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  GLOBAL FOOD HEALTH VALUES

Global Food Health values for the 370 Library foods in Life Ahead #3 are developed for men of age 50 in the calorie prorated US typical Weekly Diet #1.  These values are derived using nutrient values included in the USDA food nutrient lists and using Biochemical Engineering Technology via Computer Program Life Ahead Model #3 with the calorie prorate option selected. This is believed to be today's only scientifically valid method for identifying the global health value of individual foods.  These values are derived from amounts of nutrients in each food, and how these nutrients determine risks of  multiple major life limiting diseases. 

The food values that follow forecast how up to 23 usefully health verified nutrients in one portion of a  food taken every day ahead for life will affect the risks of up to 15 different most important life-limiting diseases - and how changed  risks of these multiple diseases may increase or decrease the likely Well-Days of life ahead of an average  50 year old US man.  Values will differ in level for women, for those of differing ages, and for inclusion of the foods in different diets. But the the general order of values probably will not change much for most foods. Food calories not valued here also can affect weight.  Note that values are based per portion or for other quantities best known to users, and do not compare foods on a constant gram or calorie basis.  Other nutrients in the foods whose risks have not yet been valued adequately from  population research also might contribute further to these global  health values.  Differences of less than +/- 50 in Well-days may not be significant.  A value of zero in this ranking identifies a food just equal in health to the average diet base, and this diet base is not a particularly healthy diet.

Similar foods can have somewhat different nutrient values, and those selected following may not be the same foods available to a given user.  All 23 nutrient values of each of these foods used in the analyses are listed in the 'Show Food Values' option in the Life Ahead Program.  Note that these nutrient values can be revised  by a program user, and if so they may not develop the same values as those following.  Program updates will change the numbers computed for these foods somewhat, but should not change their general value order. Values for Antioxidant Indices were developed from the method included herein.  Values for Glycemic Load were computed with help of the Revised International Table of Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL).-2002.   Totals for Omega-3 fats were as described at the Life Ahead Omega-3 site. 

Values following are for use 7 times per week or a use each day.  In some cases the value rank for less frequent use can differ considerably.  For example, the high omega-3 content of salmon provides nearly the full week target need in only 1 -2 days per week, and more of this per week is computed to achieve no further benefit. Thus other healthful foods can achieve a similar benefit to that for salmon if used much more frequently during a week.  

Note that Life Ahead Model #3 can compute the global health value of any food for the above diet or for any other user, diet or other habit combinations.  A requirement for best accuracy is that all 23 of the nutrients now used be included in the optional Add Food option in the program.  Inclusion of fats needed for omega-3 totals, glycemic load, and folic acid may be of particular importance.  The nutrients in each food in this listing can be displayed in the Life Ahead program both at diet entry and at diet results. Values of nutrients in included foods listed can be changed if desired.  New foods can be added to the program and the nutrients in food recipes can be aggregated and listed as a named food.

Fruits:   Melons rank highest in health value, and note that a half cantaloupe easily can provide the health value of 3-10 or more other fruits. There is a wide spread misconception that fruits are high in antioxidants.  This is not true.  Cantaloupe has a 21 antioxidant index, but most fruits have index values of from less than 1 to 3. Note from their actual nutrient assessments that many fruits do not produce much identified health value, and admonitions to "Eat 4 fruits every day for health" may not mean much if the wrong fruits are those eaten.  Fresh fruit generally ranks better than fruit juices or canned products.  Low values for Well-Days result mostly from low overall amounts of key nutrients in a food. There may be specific nutrients in fruits that improve health that are not included here.  Blueberries, for example include polyphenols  that may include another antioxidant. But a valuation of this has not been adequately confirmed by research on actual populations of people.  Another question:  Will a food with some new antioxidant provide benefit beyond that attained at 100 Antioxidant Index from four presently verified antioxidants? There is a limiting amount for benefit of any nutrient, and this 100 index value may or may not be at that limit.

 Vegetables:  These generally convey more global health value that do fruits.  Spinach ranks very high as a food for health.  It includes a 15 antioxidant index vs. values of 1-3 for most vegetables, a high folate, useful fiber, and is the only usually eaten vegetable that provides good Lutein.  Potatoes rank low among the vegetables, but do include useful potassium that is not widely available in other foods. A problem is that vegetables taste a lot better with butter, sauces, and other improvements that can subtract appreciably from the food health values shown in this listing.

Well-Days of Healthful Life for adding one Portion per Day or 7 per week to a Typical Diet for Rest of Life

Cereal:   Cereals may represent a most overlooked group of potentially very healthful foods.  The very high computed health value for All-Bran and the high values for those of the top half dozen cereals may have  been poorly recognized by some health professionals. These foods rank well above most fruits and vegetables for health.  All-Bran is listed with 12.9 grams of much needed and difficult to obtain fiber, good antioxidants, is fortified with 400 mcg of folate, has some linolenic acid as omega-3; and has high potassium, and more. Total has 5 gms of fiber, a strong group of vitamins and minerals and 400 mcg of folate. In developing optimum health diets cereals that include lots of fiber can be key requirement.  Health-interested person's should study cereal nutrients carefully, go to the more complete USDA nutrient listings for cereals, and enter and compute a Life Ahead valuation for cereals other than those included here to assure the health contribution from an unlisted daily cereal.

Breads:   There has  been much dietary hype about whole grain bread. But when looking at the key ingredients that produce health the breads contribute only modestly per slice to global health  No way for valuing whole grains differently than that conveyed by their nutrients was found in the Life Ahead project.  And no practical way for quantifying this health factor that people could use practically was found.  The whole grain types do produce a nutrient benefit of about 100 Well-Days per slice and this is useful. When sweetened as in buns or donuts, flour type products can develop seriously negative health values. One study cited reductions in heart disease of 25-35% for eating 3 slices per day more of whole grain bread.  Life Ahead forecast a reduction of 21% in heart disease for  adding the three slices per day to a typical US diet via the non-prorate option.  Although this shows again that a Life Ahead forecast of disease risk appears reasonable, a more accurate comparison would require valuing the  actual diets taken because food health valuations can vary appreciably with the diet they are made in.

Dairy Products:  Most egg and milk products produce modest but by no means spectacular global health gains. As described in another paper eggs may not be the negative usually thought.   Milk types and margarines mostly fall in line with past ideas with soy and skim milk being best. But 2% milk is not healthier than whole milk because the processing removes most of the omega-3 fat in the whole milk. Cheese does not fare well in the global analyses. An egg substitute shows a substantially higher health value than do eggs.

The results of Global Analysis show that the effects on serum cholesterol from eating foods usually is a rather small  factor contributing to their likely global health benefits.  As an example, soybean oil and soybean milk have values following of +323 and +282 added Well-days.  But the Life Ahead computed effect on LDL cholesterol for the eating of these soy foods is a reduction of only 2-4%.  This computed effect is in close agreement with a 3% average reduction in LDL cholesterol obtained from 19 clinical studies of soy. Life Ahead suggests that the omega-3 fats in soybean oil provide  a far larger contribution to health than does its effect on  cholesterol.

The Oils:  Some of oils that include a lot of fats can be surprisingly good for health.  High on the list is flaxseed oil that is very high in omega-3 linolenic acid.  Some health advice has suggested many times as much flaxseed oil as is needed for health, and an excess will do little good and harmfully  increase calories and cause other problems.  Note the values here are for a teaspoon, not the three times high tablespoon often used as a portion.  And soybean, walnut and canola oils all have good health ratings. The poor rating for Olive oil might be due the the method of prorating calories that encounters problems when valuing very small food amounts.  Just adding olive oil to the diet increases Well-days by 110 for a tablespoon and this value seems more consistent with its nutrient content. But even then, olive oil does not rank very high.  Note again that comparisons are for values of typical user portions that vary widely in actual amounts in calories, gram, or other more comparative amounts.

Well-Days of Healthful Life for adding one Portion per Day or 7 per week to a Typical Diet for Rest of Life                            

Meats, Chicken and Fish:  Fish products solidly top the list of healthy foods.  Oysters at the top of the list not only have high values of beneficial DHA and EPA omega-3 fats but have near zero saturated fat and very high antioxidants. The negative of cholesterol talked about for shrimp appears to be a trivia.  Liver has extraordinary antioxidants but Life Ahead limits useful Vitamin A and Beta Carotene accepted to 5,000 IU and 15,000 IU respectively because higher values than this appear negative to health.  Chicken ranks higher than meat in accord with past ideas, and white meat ranks better than dark meat.  Some lean meats as lean beef and pork do not rank negatively as has often been assumed, but the more fatty meats do rank low.  Meats and fowl can vary considerably in USDA measured nutrients from sample to sample, and especially for amounts of included fat.  Reassuringly, lean meat probably can be eaten a few times per week without creating any major health problem.  See footnote about fish that can produce maximum potential benefit for us eonly 1-2 times week. Because values here are for 7 per week, these can be misleading for highly beneficial foods such as salmon and some other fish. .

Soups:  There are wide differences in the potential health of different soups, with those including tomato at the top and some cream types near the bottom.  But soups can have widely differing recipes and the values shown here may not apply to many of them. Reassuringly, the high salt content of soups does not appear as much of an overall negative when the values of their potentially other good nutrients are recognized.

Salads:  Because of their potential variability, salad entrees must be developed from their specified contents in Life Ahead diet.  But interestingly most of the salad dressings appear quite healthy, and that includes Caesar and blue cheese. This is due to their content of healthier type fatty oils. A regular salad including some top rated vegetables such as spinach and asparagus has potential for being a serious  extender of Well-Days of life.

 Well-Days of Healthful Life for adding one Portion per Day or 7 per week to a Typical Diet                                                                                                                        

* These values are for use daily or 7 times per week.  Health rank when used just 1 or 2 times per week can vary widely from these relative values.  For use 1 per week,  Salmon is 547 Well Days, Tuna Fish 308; Oysters 282; white fish 97.   Life Ahead assumes no benefit above target health values.  Salmon provides this maximum benefit from only 1 or 2 per week, and more than this computes no more gain.  

Pasta, etc: Most pasta ranks as moderately healthy and this includes macaroni and cheese.  Pizza with tomato will rank quite high as a healthful food.  Not surprisingly, ketchup with its included tomato ranks as healthful.  The ranking for soy flour as very high and other flours as very low may not surprise some health advocates, but the difference in health potential for these flours is impressive.

Snacks:  Most snacks rank in the modestly negative area but if taken in moderation should not be of much harm. The valuations of nuts based on all diseases are somewhat disappointing because direct research has found them to be beneficial in reducing risk of heart disease.  Walnuts do rank as very healthful because of their content of omega-3 fats, and peanuts rank positive despite their included fat content. But this analysis that includes risks of several other diseases in addition to heart disease ranks most nuts as rather neutral in health potential.

Drinks:  Note the serious negative health values for soft and other sugar containing drinks.  This is negative that is well confirmed by direct research is sharply revealed again by Global Nutrient Analysis. Diet drinks easily correct this problem.  The value for beer assumes just one drink per day.  See more about alcohol that follows later. 

Alcohol:  Life Ahead includes options for liquor, mixed drinks, and wine as well as for the beer shown here.  Alcohol has unique effects on long range health for multiple diseases that depend on amounts taken.  Generally, one drink per day is optimum for health and improves Well-days appreciably. Much of that value is lost when a 2nd drink per day is taken, and alcohol becomes harmful at 3 or more drinks per day.  See the paper on alcohol.. Most research on alcohol studied only heart disease, and these researchers claimed "two drinks per day is OK"   This is incorrect because alcohol also increases risk of cancer in direct proportion to amount taken.  Recognizing cancer, only 1 drink per day is advisable.  Life Ahead computes risk of alcohol from amounts entered into the diet module.               

Well-Days of Healthful Life for adding one Portion per Day or 7 per week to a Typical Diet for Rest of Life                                                                                       

The Deserts:  Not surprisingly the deserts rank lowest of any group with every entry in the negative Well-Days column.   Few of us are going to give up all these good things for health. The good news is that we probably can eat these deserts in moderation without too much harm by proper management of their nutrients with those from other foods and by using dietary supplements.  Life Ahead explains how this can be done.  But without such planning, a 1/2 cup of rich ice cream at lunch and a pecan pie slice or equivalent for with every dinner could cost us 1070 Well-Days or three good years of life.

The Fast Foods:  Most of the fast foods listed are pretty bad for health. A regular diet of them can cost at least  several and perhaps more real years of the good life. But surprisingly, the fish containing ones and the Chicken Whopper actually appear healthy.  Even McDonald's popular Big Mac does not appear unhealthy.  Life Ahead analyzes each of these and shows why these results are forecast.  But the majority of all fast foods analyzed are very unhealthy and should be eaten with great restraint.  A problem with these values and others from manufactured foods is that the nutrients probably were measured by the USDA from samples taken several years back, and more modern version's could - with all the recent focus on health - be healthier. Let us hope that this is true.  But don't count on it.

Well-Days of Healthful Life for adding one Portion per Day or 7 per week to a Typical Diet for Rest of Life