Imagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists.
Nutrient profiling systems, or NPSs, support clear front-of-package labels that assess food quality based on nutrient content. Nutri-Score in France is a rainbow-colored system grading foods from A to E. Health Star Rating in Australia is a five-star system rating foods in half-star increments. And the Traffic Light System in the U.K. labels nutrient levels as green, yellow or red.
In contrast, the U.S. lacks a front-of-package ranking system for food. Food Compass was recently developed out of Tufts University to help address this gap and shortcomings in other systems. But it uses nutritional information not currently available for most foods and consumers.
As a gastroenterologist and physician-scientist, I focus on making the latest microbiome and nutrition data more accessible to the public. Drawing on this research, I developed Nutrient Consume Score, or NCS, which rates foods from 1 to 100 using nutritional information available for all foods and incorporates factors important for a healthy microbiome.
But how do nutrient profiling systems work? And how do they compare to other nutrition guides for consumers?
Nutrient cyphers
Each nutrient profiling system uses different scoring algorithms, but most assign positive points to nutrients and foods that are typically underconsumed, such as fiber, fruits and vegetables. Conversely, negative points are given to overconsumed nutrients like sugar, saturated fat and sodium, which are often added to processed foods. These points are combined into a single score: higher scores indicate healthier foods, while lower scores indicate less healthy options.
For example, kale – rich in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, while low in sugar, sodium and saturated fats – would earn a high score. In contrast, Twinkies, which are high in sugar, sodium and saturated fats, but low in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, would receive a low score. A food like black olives, high in fiber but also high in sodium, would fall somewhere in between.
Clear nutritional information can help inform healthy food choices.
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Nutrient profiling systems work similarly to the Nutrition Facts labels on the back or sides of food packages in helping consumers make informed choices. These labels provide information about a food’s nutrient content, including calories, macronutrients, and key vitamins and minerals. The values are determined through laboratory analysis and nutrient databases based on standardized serving sizes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
But NPSs differ in that they combine nutrition information into a single actionable score. This means you don’t have to spend time deciphering Nutrition Facts labels, which are often in small print and can be…
