The healthiest foods and those that should not be eaten at all have been named

Scientists from Tufts University in the United States have developed the Food Compass system, where they evaluated about 8,000 foods, drinks, and dishes on a 100-point scale depending on their health benefits. Raspberries and almonds topped the ranking, proving to be the healthiest foods, while chocolate pudding and noodles were found to have the worst effect on the body.

The new "food compass" was reported by the Daily Mail. In the course of the research, scientists distributed the products according to their advantages and disadvantages in a special chart, where each is rated on a special scale.

It turned out that due to the content of a large number of nutrients, raw fruits and berries such as raspberries collected the most points, while instant noodles received only 1 point. Interestingly, some seemingly different foods can have the same nutritional value for the body.

According to experts, white rice with soy sauce is on par with ice cream. This is because white rice is a fast-acting carbohydrate that resembles sugar in ice cream. Compared to brown rice, it has significantly less nutrients and fiber, so this product is much lower in the ranking.

Another surprise was that pasta was only one point ahead of cheeseburger. This is explained by the fact that they contain fewer minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients than the whole grain version.

The researchers explained that the chart should encourage companies to produce healthier products, and health authorities will be provided with a labeling system. Ordinary consumers will be able to use the chart to build a healthier and more nutritious diet.

The results of the research showed that the top five foods are : raw raspberries, salted almonds, vegetable curry, tuna salad, and light mayonnaise. The products received such high marks due to their high content of vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein compared to such negative factors as the presence of unhealthy fats.

Pudding, instant soups, cheeseburgers, corn flakes, and meat pizza had the worst scores. According to scientists, the consumption of these products has too negative an impact on health compared to their nutritional value. Moreover, if they are abused, it can lead to obesity and heart disease.

What foods to watch out for

Researchers recommend consuming foods that score 70 or more points, but people aged 31 to 69 should still consume them in moderation. In addition, it is better to avoid anything that scored less than 30 points in the diet.

The inventors of Food Compass claim that it has several advantages over existing food rating systems. As they explained in the scientific journal Nature Food, the Food Compass takes into account not only healthy but also harmful factors of food, while others focus mainly on the negative impact.

As experts emphasize, many systems discourage people from eating snacks such as sweet potato chips. They are considered too unhealthy, while according to Food Compass, they are on par with bulgur wheat, scoring 69 points.

Another advantage, according to the developers, is that it takes into account the total nutritional value of the cooked food, such as pizza. It is explained that other systems separately count wheat, meat, and cheese, but do not give an overall assessment of the finished product containing all three ingredients.

It is worth noting that the average Food Compass score among 8,032 products was 43.2. Snacks and cold desserts were the worst performers, with an average score of only 16.4. The top three winners were fruits with an average score of 73.9, followed by vegetables with 69.1, and legumes, nuts and seeds with a score of 78.6.

Among meat products, seafood was the healthiest, with an average score of 67, poultry was in second place with 42.7, and beef rounded out the top three with 24.9.

The creators of the Food Compass hope that their development will encourage manufacturers to develop healthier food products by favoring ingredients that have greater nutritional value.

It is not known whether the food industry or health authorities will heed their advice, but it is worth noting that the NHS (National Health Service of the United Kingdom) gives the following tips for a healthy diet:

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. It doesn't matter in what form, fresh, frozen, dried, or even canned are fine.
• It is important that the basis of your diet consists of potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, or other carbohydrates. Ideally, they should be whole grains.
• Consume at least 30 grams of fiber per day. To reach this amount, you just need to eat: 5 servings of fruit or vegetables, 2 whole grain cookies, two thick slices of whole grain bread, and a large baked potato with the skin on.
• Choose dairy products that are low in fat and sugar.
• Include some legumes, fish, eggs, meat, and other proteins in your diet. It is advisable to eat fish twice a week, but one of them should be fatty.
• Give preference to unsaturated oils and spreads, and use them in small quantities.
• Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.
• Limit the amount of salt and fat in your diet. Adults should consume less than 6 grams of salt per day, and 20 grams of saturated fat is the norm for women and 30 grams for men.