The nutrient density
Nutrient density is used to assess the quality of a food, taking into account the energy content. It is the quotient of the nutrient content (related to a certain nutrient e.g. calcium) and the energy value of the respective food. The nutrient density is important for an energy-limited but nutrient-rich diet.
This means that the higher the nutrient density, the better the ratio of energy content to the presence of a certain nutrient. Formula for calculating the nutrient density: Nutrient content (mg/mg/g per 100 g of food) Nutrient density (mg/mg/g) = ———————— Calorific value (mJ per 100 g of food) mJ = thousandth of a joule This shows that fruit and vegetables have the highest nutrient density due to their low energy content.The lowest nutrient density is naturally found in foods rich in fat and sugar such as sweets, cakes, etc. They have very high energy content and very low nutrient density. One also speaks of so-called “empty calories“. In addition, low-fat, animal foods have a more favorable nutrient density than the high-fat products.
The energy density
The energy density describes the ratio of calorie content to the amount of a certain food. It indicates the amount of calories per gram. The energy density is always highest when a very small amount of a foodstuff provides a lot of energy (kcal) and always lowest when large amounts of a foodstuff provide very little energy (kcal).
The energy density is calculated: Calorie content (kcal) divided by quantity in gramsThe following overview shows the classification of the different energy densities: In calorie tables or nutritional value analyses the calories are always given for 100 g. For example: 100 g cream cheese (cream level) 189 kcal. Divide by 100 and you get 1.8 as energy density. It is easy to see that by assessing foods according to their energy density, the recommendations for healthy eating and weight reduction do not change, but remain the same as before.
You just give the child a different name. The foods with a low energy density are those that are rich in water and contain few calories, i.e. primarily vegetables and fruit. Medium energy density foods include lean meat and fish and lean dairy products.
The foods with a very high energy density are those rich in fat and sugar, such as sweets and cakes. Caution with drinks! They contain a lot of water and if they are judged by their energy density, Coca Cola, lemonade, juice, etc.
are also in the green range. These drinks contain sugar, are not filling and 500 ml of orange juice or cola have about 400 calories. So do not judge drinks by their energy density! All calorie-free beverages such as water, mineral water, unsweetened herbal tea and thin juice spritzers are the ideal thirst quenchers.
- Energy density up to 1.5 kcal/gram = low energy density
- Energy density 1.6 to 2.4 kcal/gram = average energy density
- Energy density from 2.5 kcal/gram = high energy density
