{"id":188191,"date":"2022-01-06T11:27:22","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T11:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=188191"},"modified":"2022-01-06T11:28:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T11:28:44","slug":"new-study-ranks-foods-best-to-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/01\/06\/new-study-ranks-foods-best-to-worst\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Ranks Foods Best to Worst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wouldn\u2019t it be cool if you could just look up a list of foods that would tell you how healthy something is? Researchers from Tufts University did just that in their new paper! They developed a new tool called Food Compass to help consumers, restaurants, and cafeterias choose healthier foods.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“Once you get beyond ‘eat your veggies, avoid soda,’ the public is pretty confused about how to identify healthier choices in the grocery store, cafeteria, and restaurant. Consumers, policymakers, and even industry are looking for simple tools to guide everyone toward healthier choices,” the study’s lead author, Dariush Mozaffarianm, described the current situation.<\/p>\n

\"Healthy<\/a>
It\u2019s true that processed and fast food is often cheaper than wholesome fresh produce. But that doesn\u2019t mean a healthy diet has to be expensive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Food Compass<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The researchers applied the latest nutrition science<\/a> to examine both the healthful and harmful aspects of 8,032 foods and drinks and rank them from 1 (unhealthiest) to 100 (healthiest). During a 3-year process, they created a nutrient-profiling system called Food Compass. It scores 54 different characteristics of foods based on nutritional attributes linked to major chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and cancer, as well as to the risk of undernutrition for mothers, children, and the elderly.<\/p>\n

Eat more foods rated 70 and above<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The researchers encourage everyone to consume any foods or beverages rated 70 or more. They also said that foods between 31-69 should be consumed in moderation and anything with a score of 30 or lower should be reduced or eliminated. Interestingly, across major food categories, the average Food Compass score was only 43,2. This tells you that if you want your diet to be above average, you really have to make conscious choices about food. Here are a few examples from the study.<\/p>\n