Coconut, milk, canned8.9 Melon, watermelon, raw8.2 Kiwi, raw7.4 Melon, honeydew, raw6.1 Orange, raw2.9 Melon, cantaloupe, raw1.9 Oil, olive0.0 Blueberries, raw0.0 Banana, raw-0.3 Juice, orange, commercial-6.7 Mango, raw-7.0 Grapes, red or green, raw-8.9 Raisins, fresh-9.7 Apples, raw-23.8 Sugar, maple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Tofu and spinach for the win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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