20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

It's time for a new slim-down mantra: Eat more to weigh less. No joke! The right foods help you drop pounds by revving up your calorie burn and curbing cravings. We consulted top experts for the best picks and asked leading chefs for easy, tasty ways to prepare them. Add these eats to your plate today, and you'll be slimmer and healthier in no time!

Yogurt

Dietitians often refer to plain yogurt as the perfect food, and for good reason: With its trifecta of carbs, protein and fat, it can stave off hunger by keeping blood sugar levels steady. In a study from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, people on a low-calorie diet that included yogurt lost 61 percent more fat overall and 81 percent more belly fat than those on a similar plan without yogurt.

Eat more: "Use low-fat plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise in chicken or potato salad, or top a baked potato with a bit of yogurt and a squeeze of lemon juice," Krieger says. You'll save 4.7 grams of fat per tablespoon. Look for Greek yogurt, which has more protein than other versions.

Parmesan

Drop that rubbery low-fat cheese and pick up the real stuff. Women who had one serving of whole milk or cheese daily were less likely to gain weight over time, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds. Low-fat dairy fans didn't experience the same benefit. Whole dairy may have more conjugated linoleic acid, which might help your body burn fat. "Parmesan is so flavorful, it's easy to stick to one serving," Buchanan says.

Eat more: "Grate Parmesan over roasted vegetables," Buchanan offers. Or snack on a 1-ounce portion with an apple or a pear.

Eggs

Dig into eggs, yolks and all: They won't harm your heart, but they can help you trim inches. Women on a low-calorie diet who ate an egg with toast and jelly each morning lost twice as many pounds as those who had a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories but no eggs, a study from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge reports. "Egg protein is filling, so you eat less later in the day," says David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life (Bantam).

Eat more: Omelettes and scrambles are obvious choices, but if you can't cook before work, bake a frittata on Sunday; chill it and nuke slices for up to a week.

Steak

Beef has a rep as a diet buster, but eating it may help you peel off pounds. In a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women on a diet that included red meat lost more weight than those eating equal calories but little beef. "The protein in steak helps you retain muscle mass during weight loss," says study author Manny Noakes, Ph.D. Try to consume local organic beef; it's healthier for you and the environment.

Eat more: Grill or broil a 4-ounce serving of top round or sirloin; slice thinly to top a salad, or mix with veggies for fajitas.

Chiles

One reason to spice up your meals: You'll crank up your metabolism. "A compound in chiles called capsaicin has a thermogenic effect, meaning it causes the body to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chiles," Zuckerbrot explains. Plus, "you can't gulp down spicy food," she adds. "Eating slowly gives your brain time to register that your stomach is full, so you won't overeat."

Eat more: Stuff chiles with cooked quinoa and marinara sauce, then roast them. To mellow a chile's heat, grill it until it's almost black, peel off charred skin and puree the flesh, Krieger says. Add the puree to pasta sauces for a one-alarm kick. Or stir red pepper flakes into any dish you enjoy.

Kale

Long sidelined as a lowly garnish, this green belongs center stage on your plate. One raw, chopped cup contains 34 calories and about 1.3 grams of fiber, as well as a hearty helping of iron and calcium. But kale's earthy flavor might take some getting used to. Spinach, another nutrient powerhouse, is a milder-tasting option.

Eat more: Mix chopped, raw kale into cooked black beans, says Jennifer Iserloh, founder of Skinny Chef Culinary Ventures in New York City. Or slice kale into thin strips, sauté it with vegetable broth and top with orange slices. Make it a meal by tossing the mix with quinoa.

Oats

"Oatmeal has the highest satiety ranking of any food," Grotto says. "Unlike many other carbohydrates, oats -- even the instant kind -- digest slowly, so they have little impact on your blood sugar." All oats are healthful, but the steel-cut and rolled varieties (which are minimally processed) have up to 5 grams of fiber per serving, making them the most filling choice. Instant oats contain 3 to 4 grams per serving.

Eat more: "Instead of using breadcrumbs, add oats to meat loaf -- about 1 cup for a recipe that serves eight," Iserloh recommends. Or try her recipe for turkey and oatmeal meatballs.

Lentils

Lentils are a bona fide belly flattener. "They're high in protein and soluble fiber, two nutrients that stabilize blood sugar levels," says Tanya Zuckerbrot, R.D., author of The F-Factor Diet (Putnam Adult). "Eating them helps prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to create excess fat, especially in the abdominal area."

Eat more: There are many varieties of lentils, but red and yellow cook fastest (in about 15 to 20 minutes). Add cooked lentils to pasta sauce for a heartier dish, Zuckerbrot suggests. "Their mild flavor blends right in, and because they're high in protein, you can skip meat altogether."

Goji berries

These chewy, tart berries have a hunger-curbing edge over other fruit: 18 amino acids, which make them a surprising source of protein, says chef Sarah Krieger, R.D., spokeswoman in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the American Dietetic Association. (They also have more beta carotene than carrots.) Snack on them mid-afternoon to stay satisfied until dinner. The calorie cost? Only 35 per tablespoon.

Eat more: Mix 1/4 cup of the dried berries (from health food stores) with 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup walnuts for a nourishing trail mix. Or for dessert, pour 1/4 cup boiling water into a bowl with 2 tbsp. dried berries; let sit 10 minutes. Drain, then spoon over 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt.

Quality over quantity fat

President of the Association for Dietetics in South Africa, René Smalberger, says current scientific evidence supports the view that we should not only look at the total amount of fats in our diets, but also the quality of the fats we consume.

Speaking at a media briefing hosted by the South African arm of global nutrition authority, the International Union of Nutritional Sciences, Smalberger said: "In simple terms, not all fat is bad. Some of it is essential for our bodies to function optimally and cannot be created by the body itself, while other fat is good, but only if taken in the correct daily quantities."

Smalberger said different types of fats are classified according to their chemical composition and the effect they have on human health when consumed.

Fat quality refers to the type of fats in the food that we eat. Foods with a low fat quality are foods with a relatively high content of saturated (unhealthy) fat as compared to good and essential (healthy) fats, whereas other foods have a more desirable fat quality, or a relative high content of good and essential fats as compared to saturated fats.

"One can recognise products with a good fat quality by the fact that they are spreadable or liquid even straight from the fridge, whereas foods with a low fat quality are usually even solid at room temperature, with coconut milk as the exception," said Smalberger.

Know your fats from your fats

"Consumers should familiarise themselves with the various food sources of dietary fats to ensure that they remain in good health and avoid largely preventable chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

"Fats do play an important role in the body and should not be totally cut out of the diet. The emphasis should rather be on limiting the bad ones, and making sure that you do have enough of the good ones in the diet," she said.

According to Smalberger the latest recommendations for daily fat intake and quality, in line with authoritative international health bodies and current evidence, are as follows for those from the age of about two onwards.

Total fat may provide up to 30 percent of the daily energy intake, provided the energy balance between intake and expenditure is adequate.

Saturated fat should provide no more than 10 percent of the daily energy intake. This means animal fats should be limited, or opt for lower fat choices such as low-fat milk, low-fat cheese, lean meat cutlets, skinless chicken, and good quality soft tub margarines.

In those at risk of cardiovascular disease the intake of saturated fat should be less than seven percent of total daily energy. Try avoid high fat meat and poultry, dairy products like cream, butter, and full and tow percent milk, and some plant foods like coconut and palm oil.

Polyunsaturated fats, including essential fats like omega 3 and omega 6, should contribute between six and 10 percent of the daily energy intake.

Of this contribution, Omega 6 fatty acids should provide five to eight percent of energy. Sources include vegetable oils and some tub margarines. In small amounts omega 6 fatty acids can keep skin and eyes healthy.

Trans fats should be limited

The remaining polyunsaturated fats contribution should come from Omega 3 fatty acids at between one and two percent of energy. Good food sources here include fatty fish such as sardines, salmon and herring, as well as mackerel, flax seed oil, canola oil, soybean oil and nuts, especially walnuts.

In addition to lowering your bad cholesterol, these omega-3 fatty acids boost brain function and may help strengthen your immune system and improve your mood.

The intake of trans fats should be less than one percent of the daily energy intake. Foods traditionally containing trans fats include certain hard brick margarines, fried and baked potato chips and certain commercially baked products and biscuits.

Look out for the description 'trans fats' or 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil' on the food label — this pseudonym actually means trans fats.

Trans fats are made from unsaturated fat that has undergone an industrial process that makes liquid vegetable oils more solid and prolongs the shelf life of packaged foods. These fats raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, substantially increasing the chances of heart disease.

The remainder of the energy from fat should be provided by mono-unsaturated fats, from sources including olive oil and olives, canola oil, almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds, avocados or avocado oil, and soft or tub margarine made from canola or olive oil. These fats raise good cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol, and protect against the buildup of plaque in your arteries.

What should your diet look like?

This means that for an average 35-year-old man with a height of 175cm and weight of 73kg, or an average 35-year-old woman 165cm tall and weighing 58kg, a typical good fat healthy daily intake could consist of the following:

Breakfast: One cup cooked oats porridge with 1 cup low-fat/skim milk.

Mid-morning snack: One fruit and a few low-fat crackers or 1 fruit and a few nuts.

Lunch: One to two whole wheat sandwiches with a suitable filling and soft tub margarine and one quarter of an avocado.

Mid-afternoon snack: One fruit and a few low fat crackers or 1 fruit and a few nuts/ seeds mix.

Dinner: Grilled chicken without the skin, rice, butternut and a salad with balsamic and olive oil dressing.

After supper snack: One fruit or dried fruit.

The good food guide

We all know regular visits to the golden arches or the colonel are not conducive to optimal health, and most of us try to eat a balanced diet, but it's not easy. First, it's hard to know what is actually healthy and, second, how on earth do you find it?

Well, for those living in Cape Town it's just become a whole lot easier.

Freelance writer Michelle Matthews recently published a book called the 'Whole Food Almanac' — a guide to finding organic, artisanal and whole food in and around Cape Town.

When asked the motivation behind the book, she listed a host of good reasons to rethink the way we eat and live.

"Obviously the whole food side is very important from a health perspective," she says.

"Part of the reason this book was commissioned is that the editor and publisher, who was Jeremy Boraine at the time, were concerned about all their friends with cancer. Just seeing more and more people getting cancer at a younger age. I've got friends of friends who have to help single dads look after kids because the mom has died of cancer and she's not even 40.

"That's linked to additives in our food. What do we know about the things in our food? The preservatives in so-called cured meats in the shops are the worst.

"Artisanal or traditional meat curing is done with salt, spices and/or sugar, and then put into a dry storage area and kept cool. And it hangs there for months and months until it becomes a ham or salami. Salami should have natural penicillin. And the penicillin keeps other fungus off.

"Mass-produced salami usually has a covering of rice flour to make it look like penicillin. The salami in the shops is one of the most disgusting things you can ever eat. They are full of chemicals, especially nitrites and nitrates."

Not just about healthy eating

But the book is not only about healthy eating. It's not a bogeyman book telling you if you buy salami from a supermarket you will die. It's actually about the joy of food, the joy of cooking and the joy of shopping. Yes, shopping can be a pleasure.

"I love food, and I love cooking," says Matthews, "I'm also interested in food heritage. Traditional foods and traditional ways of making food will get lost if people stop making them. It's tied in with slow food, which started in Italy.

"What it really comes down to is that people don't know how to cook anymore. That's why people are warming things up in microwaves. They think it's hard. In UK schools they have compulsory cooking lessons where you learn to do basic stuff. If you fall out of the habit of cooking, it feels difficult and painful. You can make it quick and healthy.

"You perhaps grew up with your mom working and all these things on the supermarket shelf, and you didn't see your mom cooking. Or all the cooking stuff out there is so fancy with Thai bamboo shoots, and you think cooking is hard or for fancy people, then you don’t cook. You're intimidated.

"But just learning, for example, stuff like couscous — or make a tomato sauce and pasta. For people to learn to cook basic nutritious stuff that tastes good. You lose interest in food if you don't cook. It all tastes the same, and then you make bad choices. It's hard to wean yourself off processed food, and to learn to taste real whole food as nice tasting. People have to train themselves to enjoy the taste of real food.

"That's where artisanal food comes in. It's minimally processed, and made from fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Conscious living

"That's why I've included producers and shops in the books. Some of the producers you can find in the chain stores, so you can get to know the products. I've included shops, but they have to have an organic, natural or artisanal focus.

"And the reason there are producers is so that people can know the people who make their food. So you can meet and talk to the people who've grown the food, or made the cheese. It's really great, you go to — say — Dalewood, and these people have got up in the morning, milked the cows and handmade the cheese. They're giving you this gift."

It's all tied in with living more consciously, and taking responsibility for your actions. People are more concerned about what they're eating, where it's from, and what chemicals it contains. People are starting to realise the connection between planet health and their own health.

People are also becoming more self-sufficient. They're growing a certain amount of their own food, even if it is only in a couple of pots on the veranda of a fourth-floor apartment.

"There is a trend happening internationally," says Matthews. "Pickling. It's the new hot thing to do, it's quite trendy. All this home economics stuff is coming very much into vogue with the recession and worries about the environment.

"And of course the locavore concept, getting things locally, supporting local producers, knowing your food is fresh and in season, and reducing your carbon footprint.

What's in season

"That’s why I've included a section on when things are in season. People don't know you can't get apples all year round. They're pretty much in season most of the year but they're so easy to store that you can get them all year round. They're kept in suspended animation, and then put on the shelves when there’s a demand.

"I've also put it in so people don't fall into weird traps like planning fancy dinner parties with artichokes in April when they're only in season in October, November. Of course, this is a rough guide. It depends on rainfall and temperature."

The book lists and describes about 250 producers, shops, restaurants, markets and other resources such as recycling and urban food growing.

"It covers the Western cape within a radius of about 250 kilometres from Cape Town — about two hour's drive," Matthews says. "Or, even better — about seven or eight hours by bicycle," she adds.

The initial print run was 3000, of which 1000 have been sold in the first three months. Matthews is happy with the sales figures so far, and attributes the popularity of the book to various factors.

"This whole conscious living, organic thing," she says, "is becoming more mainstream. Some people are sick of it and some are interested.

"It's a good introduction. It's got lots of info for people who just starting out, and even for people who are already into stuff like this, they find new outlets."

The book is available through the main booksellers, but Matthews has also done her own marketing, selling the books at places such as producers' markets. The single place where she had the most sales was at a gas metering conference company, of all things.

"They organise international conferences about gas metering," she says. "My brother works there, and he sold a bunch of them. These are people who are interested in stuff like this but don't know where to find it."

Her future plans include doing a part-time masters degree at the Sustainability Institute at Spier, and — possibly — doing a similar guide for other cities in South Africa.

Ten top 'Superfoods'

Every now and then we hear the term 'Superfood' used to describe the latest health-promoting food. For example, the Goji berry — which has been popping up everywhere lately — seems to be the ultimate superfood of the season. Get it in your smoothie, your cereal, your salad...

But what is a 'Superfood' and how beneficial are they really? 'Superfood' is a term used to describe food with very high nutritional content and potential health-promoting properties, however, some of these 'super' claims remain disputed as health benefits cannot be proven.

All fruit and vegetables contain essential vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that are good for health. But generally, fruits and vegetables that are given a 'Superfood' tag are high in antioxidants, Vitamin C, as well as other healthy nutrients, and so are considered especially beneficial.

Just eating a handful of berries isn't going to make you super healthy or give you a gummy-berry-juice kick-start. You should incorporate a range of fruit and vegetables into your diet, but of course some foods are more beneficial than others.

We've come up with a list of our own tasty top 10 'Superfoods' to add to your diet!

Blueberries

Blueberries are often considered a superfood because they contain significant amounts of antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamin C, manganese and dietary fibre.

Health benefits include:

• Improves eyesight
• Allows for stronger blood vessels
• Is an immune booster
• Helps with memory performance
• Reduces the risk of urinary tract infections
• Helps prevent cancer
• Has anti-aging properties

Blackcurrants

Blackcurrants are extraordinarily high in Vitamin C, and contain more potassium than bananas! Blackcurrant seed oil is also rich in many nutrients, especially gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an essential fatty acid.

Health benefits

• Possesses the potential to inhibit inflammation mechanisms, which may lower the risk of developing various types of degenerative diseases (heart disease, cancer).
• Protects against degrading neurological functions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Broccoli

These little trees are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A. This low-fat and low-cholesterol superfood is also a great source of protein and dietary fibre as well.

Health benefits:

• Contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties.
• A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
• Broccoli leaf is also edible and contains loads of betacarotene, good for the eyes.

Soy

Soy is a vitamin and nutrient rich superfood which hosts many disease-fighting nutrients. Soy beans contain high amounts of protein, including all essential amino acids (the only such vegetable source). Soy beans are also a rich source of calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, B-vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids and fibre.

Health benefits

• Soy may also reduce the risk of many ailments found later in a female's life such as osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms.
• Promotes heart health
• Promotes healthy bones
• Prevents cancer
• May reduce your risk of osteoporosis and kidney disease.

Olive oil

Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat and antioxidants like chlorophyll, carotenoids and vitamin E.

Substituting olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, for saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats can:

Health benefits:

• Reduce blood pressure
• Inhibit the growth of some cancers
• Benefit people at risk for or with diabetes
• Lessen the severity of asthma and arthritis
• Actually help your body maintain a lower weight

Spinach

Spinach, is low in calories, but high in many vitamins and minerals. Spinach is packed with heart healthy minerals such as folate, potassium, and co-enzyme Q10 which is essential in cardiovascular health.

Health benefits:

• Benefits vision and eye health
• Has anti-cancer and anti-aging properties
• The calcium content in spinach strengthens bones
• Prohibits age-related memory loss

Oats

This superfood is known for it high-fibre content. Oatmeal, oat bran and whole oat products are some of the best sources of soluble fibre, which help reduce total cholesterol.

Health benefits:

• Lowers cholesterol
• Levels blood sugar
• Prevents cancer
• Whole oats can reduce hypertension, or high blood pressure, and so reduce the need for anti-hypertensive medication.
• Keeps bowel movements regular
• Helps with athletic performance

Beans

A serving size of a half cup of beans contain large amounts of iron, phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, calcium, zinc and fibre.

Health benefits:

• Reduces the risk of colon cancer
• Reduces the risk of coronary heart disease
• reduces cholesterol

Barley

Not only is barley a low-glycemic grain, it is high in both soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre helps the body metabolise fats, cholesterol and carbohydrates, and lowers blood cholesterol levels. Insoluble fibre— commonly called "roughage" —promotes a healthy digestive tract and reduces the risk of cancers affecting it.

Health benefits:

• Lowers blood cholesterol levels
• Protects against cancer
• A good source of niacin, the B vitamin that is cardio-protective
• Slows starch digestion, which may help keep blood sugar levels stable

Yoghurt

Yoghurt contains probiotics which are said to promote optimal health.

Health benefits:

• Helps with vaginal (bacterial and yeast), urinary tract and bladder infections
• Helps with inflammatory intestinal disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease
• Helps alleviate allergic conditions like asthma and eczema
• Reduces several risk factors for cardiovascular disease
• Reduces several risk factors for intestinal cancers
• Reduces the rate of childhood respiratory infections
• Helps prevent tooth decay

How healthy is it really?

We all read lots of information on what foods are good for you, and we believe it without questioning. Now there is a system which measures these foods and ranks them in order of nutritional value.

It's called the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System, and it summarizes the overall nutritional value of food, using the Institute of Medicine's Dietary Reference Intakes (quantitative reference values for recommended intakes of nutrients) and the Dietary Guidelines For Americans (advice from the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, and the Department of Agriculture, USDA, about how good dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases) to quantify the presence of more than 30 nutrients.

These 30 nutrients include vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants; sugar, salt, trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

The system also incorporates measures for the quality of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as calories and omega-3 fats. The system also takes into account how these nutrients influence health, based on broadly accepted, published scientific literature.

How is a NuVal score calculated?

The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System takes more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors into account when developing a score, making it a very robust food rating system.

The nutrient content for a food is processed through a complex algorithm developed through a rigorous process by a team of 12 experts. Boiled down to its simplest description, here is how the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System works:

Nutrients with generally favourable effects on health are placed in the numerator, where higher values increase the NuVal score.

Nutrients with generally unfavourable effects on health are placed in the denominator, where higher values decrease the NuVal score.

In addition to the numerator and denominator nutrients, the algorithm takes into account other key factors that measure the quality and density of nutrients, as well as the strength of their association with specific health conditions.

For example, trans fat has a very strong association with heart disease, a highly prevalent and serious condition. Therefore, the algorithm assigns a "weighting coefficient" to trans fat which substantially lowers the Score of foods containing it. Those weighting coefficients are determined by the prevalence, severity, and strength of association with health conditions.

The quality of macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) is another key factor in the overall equation. Fat quality, protein quality, carbohydrate quality, and glycemic load (a measure of carbohydrate quality) are among the "universal adjustors" that can move a NuVal score higher or lower. The higher the quality, the higher the score.

Foods with higher nutrient density — a significant amount of vitamins and mineral, but relatively few calories — also receive extra credit and higher scores.

The greater a food's "trajectory" toward numerator nutrients (generally favourable) and away from denominator nutrients (generally unfavourable), the greater the score.

Fruits and vegetables

Many of the most nutritious items in the supermarket are found in the produce aisle, where NuVal scores range from 100 to 24. While vegetables and fruits tend to score very high on the range of NuVal Scores, they don't all score exactly the same.

Scores vary in the produce category based on the concentration of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre in particular. Those at the very top of the range are very highly concentrated in many nutrients and low in calories. The lower scoring produce items are less packed with nutrients (as in the case of iceberg lettuce) or higher in calories (as in the case of passion fruit).

Apricots: 100
Asparagus: 100
Beans (yellow and green): 100
Blueberries: 100
Broccoli: 100
Cabbage: 100
Cauliflower: 100
Kiwi: 100
Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red Leaf & Romaine): 100
Mustard greens: 100
Okra: 100
Orange: 100
Spinach: 100
Strawberries: 100
Turnip: 100
Carrots: 99
Grapefruit: 99
Pineapple: 99
Plums: 99
Mango: 93
Potatoes: 93
Red onions: 93
Tangerines: 93
Bananas: 91
Corn: 91
Grapes: 91
Honeydew melon: 91
Rhubarb: 91
Iceberg lettuce: 82
Bok choy: 81
Passion fruit: 78
Coconut: 24

Meats and poultry

All meats provide nearly perfect protein — only egg white is a more perfect source of the essential amino acids.

Meat also is a good source of some B vitamins and minerals such as zinc. But meats can also provide saturated fat, cholesterol, and varying amounts of sodium.

Scores in this category range from 53 to 24. They tend to vary based on the content of saturated fat and sodium in particular; when these are more concentrated in a product, the NuVal Score will tend to be lower.

Processed meats with added sodium will also tend to score lower. The saturated fat content of poultry varies between white and dark meat (white meat tends to have less), and whether it is skinless or not (the skin is very fatty).

Remember that while lean meat may be a very important part of a balanced diet, it will never score as high as most vegetables. That is because the NuVal System measures the ratio of nutrients to calories, and meats are generally a much more concentrated source of calories than fresh produce.

So don't look for a NuVal Score of 100 in this category; instead, just compare meat scores to one another to find the items that are the most nutritious in this category.

Turkey Breast (skinless): 48
Chicken Breast (boneless): 39
Pork Tenderloin: 35
Bottom round roast (beef): 34
Flank steak (beef): 34
Turkey breast: 31
Veal chop: 31
Veal leg cutlet: 31
Beef tenderloin: 30
Chicken drumstick: 30
Ground sirloin (beef – 90/10): 30
Pork chop (boneless centre cut): 28
Chicken wings: 28
Ground round (beef - 85/15): 28
Lamb Chops (loin): 28
Leg of lamb: 28
Ham (whole): 27
Ground chuck (beef – 80/20): 26
Pork ribs, country style: 25
Beef spareribs: 24
Pork baby back ribs: 24

Seafood

Like meat and poultry, seafood is a source of neatly perfect protein. But unlike most other meats, fish tends to be low in saturated fat, and is often a concentrated source of fish oil, which is rich in health-promoting omega-3 fats.

Because omega-3 fats are so important for health, they get a lot of credit in the calculation of NuVal scores — which range from 87 to 36 in the seafood category.

For this reason, the fish that are richest in omega-3 fats, such as salmon, get very high scores. Fish and seafood with lesser amounts of omega-3 and higher concentrations of sodium get lower scores. Hence the score of 36 for lobster, which is fairly high in sodium and, by and large, lacking in omega-3 fats.

Atlantic salmon fillet: 87
Atlantic halibut fillet: 82
Catfish fillet: 82
Cod fillet: 82
Tilapia fillet: 82
Oysters: 81
Swordfish steak: 81
Prawns: 75
Shrimp: 75
Clams: 71
Monkfish fillet: 64
Bay scallops: 51
Turbot fillet: 51
Lobster: 36