Nutrient Balance Indicator

Definition
 The Nutrient Balance Indicator appears in every
ND analysis, and also on total Consumption report.
This symbol illustrates nutrient density and
provides visual feedback that can help you create
meals that are healthier and more nutritionally
balanced. It also includes a calculated
"Completeness Score," which indicates how
complete the food is with respect to 23 essential
nutrients.
How to Interpret the Nutrient Balance
Indicator
 ‘The main portion of the Nutrient Balance Indicator is a special
type of radial graph. It's very similar to a bar graph, but instead
of having horizontal or vertical bars, the bars (or "spokes") of
this graph extend outward from the center. Each spoke
represents a different essential nutrient and is grouped into
one of five color-coded categories — Dietary Fiber (green),
Protein (blue), Vitamins (purple), Minerals (white), and
potentially troublesome nutrients (yellow). The nutrient
densities used for the Nutrient Balance Indicator are derived
from the percentages of Daily Values that are contained in a
1,000-calorie portion of the food. If the 1,000-calorie portion
contains less than 10% of the Daily Value for a nutrient, or if
no data is available for that nutrient, the nutrient's spoke
appears completely gray. For higher nutrient densities, a
proportionate part of the spoke is filled with color.
 Nutrient Balance at a Glance
The main purpose of the Nutrient Balance
Indicator is to visually expose some of the
food's nutritional strengths and
weaknesses. In the above detail, it's very
easy to see that the food is a poor source
of vitamin D, vitamin B12, and selenium,
but that the food does contain abundant
amounts of dietary fiber, vitamin K,
thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, manganese,
potassium, and sodium.
Completeness Score
 At the bottom of the Nutrient Balance Indicator is a
Completeness Score that ranges from 0 to 100. This
score essentially tells you how close the food is to
filling your needs for all of these essential nutrients.
With a Completeness Score of 100, all of the spokes
on the Nutrient Balance Indicator (except for the three
yellow ones) will be completely filled.
 Saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium are not included
in the calculation of ND's Completeness Score.
They're shown on the Nutrient Balance Indicator
simply to provide feedback to those individuals who
are restricting their intake of these nutrients.
The Completeness Score and Nutrition Data's
Rating are both derived from the density of the
essential nutrients in the food, they have very
different purposes. ND's Rating compares the
levels of "good" nutrients to the levels of "bad"
nutrients to evaluate the food's potential for
making a positive impact on your diet. It does
not, however, provide any indication of whether
the food contains a complete array of essential
nutrients. Therefore, it's possible (and very
common) to have foods with good ratings that
are still deficient in some nutrients.
 Mushrooms
Spinach Meat
ND gives cooked mushrooms its highest rating
of 5.0 because they are a good source of many
nutrients and are especially rich in vitamin D,
niacin, pantothenic acid, and copper. However,
look at the Nutrient Balance Indicator above.
Despite their high rating, mushrooms are a
poor source of calcium and are completely
deficient in vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, and
vitamin B12. Because of these deficiencies, its
Completeness Score is well below 100.
Use of Nutrient Balance Indicator to
Improve Your Meals and Recipes
 While the ND Rating provides feedback on the
nutritional value of a single food, the Nutrient
Balance Indicator™ provides a better way to gauge
the nutritional value of an entire meal. By using My
ND, you can easily experiment with your own meals
and recipes to find combinations of foods that are
more nutritionally complete.
 For example, below are Nutrient Balance Indicators
for three individual foods, plus a recipe that
combines them. The nutritional strengths of these
foods complement one another, so the resulting
recipe is more nutritionally complete.
 Does the Completeness Score
Need to Be 100?
 It's a good idea to strive for higher Completeness
Scores, Remember that this score is based on the
nutrients contained in 1,000 calories of the food. In a
single day, it's likely that you consume roughly two
times that amount of food, so it's possible for you to be
fully nourished even if the overall Completeness Score
for your diet is below 100.
 Most people consume some foods (e.g., junk foods,
desserts, flavored drinks) for reasons other than
simple nourishment. If junk food is all that you eat,
your health will eventually suffer.

Nutritional Supplements to Satisfy
Your Needs?
 All of the essential nutrients in Nutrition Data's
Nutrient Balance Indicator are available in
supplement form. So, in theory, you could correct a
weak diet simply by adding a daily multivitamin.
However, that vitamin and mineral supplements are
refined products that typically contain only the
nutrients shown on their label. Nutrition is an evolving
science, and not every essential nutrient has yet
been identified. By consuming nutritious whole foods,
it's more likely that you'll benefit from trace nutrients
that your supplements don't include.