12/27/07 Nutrient-rich food index

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA's My Pyramid good guidance system urge us to choose foods that a nutrient dense. University of Washington researcher Doctor Adam Drewnowski is currently developing a nutrient-rich food index to help identify the nutritional quality of foods. DREWNOWSKI "Nutrition profiling has been defined as the science of classifying or ranking foods based on their nutrient composition. First of all you look at the nutrient composition of a given food and then you rank this food with respect to other foods." Working with the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition which is funded in part by the beef checkoff Drewnowski is trying to help people build healthier diets. DREWNOWSKI "Not all fruits and vegetables are the same and so the system allows the consumer to tell what those critical foods are. Let's call them super foods." And according to Drewnowski beef does fit into this equation. DREWNOWSKI "It fits in very nicely. Its nutrient rich. It's got protein. It does have saturated fat but it's balanced with the other nutrients so it actually fits in very well." If you want more reliable information to help you eat and show the nutrient rich way check the website www.nutrientrichfoods.org Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott