Enter NuVal: a user-friendly information system at the grocery store. NuVal was developed by top nutrition researchers, led by David Katz, MD, of Yale. It combines all the latest research about what makes a food healthy, and giving it a single numerical score from 1 (worst) to 100 (best). The formula is complex, taking into account factors such as fiber, vitamins and minerals, sodium, calories, sugar, trans fats, and more -- but the end result is one simple number.
The best part of NuVal? For grocery stores that choose to use it, it's right on the shelf, in black and white. I first heard of this new system at a nutrition seminar last fall, and was surprised when I noticed the NuVal numbers on the shelf tags at Meijer a few weeks ago. The numbers are small, so you have to squint a bit to read them, but they are there. This is a very convenient way to compare foods in the same category, so you can quickly make better nutritional choices.
White pasta?
Or how about some whole grain pasta -- 30 points higher!
Yikes! Just because a food is "organic" does not mean it's a healthy choice.
Of course, you still have to get a balanced diet of different types of healthy foods (ideally based around a Mediterranean-type pattern) -- you can't eat all asparagus all the time just because it has a NuVal of 100. But if you can "trade up" to higher NuVal scores within the categories of foods you like, you'll notice the difference in your health.
