This is Part Two. (I'd like to go back to Part One.)
Here are the outcomes so far of measuring nutrient-density in foods, results which should be considered preliminary and subject to change. Here are the examples I've calculated so far:
1. The highest category was greens. For instance, romaine lettuce came out with a nutrient-density of 1108, and broccoli came out with an ND of 975.
2. Second, quite a bit further down, were fruits. For instance, a mango had an ND of 191 and a banana had an ND of 172.
3. Third, slightly further down, were unrefined starches. For instance, a potato has a nutrient-density of 135.
4. Fourth, a bit further down, were grains. For instance, cooked millet had an ND of 80, while brown rice had an ND of 64.
5. Fifth, quite a bit further down, were fish. For instance, trout had a nutrient-density of 35 and haddock had an ND of 22.
6. Sixth, a little further down, were dairy products. For instance, milk with 1% fat had an ND of 24 and an egg had an ND of 20.
7. Seventh, further down yet, was poultry. For instance, a chicken leg had an ND of 19 and a piece of white turkey meat had an ND of 16.
8. Eighth, furthest down, was meat. For instance, a sirloin steak had a nutrient-density of 10 while a piece of ham had an ND of 8.
To summarize, the order of nutrient-dense foods came out as follows:
1. greens
2. fruits
3. roots
4. grains
5. fish
6. dairy
7. poultry
8. meat
Notice that the only foods that clear the 100 mark in nutrient-density are greens, fruits and roots. I've been a vegetarian (actually, a vegan) for a long time, but this study lends added weight to that dietary approach.
And though I've been a fairly big grain eater, especially freshly-cooked millet and brown rice, based on my explorations in nutrient-density I've decided to de-emphasize grains a bit and more more roots such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with of course plenty of the higher-ranked fruits and greens.
I now think of a basic nutrient-dense meal as containing some fresh, raw fruit, a green salad or steamed greens, and a root vegetable such as a potato or sweet potato. It sounds very simple, but has infinite variations, and so long as they aren't refined, all such variations will be very nutrient-dense.
I think of this basic nutrient-dense meal as fruit + green + root, and at any given meal include any two, possibly with some grain.
An example would be a mixed green salad with steamed sweet potato (with low-fat or non-fat dressing on both) plus a mango for dessert. (Don't worry, recent studies have shown that we don't have to concern ourselves about food combining, but that the body has means to digest different things in different ways simultaneously.)
Another example would be a fresh banana and blueberries for breakfast, with perhaps a little freshly-cooked millet and a little soymilk added.
Another example of a simple nutrient-dense meal would be steamed broccoli or leafy greens with some winter squash (and a low-fat dressing), and then fresh strawberries in a little soymilk for dessert.
I have to say, it feels like quite a wonderful diet. It also happens to be pretty close to what the healthiest peoples on earth eat. For instance, three primary staples of the Hunza diet are fresh fruit, greens, potatoes and millet. The Vilcabambans emphasize a variety of fresh fruits and a few greens along with potatoes and corn.
It's also worth noting that when we were evolving in the trees for tens of millions of years, that our diet was fruit and green leaves and nuts—that is, what we could obtain while staying in the trees.
Studies with an electron microscope on the striations of teeth have proven that that was our diet, for 50 or 60 million years or so, until only a million and a half years ago.
That is, fruits and greens are the basic diet our bodies evolved to meet during those long eons of time. (And such a diet was certainly nutrient-dense.) The addition of roots, or possibly whole grains, simply adds further nutrient-dense calories to such a diet.
Because such foods are also low in caloric-density, it is possible to eat and be full and yet not become overweight on them. Such foods make it easy to eat a calorie-reduced but nutrient-dense diet.
This becomes particularly important for anyone who is seeking ideal health or desiring the best chance to recover lost health.
—jim sloman, for 3/18/02
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