Methodology
How we rank and score foods
Every ranking and score on NutriFactsHub is computed from public USDA data with a transparent, reproducible method. Here is exactly how — including the nutrient-density formula, what it counts, and where it falls short.
Last reviewed June 2026
Where the data comes from
All nutrition values come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service’s FoodData Central, which is in the public domain. We work from the 177 common foods in our database, each linked to its underlying USDA record. Values are shown on an as-listed basis — raw or prepared exactly as the USDA entry specifies — and rankings are computed per 100 grams (a fixed, comparable basis) or per 100 calories where energy-efficiency is the point. The complete dataset is downloadable as a CSV.
The nutrient-density score
Nutrient density asks how much beneficial nutrition a food delivers for its calories. We score it so that no single nutrient can dominate and very-low-calorie foods are not distorted. For each food:
- For each beneficial nutrient, take the amount per 100 g and divide by that nutrient's FDA Daily Value — giving the fraction of a day's worth it provides.
- Divide by the food's calories (floored at 20 kcal to avoid distortion for very-low-calorie foods) and express it per 100 kcal.
- Cap each nutrient at 0.5 of a Daily Value per 100 kcal, so one extreme nutrient can't dominate the score.
- Average across all the beneficial nutrients. That average — a share of a Daily Value delivered per 100 kcal — is the density score, shown as a percentage.
- For rankings, foods are ordered by that score; a food's percentile is the share of foods in the database it beats.
The 22 beneficial nutrients counted
These are the “more is generally better” nutrients, each weighted against its FDA Daily Value:
What we exclude, and why
The density score counts only beneficial nutrients. It deliberately leaves out the nutrients the Nutrition Facts label frames as ones to limit, because more of them is not better:
This is why the score is a measure of nutrition per calorie, not a complete verdict on how “healthy” a food is — a food can be nutrient-dense and still be one to moderate for other reasons.
Single-nutrient rankings
The single-nutrient lists (highest protein, fiber, calcium, and so on) simply sort the database by that nutrient per 100 g, highest first — or lowest first for the “low” lists (calories, carbs). Protein-per-calorie sorts by grams of protein per 100 kcal. Where a list cites a target, it uses the FDA Daily Value for a 2,000-calorie diet. Each ranking page shows the distribution across all foods and links to a downloadable CSV of the full ranked set.
Limitations
- Our database is a representative shortlist of common foods, not every food in existence — rankings reflect that set, not the entire food supply.
- Values are as-listed by USDA; the same food raw vs. cooked can differ substantially, and a specific batch or brand can vary from the database figure.
- Micronutrient coverage depends on what each USDA record reports; a missing value is treated as zero, which can understate a food's true density.
- The density score measures nutrition per calorie. It does not capture bioavailability, additives, processing, satiety, or how a food fits an individual's needs.
- Nothing here is medical or dietary advice. Daily Values are a general reference, not a personal target.
Updates & citation
Scores and rankings are recomputed whenever the underlying dataset is refreshed from USDA FoodData Central, so figures can change as USDA updates its records. The method above is the current version, last reviewed June 2026.
NutriFactsHub. “How we rank and score foods.” https://www.nutrifactshub.com/methodology