Nutrient Density

Nutrition Density Essay
After having calculated the nutrient density of seven food groups in a spreadsheet, the food group that came to have the highest Nutrient Density was the vegetable group obtaining an average of 7.76712 Nutrient Density. The food group that came to have the lowest Nutrient Density was the “junk food” group, having an average of 0.24845 Nutrient Density. One of the factors that contribute to foods having a high or low Nutrient Density is the amount of calories. I noticed that the foods with fewer calories had a higher Nutrient Density, and vice versa, the foods with more calories had a lower Nutrient Density. Another factor that contributes to the high and low Nutrient Density is that the foods with high Nutrients Density have a higher percentage of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. Foods with low Nutrient Density have an insignificant amount of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. When analyzing the Nutrient Density results of the seven food groups, I was not surprised of the results. Before having calculated the average Nutrient Density of the seven food groups I had predicted that the vegetable group was going to have the highest Nutrient Density, and that the ‘junk food” group was going to have the lowest Nutrient Density.
According to the results, the food groups that tend to be the most expensive are the vegetable and fruit group. The food groups that tend to be the least expensive are the grains and the “junk food” group. One of the factors that contribute to foods having low cost per 100 Calories is because foods such as grains and “junk food” are associated with higher energy density. By contrast, vegetables and fruit are associated with lower energy density and tend to more expensive. There is an association between cost per 100 Calories and Nutrient Density, foods with higher Nutrient Density and fewer Calories tend to be more expensive and foods with a lower Nutrient Density and more Calories tend to be less expensive.
The message I got from doing this assignment is that the healthier foods such as vegetables and fruits, which contain a high Nutrient Density are far more expensive than unhealthy food (junk food) such as sodas, candies chips which only provide an insignificant amount of nutrients. Eating healthy can be costly, but it’s better for our own health. In contrast, unhealthy food like junk food is cheaper, but it will not provide you with much nutrients rather it may cause problems to your health if we consume too much of it.