Food Compass: A Food Profiling System that Identifies the Healthiest and Not-So-Healthy Food

Choosing which food is "good" for you is not as simple as it appears. It is determined by a variety of elements, including body type, metabolism, and so on. All of these variables frequently leave us perplexed about what to include in a healthy, balanced diet.

To make things easier for everyone we created a new tool that ranks over 8,000 meals and beverages in terms of how nutritious they are. Food Compass is a new nutritional profile method that "incorporates cutting-edge science on how different aspects of meals positively or adversely impact health”. This technology took three years to develop.

"Once you get beyond 'eat your veggies, avoid soda,' the general public is baffled as to how to pick healthier options at the grocery store, cafeteria, and restaurant. Consumers, policymakers, and even business are searching for easy-to-use tools to help everyone make better decisions."

A detailed database of 8032 foods has been tested for this study, and the foods were scored in 54 different characteristics across nine domains representing different health-relevant aspects of foods, drinks, and mixed meals, providing one of the most comprehensive nutrient profiling systems in the world.

Each food item in the food compass earned a score ranging from 1 to 100, with 1 being the least nutritious and 100 being the most healthy.

• Foods with a score of 70 or above are the healthiest for daily intake

• Foods with a score of 31-69 should be consumed in moderation

• Anything scoring 30 or lower should be consumed minimally

According to these rakings, the healthiest foods to consume include raw raspberries, salted almonds, vegetable curry etc. Grilled chicken breast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and other foods, on the other hand, can be consumed in moderation. However, instant noodles, cheeseburgers, and other unhealthy foods are among the unhealthiest foods.