Healthy breakfast? Swap eggs for avocado (or vegetable curry) radical food study suggests
16 August 2022, 13:38
People looking to adopt healthier breakfast habits should swap poached eggs for raspberries, avocado – or even a vegetable curry, a new study suggests.
Conducted by Tufts University, a private research university in the US state of Massachusetts, the study ranked more than 8,000 foods on a scale of 1 to 100.
Analysing each food based on 54 unique “nutritional attributes”, the ranking method saw poached and boiled eggs score an underwhelming 51 out of 100 as part of the study, in part down to their high cholesterol content.
Described as a “Food Compass” by researchers, it puts food into nine categories associated with diet-related diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and cancer.
According to the ranking, any food scoring above 70 is considered healthy, while foods ranking below 30 by the algorithm should be avoided.
Anything falling in the mid-range should be consumed in moderation, researchers say.
The study found many kitchen cupboard staples – including carb-heavy offerings like cereal and toast, ranked bottom of the list.
With family favourite jam on toast scoring a low 1 out of 100, cereals including corn flakes (16) and Special K (18) also rank among the worst breakfast choices when it comes to your health.
Somewhat surprisingly, Cheerios proved the exception to the rule, out-scoring all other cereals with an impressive 95 out of 100 based on the analysis.
The research comes amid the ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK, with many families having to opt for fewer, cheaper alternatives as a means of making ends meet.
Meat ranked low on the list, with items including skinless chicken breast – a high-protein food favoured by many gym-goers, scoring 57.
However, some of the results proved less surprising.
According to the research, raw salmon, raspberries, vegetable and avocado – all considered to be traditionally healthy food choices, were among those scoring a perfect 100.
Other top ranking foods included raw broccoli, celery juice, watercress, cherries and red kidney beans.
Calculated using a ‘publicly available algorithm’, the study’s lead author, Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, describes the research as a “nuanced approach to promoting healthy food choices”.
UnsurprisIngly, fast-food options and sugar heavy ‘quick fix’ rank among the worst for our health.
Scoring a lowly 1 out of 100, instant noodle soup, frankfurters and fudge all find themselves at the bottom of the list.
The Food Compass is now available to access online, with wider research published in the Nature Food journal.
