Why sodas are so bad for you - and oranges are your friend

Have you heard about the NuVal System? It's a nutritional quality index created at the Yale University Prevention Research Centre that gives all foods and drinks a score and the higher the score, the more nutritious the food is. Simple.

Some of the foodstuffs will surprise you by not being as high up the list as you'd expect but it's a great list to have on your fridge door to make sure you're having as many of the 100/100 foods - broccoli and blueberries, and none of the 2/100 foods - like all full-fat sodas and saltine crackers which seem to come with every bowl of soup in the US! How have you done so far today - check out the list and make a promise to yourself to aim for as many 100/100 as you can each day. Its like dieting without dieting.

Broccoli 100

Blueberries 100

Okra 100

Orange 100

Green Beans 100

Pineapple 99

Radish 99

Summer squash 98

Apple 96

Green cabbage 96

Tomato 96

Clementine 94

Watermelon 94

Mango 93

Red onions 93

Non-fat milk 91

Fresh figs 91

Grapes 91

Banana 91

Avocado 89

Oatmeal 88

Atlantic salmon fillet 87

Blackberries 83

Cod fillet 82

Raw almonds 82

Iceberg lettuce 82

Raw pecans 82

Rocket 82

Brown rice 82

Snapper 82

Milk (1% fat) 81

Oysters 81

Prawn 75

Couscous 72

Clams 71

Raw pistachios 70

Unbuttered, unsalted popcorn 69

Canned tuna in oil, drained 67

Monkfish fillet 64

Vegetarian split-pea soup mix 63

Instant oatmeal 61

Canned pineapple in juice 60

White rice 57

Sodium-free sparkling water 56

Milk (2% fat) 55

Canned kidney beans 53

Milk (whole) 52

Scallops 51

Pasta 50

Canned peas 49

Prunes 45

Vanilla yoghurt 43

Orange juice 39

Skinless chicken breasts 39

Canned peaches in light Syrup 37

Lobster 36

Flank steak (beef) 34

Dried apples 34

Tomato juice 32

Condensed split-pea soup

with ham 32

Minced sirloin 30

Chicken drumstick 30

Enriched white bread 29

Whole chicken with skin 28

Leg of lamb 28

Ham (whole) 27

Raisins 26

Hamburger (75% lean) 25

Apple chips 24

Coconut 24

Green olives 24

Pork baby back ribs 24

Bagel 23

Condensed tomato soup 23

Peanut butter 23

Sherbet 23

Reduced-fat sour cream 22

Condensed cream of

broccoli soup 21

Salted, dry-roasted peanuts 21

Instant chocolate pudding 20

Fried egg 18

Swiss cheese 17

Diet fizzy drinks 15

Non-streaky bacon 13

Pretzel sticks 11

Dark chocolate 10

White bread 9

Salami 7

Hot dog 5

Cheese puffs 4

Milk chocolate 3

Apple pie 2

Crackers 2

Fizzy drinks 1

Popsicle 1

To see the whole list, please visit the site and print out the list.


Photograph by .:barbarina:. (flickr)