Woman with Basket of FoodThe top 10 nutrient dense foods pack the highest nutritional content per calorie.  When shopping for anything, it’s nice to know your purchase has high value.  It’s good to get the most bang for your buck.  The body likes the same principle.  It functions best when it gets the maximum amount of nutrients from the food it digests.

Using the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI), we can calculate the top 10 nutrient dense foods.  Those are the foods with the highest amount of nutrients per calorie.  Foods scores range from 0 to 1,000 with the most nutrient dense foods scoring the highest.  Green vegetables top the list.  But since knowledge is power, we list the top 10 nutrient dense foods in other categories too.

Green Vegetables

Food ANDI Score
1. Mustard, Turnip, Collard Greens 1000
2. Kale 1000
3. Watercress 1000
4. Bok Choy 824
5. Spinach 739
6. Broccoli Rabe 715
7. Chinese/Napa Cabbage 704
8. Brussel Sprouts 672
9. Swish Card 670
10. Arugula 559

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit

Food ANDI Score
1. Strawberries 212
2. Blackberries 178
3. Plums 157
4. Rasberries 145
5. Blueberries 130
6. Papaya 118
7. Orange 109
8. Cantaloupe 100
9. Kiwi 97
10. Watermelon 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Legumes

Food ANDI Score
1. Lentils 104
2. Red Kidney Beans 100
3. Great Northern Beans 94
4. Adzuki Beans 84
5. Black Beans 83
6. Black-Eyed Peas 82
7. Pinto Beans 61
8. Edamame 58
9. Split Peas 58
10. Chickpeas (Garbanzos) 57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nuts and Seeds

Food ANDI Score
1. Sunflower Seeds 78
2. Sesame Seeds 65
3. Flax Seeds 65
4. Pumpkin Seeds 52
5. Pistachios 48
6. Pecans 41
7. Almonds 38
8. Walnuts 34
9. Hazelnuts 32
10. Cashews 27