NuVal™
The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System helps you cut through confusing nutrition information so you can make decisions about food quickly and easily – and feel good about your choices.
Should you buy wheat or oatmeal bread? Are pretzels more nutritious than tortilla chips? These are the decisions that NuVal Scores can help you make – in seconds – as you’re walking down the supermarket aisle.
A Different Approach to Nutrition
We realize other nutrition ranking systems are being promoted in the marketplace, and we believe it is important for you to understand how the NuVal System differs.
Simple— The NuVal System provides comprehensive nutritional information in one simple number between 1 and 100. The higher the NuVal Score, the better the nutrition.
- Inclusive— NuVal Scores cover all kinds of food – from apples to chips and store brands to national brands – not just products from specific manufacturers.
- Convenient—NuVal Scores are right where you shop – on shelf tags throughout the store – so you can compare overall nutrition the way you compare price.
- Objective— The NuVal System was developed independently by a team of nutrition and medical experts and funded by Griffin Hospital. No retailers or manufacturers were involved.
- Value-focused– NuVal Scores help you get the most nutrition for your money by allowing you to compare price and nutrition– side-by-side on the same tag.
How is the NuVal™ score calculated?
The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System takes more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors into account when developing a Score, making it a very robust food rating system. The nutrient content for a food is processed through a complex algorithm developed through a rigorous process by a team of twelve experts. Boiled down to its simplest description, here is how the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System works:
- Nutrients with generally favorable effects on health are placed in the numerator, where higher values increase the NuVal™ Score.
- Nutrients with generally unfavorable effects on health are placed in the denominator, where higher values decrease the NuVal™ score.
In addition to the numerator and denominator nutrients, the algorithm takes into account other key factors that measure the quality and density of nutrients, as well as the strength of their association with specific health conditions.
For example, trans fat has a very strong association with heart disease, a highly prevalent and serious condition. Therefore, the algorithm assigns a "weighting coefficient" to trans fat which substantially lowers the Score of foods containing it. Those weighting coefficients are determined by the prevalence, severity, and strength of association with health conditions.
The quality of macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) is another key factor in the overall equation. Fat quality, protein quality, carbohydrate quality, and glycemic load (a measure of carbohydrate quality) are among the "universal adjustors" that can move a NuVal™ Score higher or lower. The higher the quality, the higher the Score.
Foods with higher nutrient density -- a significant amount of vitamins and mineral, but relatively few calories -- also receive extra credit and higher Scores. The greater a food's "trajectory" toward numerator nutrients (generally favorable) and away from denominator nutrients (generally unfavorable), the greater the Score.
How the NuVal™ System Works
Q: How does the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System work?
A: The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System summarizes the overall nutritional value of food. It uses the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes (quantitative reference values for recommended intakes of nutrients) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (advice from the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture about how good dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases) to quantify the presence of more than 30 nutrients – including vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants; sugar, salt, trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. The system also incorporates measures for the quality of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as calories and omega-3 fats. The NuVal System also takes into account how these nutrients influence health based on broadly accepted and published scientific literature.
Q: How is a NuVal™ Score calculated?
A: The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System takes more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors into account when developing a Score, making it a very robust food rating system. The nutrient content of a food is processed through a complex algorithm developed through a rigorous process by a team of twelve nutrition and medical experts. Boiled down to its simplest description, here is how the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System works:
- Nutrients with generally favorable effects on health are placed in the numerator, where higher values increase the NuVal™ Score.
- Nutrients with generally unfavorable effects on health are placed in the denominator, where higher values decrease the NuVal™ score.
In addition to the numerator and denominator nutrients, the algorithm takes into account other key factors that measure the quality and density of nutrients, as well as the strength of their association with specific health conditions.
For example, trans fat has a very strong association with heart disease, a highly prevalent and serious condition. Therefore, the algorithm assigns a "weighting coefficient" to trans fat which substantially lowers the Score of foods containing it. Those weighting coefficients are determined by the prevalence, severity, and strength of association with health conditions.
The quality of macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) is another key factor in the overall equation. Fat quality, protein quality, carbohydrate quality, and glycemic load (a measure of carbohydrate quality) are among the "universal adjustors" that can move a NuVal Score higher or lower. The higher the quality, the higher the Score.
Foods with higher nutrient density -- a significant amount of vitamins and minerals, but relatively few calories -- also receive extra credit and higher Scores. The greater a food's "trajectory" toward numerator nutrients (generally favorable) and away from denominator nutrients (generally unfavorable), the higher the Score.
NuVal™ FAQ’s
Q: What is the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System?
A: The NuVal™ System is a food scoring system that allows you to see – at a glance – the nutritional value of the food you buy.
Q: What does a NuVal™ Score tell me?
A: The NuVal™ System scores food on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the NuVal™ Score, the better the nutrition.
Q: Is the NuVal™ System a diet?
A: No, it is a food scoring system that allows you to understand and compare the nutritional value of the foods you buy and consume. It is a tool you can easily use while shopping to make more nutritious food choices. The NuVal™ System is not a diet or substitute for a doctor’s advice about health conditions.
Q: Are NuVal™ Scores different for adults and children? Men and women?
A: The same NuVal™ Scores pertain to everyone over the age of two years old. The System is based on the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are published jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Guidelines provide authoritative advice for people two years and older about how good dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases. Since the Dietary Guidelines for Americans exclude infants and toddlers under the age of two, so does the NuVal System.
Q: How does the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System benefit consumers like me?
A: Our easy-to-use scoring system helps you cut through the clutter of nutrition information so you can make decisions about food quickly, easily, and with confidence. Should you buy the rotisserie chicken or the chicken pie? Is yogurt more nutritious for you than cottage cheese? These are the decisions that the NuVal™ System can help you make – in seconds – as you’re walking down the supermarket aisle.
To learn more about NuVal visit www.nuval.com
