Can New Nutrition Ratings for Food Make Us Healthier?

I don't think we need a "nutrition-based GPS system" to tell us spinach is better than taffy
by Julie Upton, RD

A new food-ranking system called the Overall Nutrition Quality Index (ONQI) is about to make your grocery shopping a healthier or more confusing experience, depending on whom you ask. The ONQI is already in many stores and will debut nationwide this spring. Later this year, the ratings of about 50,000 foods and food products will be available online.

But I'm not convinced it will help any of us make better food choices.
The ONQI is based on evaluating some 30 different nutrients and dividing the good (vitamins, minerals, protein, phytonutrients, etc.) by the bad (saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, added sugars, glycemic load, etc.). The end result is a formula that scores a product based on its nutrition facts and some other nuances that help shape a healthy diet. Continue reading »