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The 3 Classes of Food™

If you are like most people, to confidently make the Switch to Nutrient Rich from your previous usual diet, which was probably nutrient poor; it is important to learn about The 3 Classes of Foods so that you understand where you really stand - nutritionally speaking.

Are you eating a First Class Nutrient Rich diet, 90% or more of the time, optimized for nutrient density? Or are you eating a predominantly second class nutrient poor diet, or worse, a third class nutrient barren diet that is calorie dense and nutrient poor?

In The Nutrient Rich® Healthy Eating System, you have a tracker to identify the % of your diet coming from each of The 3 Classes of Foods with the aim of optimizing your diet for nutrient density. This is how you get all the health, natural weight loss and longevity benefits.

Click the links below to see the nutrient density of 27 nutrients for each class and category of food. See the nutritional profile and notice what happens when you go from First Class Foods to Second Class Foods to Third Class Foods. To understand how this information was established, read the References Here.

 

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First Class, Nutrient-Rich

These are plant foods that are rich in virtually all of the nutrients your body needs to function, stay healthy and perform well. They also have fiber and phytochemicals, and they do not contain substances your body does not need. It is recommended that you maintain a diet that is made up of at least 90% or More Plant Based, Nutrient-Rich foods for the best all around results. Examples of these foods include:

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Second-Class, Nutrient-Poor

These are animal-based foods that are rich in some nutrients but are missing whole categories of others. They also contain substances like cholesterol that the body does not need or want. It is recommended that you maintain a diet that includes no more than 10% animal foods, if you decide to eat them at all. Examples of these foods include:

56%

Third-Class, Nutrient-Barren

These are foods of both plant and animal origin that have been refined and stripped of their nutrients. While some are added back in for nutritional and marketing purposes, most of the ingredients are highly concentrated pleasure-stimulating foodstuffs that leave you fat and sick. It is recommended that you eat these foods rarely or avoid them all together. Examples of these foods include:

For additional information and to view the complete nutrient profiles, visit the Nutrient Density Chart™ on NutrientRich.com.

The Food Class System™ (continued)

At its core, eating nutrient rich is about eating your way, up to 90% or more Plant Based nutrient rich foods in great tasting ways you grow to love. And, if you want to, you may use the remaining 10% or less to eat what we call nutrient-poor or nutrient-barren foods (often old food favorites) if and when you so desire.

The 3 Classes of Foods, which are based on USDA Data, rank each food category according to class, as determined by their nutrient profiles; considering, first and foremost, the nutrient-per-calorie ratios, or the “nutrient densities” of foods as the foundation of making food choices.

Health=Nutrients/Calories (H=N/C) is the formula created by Joel Fuhrman M.D. stating that health (in terms of nutrition) is determined by the nutrient per calorie ratio of a food. The purpose of The 3 Classes of Foods is not to drill down into the intricacies of ranking which food is higher in what individual nutrient, or which food is specifically better than another. That is more accurately handled by the ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index), which was created by Joel Fuhrman M.D.

The 3 Classes of Foods, is a higher level view, showing you the nutrient profiles of each class and category of foods based on 27 nutrients of the most well known nutrients, including the most available data on phytochemicals ( the one category of nutrients that best determine a foods’ nutrient density), with deductions for saturated fat, cholesterol and added sodium. Understanding The 3 Classes of Foods will help you to determine where you want to get the bulk of your foods from and why, based on the “nutrient profiles,” the “nutrient density” or “nutrient richness” of the foods in each category.

The Food Class System is the simplest way to know if you are eating "healthy" and successfully.