If you’re a regular shopper at Whole Foods like me, you may have noticed a large amount of signage lately talking about ANDI scores. I chose to ignore these signs, since I feel I have a pretty firm grasp on what foods will best help me achieve my goals. But then I ran across this article on a nutrition blog I subscribe to and saw that those little signs had more of an agenda behind them than I imagined. Now knowing what the signage was all about, I then noticed the modified version of the good ol’ food pyramid (above). Granted, I can agree with the increased emphasis on vegetables and fruits. But I sure don’t agree with the treatment of animal products as something to be eaten “sparingly”, nor to be placed of lesser importance to one’s diet than legumes or grains.

You see, for some reason the CEO of Whole Foods has decided to promote this diet called Nutritarianism which is by and large just another vegetarian diet. I agreed with the articles I was reading that did not understand why the CEO of a company would choose to alienate such a large segment of his customer base by advocating one diet over another. Perhaps he felt this truly was the best diet and there was some sound logic behind it! So I chose to look at the websites to see what this ANDI score is all about. Allegedly, this is a measure of the nutritional value of various foods.  But looking at their list, I saw some alarming claims. For example, iceberg lettuce — which is mostly water with little to no nutritional value — scores 110, which is far above the first animal protein source, salmon, at 39. In fact, white potatoes and corn are ranked above chicken breast and vanilla ice cream is in a dead tie with olive oil. Really?! Olive oil and vanilla ice cream equal on a list of the “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index”? Something’s not right there. You can visit their link to view their full “logic” behind the scoring, but it’s as misguided as Whole Foods’ decision.

Another site I frequent had a great compilation of various nutrition experts and bloggers and their take on this campaign. I’ll include some of the quotes from that article below.

Many of the phytochemicals that Fuhrman includes in the index he developed for Whole Foods play no essential role in the body and may even be harmful, Fallon noted. Animal foods like meat, liver, butter, whole milk and eggs contain ten to one hundred times more vitamins and minerals than plant foods. Plant foods add variety and interest to the human diet but in most circumstances do not qualify as ‘nutrient-dense’ foods.

Sally Fallon Morell of the Weston A. Price Foundation

Speaking as a former fat vegetarian who could not lose weight on a low-fat vegetarian diet, Whole Paycheck (oops I mean Whole Foods) is out of its mind (not surprising since low-protein diets tend to lead to brain chemistry imbalances). I recommend skipping Whole Paycheck and getting your healthy food locally at farmer’s markets, local farmers, local health food stores.

Dr. Kendra Pearsall, creator of Enlita

I think that what Whole Foods is failing to realize is that not all of their customers follow a low-fat, high carb diet. As someone who follows a low-carb, high fat diet, I focus mainly on eating whole, clean, and mostly organic foods including meat, dairy, and ample amounts of produce. Naturally, Whole Foods was one of my favorite places to shop for this reason. So to see them promote one diet or lifestyle as being “better” or healthier than another makes me wonder why I should continue to shop there. Instead, I’ll probably start shopping more at my local health food stores and farmers’ market. When I buy food, I want it to be based on my own choices, not some grocery store executive.

Gracie, blogger at “Girl Meets Health”

Ultimately it’s your decision on where to spend your hard-earned dollars. I will likely still buy at Whole Foods as long as they offer the products I want. If they stop offering animal products based on this stance they’ve adopted, I will stop giving them my business. As a last thought, I’ll leave you with what I found to be a very balanced position on this situation:

Of course, all shoppers will decide for themselves, but what most people need to realize is that NO one diet fits all. Each person has to find and decide what foods and supplements work best for her or him. While, in an ideal world, everyone should quit sugar and refined carbs, not everyone should follow the same diets. For instance, for one person, a vegetarian diet may be ideal, but for someone else who isn’t opposed to it, a meat-filled diet (preferably grass fed, free-range) will allow him or her function optimally. And everyone needs ample amounts of healthy omega-3 fats.

Connie Bennet, blogger/author of SUGAR SHOCK!

WOD 2.26.10

Deadlift 1×5

“Jackie”

• 1000m row
• 50 Thrusters (45/33)
• 30 Pullups