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Nutrition by the Number
Hy-Vee is the first grocer in the nation to introduce a revolutionary program
offering easy-to-understand nutrition scores
that guide you in making informed food choices.
WRITTEN BY CHRIS FRIESLEBEN
PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOBIN BENNETT
seasons / BACK TO SCHOOL 2008
Today, more than any time in recent
memory, people are beginning to
understand the relationship between
what they eat and how they feel. They
want to make good food choices that
will keep their children and themselves
healthy. But with so much conflicting
information out there, they haven’t
been sure how to do it. Until now.
Beginning this fall, a revolutionary
new nutrition profiling system*—and
finally, one based solely on unbiased
science—will help Hy-Vee shoppers
make better food choices with confidence.
The program uses a scoring
system from one to 100 (100 is “eat without guilt”) to
indicate the nutritional value of a particular food
compared with the recommended concentration of those
nutrients in a healthy diet. One to 100—as easy as that.
Finally, a stress-free way to cruise the grocery aisles.
The overall nutritional quality index that is used to
score foods was developed by Dr. David Katz, chairman
of the Yale Prevention Research Center, in conjunction
with an independent team of the nation’s top nutrition
and health experts. The system analyzes 30 nutrient
factors—the good (fiber, vitamins, minerals, omega 3 fatty
acids), the potentially bad (sugar, salt, cholesterol) and
the ugly (trans fats)—to score products across all food and
beverage categories.
“You really shouldn’t need a Ph.D. in nutritional
biochemistry to figure out which kids’ breakfast cereal is
healthier,” Dr. Katz, an internal medicine specialist, says.
“This easy-to-understand method
can guide people to a better diet one
informed food choice at a time.”
Hy-Vee shoppers will find nutrition
scores on approximately 6,000
items when the program rolls out in
the fall. Eventually, all products will
be scored.
The information is intended to be
used as guidance, not a mandate. “The
scores are merely an objective measure
of the nutrients a food contains,”
says Dr. Katz. “They are not there to
tell people what or what not to eat.”
It’s the objectiveness of the system
that impresses Laura Kostner, Hy-Vee health and wellness
supervisor. “I’ve devoted my entire career to studying
diet and nutrition,” says the registered dietitian, who
also holds two master’s degrees and one doctorate. “I’m
pretty skeptical by nature when it comes to health claims
on food. But there are just no holes to be shot through this
index. I can’t wait to have that nutritional information at
my fingertips when I shop for my family.”
Fruits and vegetables will consistently achieve the
highest scores. No surprise there: Doctors, nutritionists
and the federal government have encouraged us to eat
our fruits and veggies for years. But what about those
times when you just have to satisfy that sweet tooth—are
shoppers doomed to avoid the candy and cookie aisles
forever in order to resist temptation? “Absolutely not,”
says Kostner. “The beauty of the nutritional index is
that you can look at the scores in a particular category
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