How the HowHealthyIs Score Works (Methodology)

The HowHealthyIs Score is a number from 0 to 100 that tells you how much nutrition a food delivers for its calories, compared with every other food we cover. It is based on the Nutrient Rich Foods Index (NRF9.3), a method developed and validated by Adam Drewnowski and colleagues and widely used in nutrition research.

What goes into the score?

We calculate everything per 100 kcal of the food, so a large portion of a watery vegetable and a small portion of nuts are compared fairly.

NRF9.3 = (sum of 9 nutrients to encourage, each as % of daily value, capped at 100%) minus (sum of 3 nutrients to limit, as % of daily value)

9 nutrients to encourage

Protein: 50 g
Fiber: 28 g
Vitamin A: 900 µg
Vitamin C: 90 mg
Vitamin E: 15 mg
Calcium: 1300 mg
Iron: 18 mg
Potassium: 4700 mg
Magnesium: 420 mg

3 nutrients to limit

Saturated fat: 20 g
Added sugars: 50 g
Sodium: 2300 mg

Reference amounts are the FDA Daily Values for adults (21 CFR 101.9).

How does a raw number become 0-100?

Raw NRF9.3 values are hard to read (they range from negative numbers to several hundred). We convert each food's raw value into a percentile rank across our whole database. A score of 64 means the food ranks above 64% of the foods we cover. As the database grows, scores are recalculated and every change is logged below.

What do the colors mean?

80-100: Excellent nutrient density
60-79: High nutrient density
40-59: Moderate nutrient density
20-39: Lower nutrient density
0-19: Low nutrient density

What the score does not tell you

A low score does not mean a food is bad. Olive oil scores low because it has few vitamins and minerals per calorie, yet it is one of the better fats to cook with. Salmon's omega-3 fats and vitamin D are not part of NRF9.3. Portion, the rest of your meal and your own health needs matter more than any single number.

Fortified foods can score higher than their whole-food cousins. Breakfast cereals with added iron and vitamins gain points for those nutrients, even when they are low in fiber. We say so on those pages.

Near-zero-calorie foods. Coffee, tea, diet drinks and a few watery vegetables have so few calories that per-100 kcal ratios become extreme. We score any food under 20 kcal per 100 g as if it had 20 kcal.

Juice and alcohol. For fruit juice we count all of its sugar as free sugar, as the WHO does, so it counts against the score like added sugar. Alcoholic drinks get a fixed score of 0, because no amount of alcohol is recommended for health and nutrient density would be a misleading measure.

The score is general information, not medical advice.

How are the labels chosen?

Labels such as "High in fiber" or "Source of vitamin C" follow the EU nutrition claim thresholds in Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, measured per 100 g. Caution labels such as "High in saturated fat" follow the UK front-of-pack "high" thresholds per 100 g. "Calorie-dense" marks foods with 150 kcal or more per 100 g outside the meat, fish and legume groups.

Processing level

Each food page also shows its NOVA group (1: unprocessed or minimally processed, 2: processed culinary ingredient, 3: processed, 4: ultra-processed). NOVA is shown separately and does not change the score.

Data sources

Nutrient values come from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Every food is linked to its FoodData Central ID, shown in the open dataset. SR Legacy does not report added sugars, so we estimate them from the ingredients (for example all of the sugar in cola, none of the sugar in fruit). Where USDA does not report a nutrient for a food, we count it as zero. Data checks run daily: if calories calculated from protein, carbohydrate and fat differ from the listed calories by more than 10%, the page is held back until an editor checks it.

Every food, ranked

All 216 foods with their raw NRF9.3 value per 100 kcal and score.
Food	kcal / 100 g	NRF9.3	Score
Spinach	23	534	100
Swiss chard	19	469	100
Collard greens	32	393	99
Parsley	36	446	99
Bok choy	13	333	98
Kale	35	363	98
Arugula	25	326	97
Red bell pepper	26	282	97
Asparagus	20	255	96
Romaine lettuce	17	256	96
Butternut squash	45	244	95
Pumpkin	26	241	95
Brussels sprouts	43	225	94
Okra	33	230	94
Broccoli	34	220	93
Green bell pepper	20	203	93
Cabbage	25	197	92
Cantaloupe	34	198	92
Zucchini	17	201	92
Cauliflower	25	194	91
Tomatoes	18	196	91
Almond milk	15	183	90
Carrots	41	182	90
Lemon	29	180	89
Lime	30	175	89
Guava	68	171	88
Sweet potato	90	171	88
Green beans	31	168	87
Radishes	16	164	87
Kiwi	61	162	86
Strawberries	32	163	86
Beef liver	175	150	85
Blackberries	43	158	85
Papaya	43	159	85
Artichoke	47	146	84
Orange	47	148	84
Grapefruit	42	134	83
Raspberries	52	144	83
Green peas	81	128	82
Pineapple	50	128	82
Celery	14	117	81
Lychee	66	122	81
Eggplant	25	109	80
Mango	60	112	80
Iceberg lettuce	14	105	79
Mushrooms	22	107	79
Apricot	48	101	78
Leeks	61	105	78
Cranberries	46	94	77
Oysters	102	95	77
Tangerine	53	99	77
Kefir	43	89	76
Orange juice	45	90	76
Honeydew melon	36	89	75
Sauerkraut	19	89	75
Coconut water	18	80	74
Skim milk	34	79	74
Beets	43	78	73
Cucumber	15	78	73
Edamame	121	78	72
Peach	39	75	72
Lentils	116	73	71
Watermelon	30	72	71
Corn flakes	384	71	70
Sunflower seeds	584	71	70
Black beans	132	70	69
Crab	83	69	69
Tofu	78	69	69
Navy beans	140	67	68
Nectarine	44	67	68
Chia seeds	486	67	67
Shrimp	99	67	67
Cod	105	65	66
Fresh tuna	109	66	66
Kidney beans	127	65	65
Pinto beans	143	65	65
Almonds	579	62	64
Mussels	172	62	64
Garlic	149	62	63
Onion	40	62	63
Persimmon	70	62	62
Split peas	118	60	62
Tuna	86	59	62
Plum	46	58	61
Venison	158	57	61
Greek yogurt	59	56	60
Tilapia	128	56	60
Hemp seeds	553	55	59
Trout	168	54	59
Blueberries	57	52	58
Flaxseed	534	52	58
Potato	93	52	57
Sardines	208	52	57
Chickpeas	164	52	56
Pomegranate	83	51	56
Kimchi	15	51	55
Sesame seeds	573	51	55
Ginger	80	50	54
Jackfruit	95	48	54
Turkey breast	147	48	54
Pork tenderloin	143	47	53
Pumpkin seeds	559	48	53
Canned salmon	129	45	52
Chicken breast	165	46	52
Bulgur	83	45	51
Cherries	63	45	51
Sweet corn	86	44	50
Veal	203	43	50
Banana	89	42	49
Quinoa	120	42	49
Egg whites	52	42	48
Sirloin steak	178	41	48
Avocado	160	40	47
Tempeh	192	41	47
Apple	52	39	46
Buckwheat	92	38	46
Figs	74	39	46
Hazelnuts	628	38	45
Oats	389	38	45
Lean ground beef	174	37	44
Pear	63	36	44
Bagel	264	36	43
Popcorn	387	35	43
Lamb	191	35	42
Whole wheat pasta	149	35	42
Granola	489	35	41
Peanuts	567	34	41
Eggs	143	34	40
Pork chop	180	34	40
Salmon	206	33	39
Whole wheat bread	252	33	39
Chicken thigh	179	30	38
Corn tortilla	218	30	38
Ground turkey	203	32	38
Prunes	240	30	37
Soy milk	54	30	37
Cottage cheese	81	29	36
Duck	201	29	36
Pistachios	560	28	35
Wild rice	101	29	35
Mackerel	262	27	34
Pine nuts	673	27	34
Barley	123	27	33
French fries	168	26	33
Cashews	553	25	32
Grapes	69	26	32
Hummus	237	24	31
Milk	61	24	31
Potato chips	532	24	31
Dates	277	24	30
Plain yogurt	61	23	30
Ground beef	256	22	29
Millet	119	22	29
Brazil nuts	659	22	28
Raisins	299	21	28
Brown rice	123	21	27
Rice cakes	387	21	27
Parmesan cheese	392	20	26
Pasta	158	19	26
Peanut butter	598	18	25
Whole milk Greek yogurt	97	19	25
Couscous	112	17	24
Olives	116	18	24
Chicken wings	254	16	23
Rye bread	259	15	23
Walnuts	654	15	23
Ham	164	15	22
Tahini	592	14	22
Sourdough bread	272	14	21
White rice	130	14	21
Pecans	691	13	20
White bread	266	13	20
Cheese pizza	268	12	19
Coffee	1	11	19
Canola oil	884	9	18
Hamburger	297	10	18
Granola bar	471	9	17
Macadamia nuts	718	8	17
Black tea	1	7	16
Mozzarella	299	8	16
Cheddar cheese	403	7	15
Flour tortilla	306	6	15
Pretzels	384	5	15
Dark chocolate	598	5	14
Green tea	1	5	14
Mac and cheese	190	4	13
Olive oil	884	3	13
Croissant	406	-3	12
Diet cola	1	3	12
Avocado oil	884	-7	11
Bacon	468	-8	11
Chocolate chip cookies	492	-9	10
Mayonnaise	680	-9	10
Feta cheese	265	-9	9
Instant ramen	440	-9	9
Cream cheese	350	-14	8
Doughnut	434	-11	8
Vanilla ice cream	207	-13	8
Hot dog	315	-16	7
Pork sausage	396	-16	7
Milk chocolate	535	-18	6
Salami	336	-17	6
Coconut meat	354	-21	5
Jam	278	-21	5
Butter	717	-22	4
Chocolate hazelnut spread	539	-25	4
Apple juice	46	-28	3
Maple syrup	260	-39	3
Coconut oil	892	-46	2
Ketchup	101	-47	2
Cola	42	-49	1
Sugar	387	-51	1
Beer	43	7	0
Honey	304	-52	0
Red wine	85	10	0
Soy sauce	60	-317	0

Version history

1.0 (2026-10-08): first public version. NRF9.3 per 100 kcal, percentile scale. Pending sign-off by our dietitian board before launch.

References

Drewnowski A. Defining nutrient density: development and validation of the nutrient rich foods index. J Am Coll Nutr. 2009;28(4):421S-426S.
Fulgoni VL, Keast DR, Drewnowski A. Development and validation of the nutrient-rich foods index: a tool to measure nutritional quality of foods. J Nutr. 2009;139(8):1549-1554.
Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22(5):936-941.
Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, Annex.

How the HowHealthyIs Score works