NuVal System Oversimplifies Too Much

There is a new nutritional scoring system coming to the shelves of a supermarket near you. Called the NuVal Scoring System, it claims to factor in "all aspects of nutritional quality." (For more information, check out www.nuval.com.)

But We Don't Know All the Aspects

Excuse me? Since when do we know everything there is to know about nutrition? Humans are still learning about food. I suspect there will be many new vitamins, enzymes, bioflavonoids, phytonutrients, etc. that will be discovered in the years ahead.

A few years ago, I listened to a CD from a whole foods vitamin company (Standard Process) where the speaker mentioned there was a "vitamin B4". Ever hear of it? I certainly had not! Why? It turns out that scientists are not able to isolate it but they have determined that it exists.

Edited April 11th: Check here for some info on vitamin B4

They cannot yet measure it, and nobody knows much about it. Maybe someday researchers will discover how to isolate vitamin B4, how to measure it, and determine what it does. Maybe it is important to health. Maybe not. But to think that we know "all aspects of nutritional quality" is absurd, arrogant, or at least ignorant.

NuVal Does Have Some Value

Now to be fair perhaps the system will be helpful to alert people to the idea that there is variation in quality of one processed food over another in the same category. For example, if you are buying crackers, and you know that crackers are not a food that you should be eating a lot of, you might consider choosing a product with more known nutrients than some other cracker product. But hopefully you will not just go for the high scoring crackers, while cheating yourself out of other food such as whole grains, fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts, and quality proteins that may have lower scores.

NuVal is Missing a Banquet of Factors

There is a banquet of factors that this system does not address: promoting a good balance of proteins, fats, and carbs; organically vs. conventionally grown; raw vs. cooked; seasonal foods; portion control; food energy (grounding, upward, warming, cooling, etc.), and just plain special qualities that particular foods possess.

Not all Strawberries are Created Equal

For example, not all strawberries are created equal. Seasonal availability, distance it has traveled to your plate, whether it was lovingly grown in rich soil or mass-produced with pesticides and herbicides in depleted soil makes a critical difference what its nutritional value is going to be. (Also, it could be that one variety is more nutritious than another.)

Sure, I can buy strawberries here in upstate New York in February. However, they cannot compare to the strawberries that are grown at a local farm, without chemicals, and picked hours before eating in June when the strawberry season is at its peak. The local ones will likely be significantly more nutritious. They will taste better. I will enjoy eating the local ones much more than the February versions. It makes no sense that the NuVal system gives strawberries a score of 100, regardless of whether or not they are in season, locally grown or have been picked several weeks ago, 2000 miles away.

Individuals have Different Food Needs

Further, individuals have different body types that are best served with different types of food qualities. Some food is alkaline, some acid: you must obtain a balance that is right for you. Are you an alkaline producer or an acid producer? This will influence what are the best foods for you.

Some food has grounding energy, and some has more upward energy: some days you need more of one type and less of the other. Some food has cooling properties, and yet other food has warming tendencies: what is right for your body on a given day? No general scoring system is going to help you with these decisions. You must listen to your own body and choose the foods that will maintain the balance you need.

Your Body Needs Variety

Another thing that the NuVal system ignores is the importance of variety. One score per food item does nothing to encourage eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. I think it would be a mistake only to pick fruits and vegetables based solely on high scores. Vegetables like garlic or radishes may not have high scores (they are not currently listed) yet garlic is flavorful, supports detoxification, and has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral properties. It is one of my favorite remedies for staving off a winter cold. Raw garlic has helped me numerous times avoid a seasonal cold if I eat it at the first indication that I'm coming down with something. Similarly, radishes may not seem to be of much value, yet they are known to help bust up fat cells. Who knows, they may have other valuable properties that have not been discovered.

Food is abundant in qualities: NuVal oversimplifies too much.

To summarize, my overriding concern is that the NuVal system takes some known nutritional information, ignores plenty other considerations that influence how "healthy" a food is, and tries to come up with a measurement that is only partially useful. The result is just too one-dimensional. I believe foods are gifts from God that have multiple properties to support our health. I really do not see the sense of trying to squeeze all that abundance of nutritional support into a single number between 1 to 100 without considering so much more that truly matters.

Learn about food. You will be blown away how amazing it is!

Copyright ©2009 Ruth S. Sheets. All rights reserved.

Six Healthy Ways to Cut Grocery Bills

There has been a deluge of articles online, in magazines, and on TV about cutting your food bills. Many suggestions seem reasonable: buy in bulk, freeze it yourself, shop less often, never shop when you are hungry, use coupons, and cut out processed food.

Often overlooked is the fact that the body needs nutrient rich food. Food that is cheaper may not be your best value because your body will crave more nutrients, that is, your body will still be hungry no matter how much you eat. You may end up eating more because you will not be satisfied. Nutrient rich food may be more expensive, but if you can find ways to need less quantity you will have your nutrients and your savings, too.

I am particularly concerned about the idea to shop only every two weeks that some are suggesting. This would cause you to do without fresh produce too much of the time. The most nutrient rich food is on the farm. Travel time and shelf time decrease the nutrient value, and only having fresh fruit and vegetables for a few days a month will not be often enough to support your nutrient requirements for good health.

Here are 6 tips to deal with getting nutrient rich foods on your table without breaking the bank.

1. Buy nutrient-rich foods like brown rice, quinoa, oats, etc. in bulk from the grocery store or health food store. Fix enough for several meals and reheat as needed.

2. Consider eating more beans or lentils. They are good sources of protein and are really inexpensive. You can buy these in bulk, too.

3. Reduce your dairy and cheese consumption. You were weaned for a reason: you can get your calcium and magnesium from dark leafy greens. If you can tolerate dairy, just use smaller amounts for flavor. Need more reasons why to cut dairy? Check out Health Concerns about Dairy Products



4. Where possible start growing some of your own food. Years ago people with yards had gardens. Why did we stop this? Too busy, too much trouble? My excuse is the deer, but I still can do some container gardening on my deck. (See photo of some of my containers where I grew kale, kohlrabi, basil, parsley, leaf lettuce, and a some flowers in 2008. It was a joy to watch everything grow and to eat the produce!)

5. Buy produce from local sources such as farmers' markets. This is great for the local economy, and the fruit or vegetables will usually taste wonderful having avoided the 1400 mile ride to your plate that most food endures.

6. Drink more water and less coffee, beer, wine, dairy, soda, etc. Water is really the best way to quench your thirst, anyway. Water is a critical nutrient that is needed for every cellular function. According to Deepak Chopra, who I heard speak at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, water is needed for 6 trillion reactions taking place every second in every cell. Most people do not get enough.

We all need to cut back on our spending to get through this economic stress, but remember that illness is much more expensive than staying healthy. Cutting out healthy foods is not the best way to save money. You can cut your grocery bills, but do it intelligently!

Copyright ©2009 Ruth S. Sheets. All rights reserved.

What to Buy Organic

I stopped in at Nature's Pantry, a health food store, about 12 miles from my home. Normally I buy my fruits and vegetables closer to home, but when I happen to be in the vicinity I make a point of stopping by. They usually have a great selection of organic produce, and this day was no exception. I had to control myself not to overbuy. Everything looked so good!

This reminded me of a question that many people ask: if you can't afford to buy exclusively organic which foods are most important to buy organic?

You can consult the list at Environmental Working Group to determine which foods have the most and the least pesticides. Every year they revise the list of the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Cleanest 12". Notice that peppers and celery are high on the "Dirty Dozen" meaning they are high in pesticides.

These are the two vegetables that I make a point of buying organic because I eat them often. I also buy organic carrots. It saves time if you can just scrub them and don't have to peel them. (If I am serving people outside my family, I do peel them just because most people are squeamish about having unpeeled carrots because they don't know that organic ones are fine unpeeled.)

When it comes to apples I often buy locally grown ones, in favor of the organic. This may be a mistake, but the locally grown ones do taste great. If possible, I ask the farmer about their use of pesticides.

It makes sense to cut down on ingesting pesticides, which are a source of chemical stress on the body, and have been implicated in contributing to cancer. Take a look at the EWG list and determine which foods you should be sure to buy organic. Those high on the Dirty Dozen that you eat often are prime candidates.

Copyright ©2009 Ruth S. Sheets. All rights reserved.

The 12 Minute Test

Six weeks ago I took the 12 minute running/walking test on the treadmill and ran 1.06 miles which was in the "Good" category, but at the low end of the range. My goal was to run 1.10 miles during the 12 minutes. Yesterday I took this test at the gym, again on the treadmill, and I was able to go 1.12 miles which is in the middle of the "Good" range. Can I get to the top of the Good category in another six weeks? I figure it is worth a try.

Goals help motivate me, but the important thing is to keep exercising at a level that is beneficial to you.

Six Week Weigh In

I'm halfway through my 12 week transformation program at the gym. Last night I went to the six week weigh-in.

My weight is the same. My body fat is down 1.8%.

My bicep is ½ inch smaller (not the direction I wanted to go in). The waist is a whopping 5 inches smaller, but I think they did not measure that right the first time! My thigh is also ½ inch smaller, and my hips are the same.

During the last 6 weeks, I've found out that I like Pilates, especially the exercise program I do from a video. I also have been able to run faster on the treadmill, which I really did not expect. Overall, I feel better. I think that is the important thing.

Originally my goals were:
• Do not get injured.
• Improve my endurance.
• Get stronger.
• Tweak my diet.
• Have fun!

I may not have gotten as far as I had hoped, but I feel that I'm making progress. I'm glad I'm doing the program. And I'm planning to have 6 great weeks to finish up!