came back with a PowerPoint that completely changed my concept of nutrition.
When I saw it, I said “Joel, you just created the most powerful nutritional tool ever created, ever!”
because for the first time, people without a Ph.D. in nutrition or an RD certification could finally
understand the world’s best foods to eat—at a glance. This graphic illustration eventually became
what’s called the Nutrient Density Line.
As you can see, plant foods are at the top. The most nutrient-rich foods are leafy greens, green
vegetables, colored non-starchy vegetables, bean/legumes, fresh fruits, starchy vegetables, whole
grains, raw nuts and seeds, and fish, followed by nutrient-poor foods including fat free dairy, wild
meats and fowl, eggs, red meat, full fat dairy, and cheese, which is then followed by nutrient-barren
refined grains, refined oils, and refined sweets.
The higher on the nutrient density chart you eat, the lower the calories and the higher the nutrients.
The lower you go, the more that ratio flips. Calories go up, and nutrients go down. This is true even
of First-Class Nutrient Rich® foods. For example, the nutrient density of whole grains is not nearly
as high as it is for beans or leafy greens.
Of all the possible combinations you could come up with, the most nutrient rich diet is based in the
largest volumes of First-Class leafy greens, green vegetables, colored vegetables, beans, fresh fruits,
with progressively smaller amounts of every other food. And, of course, less than 10% of your diet
comprised of Second-Class animal foods and Third-Class refined foods.
It’s that simple!
Calories
Generally speaking, the fewer nutrients in a food, the more
calories it has. There are a number of exceptions, such as nuts,
which have more calories per ounce than butter and olive oil,
even though they are nutrient-rich foods. This makes the point
that not all nutrient dense foods are low in calories. They are,
however, appropriate in calories, given the source and their
purpose.The number of calories a food contains (calorie density) is a
secondary consideration to its nutrient density. The more
nutrients you are taking in, the fewer calories you require,
particularly if you’ve been eating nutrient rich for long periods of
time and you are not eating for the wrong reasons.To optimize your food intake, you always want to focus on making sure that what you eat is a
nutrient-rich food and only contains the calories you feel you need. For example, even though
greens are the most nutrient rich, they are only 100 calories per pound. Therefore, you will want to