Shoppers at Whole Foods Market may have come across the Aggregate Nutritional Density Index, or ANDI for short, as part of the store's larger Health Starts Here initiative. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D., founder of Eat Right America, developed this system of identifying foods by their nutrient density -- their quantity of micronutrients in proportion to their caloric content.
How ANDI Is Calculated
The ANDI of any given food is determined by taking its aggregated content of micronutrients -- such as vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals -- and dividing it by the food's aggregated content of the macronutrients protein, carbohydrate and fat. Because different nutrients are measured in different units of measurement, their aggregated content is determined by their recommended daily intake (RDI) or, when unavailable, their estimated daily value (DV) as a percentage of one's total daily diet.
The resulting values are then factored by a common multiplier to produce a value on an index ranging from 0 to 1,000; the higher the number, the more nutrient dense the food, and the lower the number, the less nutrient dense. A person can then add up the ANDI values of all the foods in any given meal to determine its overall nutritional density.
ANDI Values of Foods
According to the ANDI scale, collard greens, turnip greens, watercress, mustard greens and boiled kale are among the most nutritionally dense foods available, with a score of 1,000 each. On the opposite end of the spectrum are oil and vinegar, with an ANDI of 3 apiece. Fried foods, refined foods, and sugary foods and beverages have the lowest ANDI scores of all. Most of the foods with ANDI scores above 300 are vegetables, while most grains, meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes and condiments have ANDI scores below 100.
Considerations
Basing your diet on ANDI scores alone would not provide sufficient nutrition for optimal health and functioning. Many of the macronutrients, for example, are low in ANDI values despite being essential for health and life. Additionally, most foods with a high ANDI value are full not only of nutrients but of dietary fiber as well. Too many foods from this end of the ANDI spectrum can cause a person to fill up without consuming sufficient calories.
Nutritarian Food Pyramid
Dr. Fuhrman calls individuals who base their dietary choices on nutrient density "nutritarians." Rather than using the standard USDA's MyPlate system of apportioning foods, Fuhrman developed his own Nutritarian Food Pyramid based on ANDI scores and caloric content. On Fuhrman's pyramid, vegetables form the foundation and largest portion of the recommended daily diet, followed by beans and legumes, followed by fruits, followed by seeds and nuts, followed by whole grains, followed by meats and dairy. Fuhrman recommends that 90 percent of an individual's daily diet be made up of plant-based foods with high ANDI scores.
