WELL INFORMED / NEWS & VIEWS
SOME MAJOR SUPERMARKETS,
including Kroger and Whole
Foods Market, are testing systems that will let them rate
nearly all the products they
sell by their nutritional value.
One system, called NuVal, was
developed by Yale University
nutrition scientist David Katz.
The other, ANDI (Aggregate
Nutrient Density Index),
was developed by Eat Right
America chief medical officer,
Joel Fuhrman, MD.
Healthy
Eating
by the
Numbers
Signage at
Whole Foods
explains
the new
Aggregate
Nutrient
Density Index
(ANDI) rating
system.
Both systems rate products — NuVal from 1 to 100
and ANDI from 1 to 1,000 — based on the presence
of more than 20 nutrients (protein, vitamins, minerals) and other nutrition factors (sodium, sugar). As a
result, most unprocessed foods get very good ratings
(although higher-calorie and higher-fat whole foods,
like nuts, tend to lose points unfairly). Foods high in
added sugars and processed flours rightly get very low
marks. For example, in both systems, Pepsi and Coke
get a score of 1. In the NuVal system, Nabisco Ritz Bits
Cracker Sandwiches ( 7) and Wonder Cinnamon Raisin
Bread ( 8) can’t even make it to the double digits.
Experts hope these systems will help motivate
consumers to make healthier choices and avoid the
confusion caused by misleading marketing claims.
Can I
Have That
Really
Well Done?
NEW YORK TIMES FOOD REPORTER Michael
Moss won a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year
for his investigative reporting on food
safety, which included a story about a young
Minnesota woman who became paralyzed
after eating a hamburger tainted with E. coli.
He recently opened up his column to read-
ers’ questions. Here’s a sampling:
Q. Based upon your research, would
you order a hamburger in a restaurant?
A. My wife is starting to complain that
it’s getting harder to go out to eat with
me. I now tend to ask the wait staff
about the source of their meat, including
whether their ground beef is made from
trimmings or whole cuts of meat, and for
hamburger, if the restaurant is cooking
through to the USDA safety recommen-
dation of 160 degrees.
Q. Are any meats less safe, to the
point where you avoid ordering them?
A. Meat industry experts I trust tell me to
stick with steak and other whole cuts of
beef when I want to eat something that is
cooked less than well done.
Q. How safe is organic meat?
A. In terms of pathogens, I’m still looking
for studies that compare organic with non-
organic. Small producers argue that their
meat is safer, organic or not, because they
slaughter more slowly, and thus are more
likely to keep the cattle feces that harbor
E. coli from touching the meat.
Q. Did your investigations lead to any
significant changes in food safety?
A. Several pieces of legislation were
introduced in Congress that would
require hamburger-grinding companies
to test for deadly E. coli. And on the
industry’s own initiative, Costco reached
a new agreement with a major meat
supplier that would allow Costco to test
that company’s shipments of trimmings
for E. coli before they were ground into
hamburger . . . [a test] that few other
companies perform.
After just 25
minutes [of exer-cise], your mood
improves, you are
less stressed, you
have more energy —
and you’ll be motivated to exercise
again tomorrow.”
JASPER SMITS, PHD, director
of the Anxiety Research and
Treatment Program at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas.
Sick
With
Worry
OF PEOPLE WHO REPORTED
stressing over being in debt:
27% reported ulcers or
digestive-tract problems (
compared with 8% of those with low
levels of debt stress).
44% had migraines or other
headaches (compared with 15%).
29% suffered severe anxiety
(compared with 4%).
23% reported severe depression (compared with 4%).
6% had heart attacks (twice as
many as the lower-stress group).
Learn how to reduce your debt
stress by reading “Out From
Under” in the March 2009
archives at experiencelife
mag.com.
SOURCE: Associated Press/AOL poll
for Personal Finance Employee
Education Foundation ( pfeef.org). ➺
