NuVal™ Scores Foods’ Nutritional Value

If you had a tool that could ease some of the confusion surrounding food labels and decision-making in the grocery store for yourself and for clients, would you use it? Such a tool exists.

Although it was developed nearly 5 years ago, the NuVal 1–100 nutrition scoring system is just beginning to hit its stride. You may have seen the blue-and-white double-hexagon logo on your supermarket shelves and wondered what it was and what the numbers meant. For instance, broccoli, blueberries and spinach each score 100 (the best score), while eggs, ground beef (90% lean sirloin) and cashews score below 35 (1 is the lowest score). How is this determined, and who is calling the shots?

The scores are powered by a sophisticated scientific algorithm that takes into account more than 30 nutrient and nutrition factors, in addition to their effects on health outcomes. The system was developed by a team of nutrition and medical experts led by David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center. Even better, it was developed independently, without funding from food manufacturers or special interest groups.

Conveniently located on shelf tags next to the price, NuVal scores give you the power to instantly compare the overall nutritional value of foods in the same way you compare costs. “Even if you don’t buy the product with the highest score, you have the nutrition information you need to make your decision quickly and easily,” says the NuVal website.

Learn more about NuVal at www.nuval.com. If your local grocery store does not yet have the system in place, you can use a form provided on the website to suggest it: www.nuval.com/Location/suggestions.