Foods That Heal & Foods that Kill
Aggregate Nutritional Density Index (ANDI) Food Scores
By: Dr. Skip Hellen ND, CNC (Health Doctor)  Rev. 11/13/2011

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is made up of nearly all internal biochemical balancing (homeostasis) destroying, disease-generating foods, with about 25% of calories from animal products and over 60% from high sugar, fat and toxic chemicals. Lifestyle and unhealthy consumptive habit related nutritionally deficient diseases are currently the most common causes of death in America. Despite these facts over 90% of Americans believe that they have healthy consumptive habits. Even worse, 45% of Americans admit they drink at least one sugar-laden drink a day, 40% admit they consume anything they like, and perhaps most astonishing 33% of overweight and obese people believe they are at a healthy weight. With this widespread false and delusional mindset it’s no wonder Americans health compass is pointed in a very unhealthy direction. 

These irrefutable facts are proof that nutritional misinformation currently runs rampant. Most Americans simply don’t understand that natural, whole plant foods are healthiest. While they intuitively know that sugar, salt, fat and chemical ladened foods are not healthy they are betrayed by their taste buds to continue to consume the SAD diet. For this reason, they are easily and intentionally misled to believe that highly processed foods labeled “low-fat” or “low-carb,” artificially sweetened, chemical ladened beverages, pasta, and grilled meats constitute a healthy diet. Few Americans have been introduced or understand the concept of nutrient density. Nature’s raw, unprocessed, uncooked foods are by far the healthiest foods one can consume. Jack Lalanne once said “if man processes it, don’t eat it,” truer words were never said. While some processing is necessary to reduce pathogenic illness and disease, this protective concept has taken on a whole new meaning in today’s food industries where whole, non GMO foods are nearly nonexistent. The following formula is the pathway to optimal health through the calorie restriction, optimum nutrition (CRON) diet.    

Ultimate Health Formula - H = N/C (Health = Nutrients / Calories)

Adequate consumption of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and many other phytochemicals) while limiting total calorie intake, is the pathway to achieving optimum health. Micronutrients fuel robust immune system function, cellular detoxification and repair to naturally protect us from illness and disease. Manmade, highly processed non foods that currently fill grocery shelves serve only to tantalize taste buds and increase profits for not only the food industry but the health care industries that must deal with the explosion of degenerative health condition resulting from consuming these nutrient empty foods SAD. These so called foods do not fulfill essential nutritional requirements instead they lead to a multitude of nutritional deficient illnesses and diseases.

The solution is becoming a nutritarian. A nutritarian is a person whose consumptive habits reflect micronutrient variety and a high ratio of micronutrients per calorie consumption. To this end Dr. Fuhrman developed the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) scoring system to provide a more accurate picture of common food’s nutritional quality. He originally developed the ANDI scoring system to rank foods according to micronutrients per calorie, including vitamins, minerals, and as many known beneficial phytochemicals as possible. Since then additional nutrients have been identified which have been included in a new, more comprehensive ANDI scoring system.

To accurately illustrate and rank foods by nutrient density, the following food values represent the latest in the ANDI food scoring system. These high nutritional value foods should constitute the bulk (50+% minimum - 75+% is better - 100% is best) of an optimally healthy diet. These foods should be consumed raw (uncooked), and as fresh as possible to benefit from their highest possible nutritional value. Foods highlighted are extremely nutrient dense with blue being the highest food value possible in the ANDI rating system. Raw, fresh salads are, by far, the healthiest way to consume these superfoods.    

Note – These foods are nutrient dense and PROMOTE OPTIMAL HEALTH!

For a complete ANDI list of foods reference the link below;

http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/andi-food-scores.aspx 

The highest ANDI foods are nutritionally dense and relatively low in sugar.

The following chart illustrates how devastating sugar can be to healthy nutritional values.

Note – High fructose corn syrup three times more health damaging than raw granulated sugar and it is present in many, if not most, processed foods today. DON’T CONSUME HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!

Remember, no matter how nutrient dense a food, sugar counters/reduces its total nutrient value. The following foods represent the highest negative value in the ANDI system. These foods should be reduced or eliminated from the diet to achieve and maintain optimal health as they are largely responsible for illness, disease and rapid biological degradation (aging). Do you recognize any of these foods, perhaps in your daily dietary habits? These foods damage health exponentially – DON’T CONSUME THEM!      

Note – These are highly toxic and will RAPIDLY DESTROY HEALTH!

Aggregate Nutritional Density Index

ANDI – Is calculated by dividing the aggregate micronutrients by the macronutrients.

Micronutrients – Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, other select items.

Macronutrients – Calories from protein, carbs, and fats.

The ANDI index has a range of 0–1000, values below

1000 = most nutrient dense food

0 = least nutrient dense food

*Artificially/chemically fortified

Note – These foods are highly toxic and will RAPIDLY DESTROY HEALTH!

*Nutritarian is a term coined by Dr. Joel Fuhrman to describe a person who focuses on the nutrient content of their food rather than taste and volume.

A nutritarian diet is what nature requires as it supports not only optimal health and vitality but longevity. Adopting a nutritarian lifestyle can not only restore optimal health but reduce even eliminate illness and disease. The chart below represents food groups and their ANDI scores. CONSUME PRIMARILY HIGH SCORE FOODS!

This chart illustrates the relative value to health and perhaps gives a clearer perspective on just how micronutrient weak most diets are. Hopefully when one understands the total weakness of their consumptive habits, they will make the necessary behavior changes required to achieve and maintain optimal health. If it were easy to be optimally health more would be.   

The answer to an optimal health based diet/lifestyle

We have accumulated much knowledge about nutrition and its powerful effects on creating or protecting against illness and disease. However, the vast majority of our populations are nearly clueless about what constitutes a healthy diet and dietary impact promoting optimal health or illness and disease. What degree of knowledge, nutritional and behavior discipline is necessary to prevent or reverse illness and disease? How to measure the quality of our diet, the degree of nutritional excellence are being achieved?  

The ANDI system provides individuals the ability to measure and accurately judge the nutritional quality of their diet in order to discern whether their diet is optimal for delivering therapeutic properties for disease reversal and prevention as well as optimal health acquisition and maintenance. The ANDI system is designed to empower people to achieve and maintain the most valuable possession in life optimal health.

The quality of a diet can be judged base on three simple criteria below, all of which can be accurately quantified through the ANDI system.

- Levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals) per calorie.

- Amounts of macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate, and protein) to meet individual needs, without excessive calories that frequently lead to weight gain and ill health compromises.

- Avoid potentially toxic substances (trans-fats, chemicals) and limited amounts of other potentially harmful substances (sodium, heavy metals).

People who follow a nutritarian lifestyle understands that certain foods have powerful illness and disease preventing therapeutic properties and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients through their food consumptive habits tend to be the healthiest. It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats, have a diet with a low glycemic index or a diet low in animal products, or be mostly raw foods. An optimally healthy diet must be micronutrient rich and must be adjusted to meet individual needs. The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits. For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods to offset the illness and disease causing factors. In short micronutrients must be in high enough concentrations to exert maximum healing pressure on a health ravaged body. 

It’s simply not realistic to expect to achieve optimal health without close attention to the predominant consumption of high micronutrient foods. For example, a vegan diet centered on high starch vegetables or grains such as rice, potato and wheat, may not contain sufficient micronutrient richness to reverse disease or to maximize longevity. In some individuals the lack of attention to micronutrient density could cause disease.

Summary

The SAD diet is a pathway to rapid biological degradation (aging) illness disease and premature death. The pathway to optimal health is calorie restriction, optimum nutrition (CRON) diet or the H = N/C (Health = Nutrients / Calories) formula. The solution is becoming a nutritarian. A nutritarian is a person whose consumptive habits reflect micronutrient variety and a high ratio of micronutrients per calorie consumption. To this end Dr. Fuhrman developed the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) scoring system to provide a more accurate picture of common food’s nutritional quality. To acquire and maintain optimal health one should consume predominantly (50-100%) high ANDI score foods. These foods are precisely what nature intended humans to consume and fulfill all the essential nutrient requirements to acquire and maintain optimal health.  

Important Note

It’s important to understand that optimal health can only be achieved and maintained when nutritional, physical, and mental requirements are met resulting in systemic biological balance (homeostasis).

The following are the cornerstones of success with anything in life, make these qualities an important part of your life strategy and you will achieve excellence in anything you do. 

Personal responsibility encourages excellence,

character requires personal excellence,

commitment advances positive action,

discipline strengthens personal power,

tenacity promotes success ~ Dr. Skip Hellen 

"Illness and disease are optional, choose not to participate" ~ Dr. Skip Hellen

Important understanding
It’s important to understand that optimal health can only be achieved and maintained when nutritional, physical, and mental requirements are met resulting in systemic biological balance (homeostasis).

The following are the cornerstones of success with anything in life, make these qualities an important part of your life strategy and you will achieve excellence in anything you do. 

   Personal responsibility encourages excellence,
character requires personal excellence,
commitment advances positive action,
discipline strengthens personal power,
tenacity promotes success ~ Dr. Skip Hellen 

OPTIMAL HEALTH ACTION STEPS
1. (Develop) a strong sense of self respect and discipline
2. (Pledge) Take the "Declaration of Health Independence" pledge
3. (Test) Complete the health assessment test (establish a personal health baseline)
4. (Decide) Set a goal to achieve personal health excellence (optimal health)
5. (Education) Learn health principles how to achieve optimum health
6. (Heath Compass) Buy a pH litmus test kit, start testing frequently – keep a test result log
7. (Manage/Adjust) Change behavior habits for best results
8. (Commitment) Stay the course until achieving personal health excellence
9. (Mentor) Help another achieve personal health excellence

Since behavior habits and nutrition are critical components of human health and longevity, denial, shortcuts and misguided beliefs can be very costly not only in terms of lost monetary wealth but in compromised health leading to rapid aging, illness, disease and death. DON’T TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED. IF YOU DON’T TAKE PROPER CARE OF YOUR HEALTH, WHO WILL?

The important thing to remember is consumptive habits (foods) will form the foundation of either optimal health or illness and disease. The old saying "you are what you eat" is absolutely true when it comes to health.

Developing strong personal character (respect, belief, knowledge, discipline, commitment) are the cornerstones of all personal excellence accomplishments. Taking the "Declaration of Health Independence" pledges and adopting the behavior principles solidifies a vital first step on the road to optimal health success. These pledge commitments not only help develop the skills required to accomplish the goal but better define the path to personal health excellence. The second step is purchasing a litmus test kit to accurately monitor health progress. (see below for event test kit sale)

Perhaps the hardest part of achieving optimal health is changing unhealthy behavior habits to healthy habits.

YOU provide the Courage, Dedication, Commitment and Action,
UHRI will provide the EDUCATION/KNOWLEDGE and DIRECTION

To get health help and learn more about “Mastering the Secrets of Ultimate Health” and achieve personal health excellence goals, log onto the web site below. UHRI is ready, willing, and able to help everyone achieve optimal health.

Litmus test kits are on sale for $10 (Events Only)
(A litmus test kit is an absolute must for those who are serious about ultimate health)

To learn more information on how to resolve health problems or achieve personal health excellence, refer to UHRI at www.uhealthri.com. Educational classes, programs, mentors and consultants are ready to help you achieve all your health goals including optimal health. Contact UHRI Office at - 714-969-1681

Live long, happy, ultimately health and wise

Dr. Skip Hellen