We’re attending the Food and Nutrition Conference of the American Dietetic Association in Denver this week. Many researchers and companies use the event to showcase their ingenuity. Aside from a large expo hall with tastings of (mostly) new snacks and beverages, the Poster Sessions at the far back end are an interesting place to wonder about.

Since Fooducate focuses on nutrition labeling, we found a presentation on an Affordable Nutrition Index by Washington University’s Prof. Adam Drewnowski quite interesting. In the past few years, Drewnowski  has developed a Nutrient Rich Scoring system which scores foods based on their positive and negative nutrient content. The new system add a twist by dividing the scores by the cost of the product.

So while the old system may have given blueberries a higher score than bananas (both are very good for you), under the new scoring, bananas fare better because they are much more affordable. Low sodium canned soup came out quite well too, and Campbell’s soup company was quick to jump on that bandwagon by adding its products to the index and publishing a press release.

The study shows that even on a lower budget, people can find healthier items that are also affordable. Which is good, because the propensity for obesity and its related health problems are directly linked to lower socio-economic status.

What to do at the supermarket:

Some of the easiest ways to save money in the supermarket while still eating healthfully are to buy produce in season, or frozen/canned, cut soft drinks out of your diet, limit the number of snacks you buy, and come prepared with a shopping list. More suggestions here.

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