Join Dr. Sarah on her Science Strolls and learn more about the Nutrivore Philosophy!
The concept of Nutrivore is very simple: Choose foods such that the total of all the nutrients contained within those foods adds up to meet or exceed our daily requirements for the full complement of essential and nonessential (but still very important) nutrients, while also staying within our caloric requirements. The easiest way to do this is to have the foundation of the diet be a wide variety of nutrient-dense whole and minimally-processed foods including selections from all of the nutritionally distinct food families.
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Balanced Macronutrients
Macronutrients are those nutrients we need in large quantities – these include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, all of which supply the energy that fuels the complex functions of life along with being basic building blocks for cellular structures.
Balanced macronutrients mean that the proportion of your diet that is carbohydrates, protein, and fat falls within the Accepted Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR), which are set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. They are set based on evidence from interventional trials with support of epidemiological studies that suggests health benefits including a role in the prevention or increased risk of chronic diseases and based on ensuring sufficient intake of essential nutrients. Think of the ADMR as the happy medium range for each of the macros that a wealth of scientific evidence shows is optimal for reducing the risk of health problems and for meeting micronutrient requirements.
The accepted macronutrient distribution ranges are:
- 10 to 35% of calories from protein
- 20 to 35% of calories from fat
- 45 to 65% of calories from carbohydrates
Additionally, it is recommended to limit sugars to 25% of total calories, to limit added sugars to 10% of total calories, and to limit saturated fat to 10% of total calories.
One way to think about this is looking at fat-soluble vitamins—vitamins A, D, E, and K. We need to consume foods that contain those vitamins. If those foods don’t already have higher fat content, we need to consume those foods with some fat to maximize our absorption of those fat-soluble vitamins. Diets that are too low in fat tend to fall very short of vitamins A, D, and K.
A balanced diet means eating a wide range of different foods from different food groups such that the macronutrients fall within the AMDR ranges. This does not mean that you can’t apply Nutrivore to a low-fat or low-carb diet. The Nutrivore philosophy can still help identify the nutrients you’re having a harder time getting enough of. However, it does mean that it’s easiest to achieve the Nutrivore goal of getting all the nutrients our bodies need from the foods we eat if we’re eating a balanced diet. This means balanced macronutrients, where the proportions of our diet fall within the accepted macronutrient distribution ranges. Part of the calculus that went into determining the ADMR ranges was how easy it is to get all the vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients we need. Balanced macronutrients is the happy medium range for protein, fat and carbohydrates that a wealth of scientific studies prove best supports overall health!
Nutrivore Meal Map vs MyPlate
The easiest way to eat a Nutrivore diet is to consume balanced meals, which is easy if you follow the Nutrivore Meal Map for most of your meals (and yes – though similar, this is different than MyPlate).
The Nutrivore Meal Map requires dividing your plate into four roughly equal quarters. Each quarter will supply a different collection of vital nutrients, and altogether they will add up to a balanced, nourishing meal. One quarter is filled with a protein food (e.g., red meat, fish, lentils), another quarter with a starchy food (e.g., sweet potato, brown rice,quinoa), and the remaining half of the plant is filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Covering half of your plate with vegetables and fruit (and three quarters of your plate if your starchy food is a root vegetable or winter squash) at each meal is a simple way to easily achieve the goal of five or more servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit daily. Ideally, choose a variety of foods (for example, a quarter of your plate covered in broccoli and a quarter filled with beets) at each meal, hitting all five color families (red, orange and yellow, green, blue and purple, and white and brown) throughout the day, and with as much variety in veggie family over the course of the week as possible. Additional instructions are to drink mostly water and to incorporate healthy fats into your meal, including whole food sources of healthy fats. This can be achieved by choosing fish as your protein food, adding a handful of nuts and seeds or some avocado to your salad, or by using healthy fats like olive oil and vegetable oils to cook and dress your food.
Now, let’s evaluate the differences between the Nutrivore Meal Map and MyPlate. Overall, there are three big differences with MyPlate. First, let’s look at the quarter of the plate dedicated to starches. Instead of that quarter of the plate being just whole grains, starchy foods would also include legumes and a lot of root vegetables. The reason is nutritionally all of these whole food sources of slow-burning carbohydrates are packaged up with similar nutrients, so there’s no reason to limit to just grains.
Second is the definition of and source of protein foods. Legumes can count either as a protein food or as a starchy food or both. Dairy products either count as a protein food or fat, depending on what type of dairy is being discussed. For example, milk and cheese count as protein, while sour cream or butter count as fat. Nuts and seeds don’t have very much protein, so they count as healthy fats and not protein.
The third difference is that instead of fruit and vegetables being separated on the plate, in the Nutrivore Meal Map they are merged together. The Nutrivore Meal Map also includes a gentle reminder to eat the rainbow and to consume a wide diversity of foods. There are little subdivisions in that half of the plate for each of the five color families: red, orange and yellow, green, blue and purple, and white and brown.
While the differences between the Nutrivore Map and MyPlate are pretty minor, the reason for them is that they make it easier to put together a plate and land in balanced macronutrient territory, making healthy eating easier to help us get the maximum nutritional value from our meals.
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What Does a Meal Look Like Using the Nutrivore Meal Map?
Wondering what the make up of a meal is using the Nutrivore Meal Map as part of a healthy diet, I’ve got you covered!
The Nutrivore Meal Map consists of dividing your plate into roughly equal quarters. Fill one quarter with a starchy food, one quarter with a protein food, and the remaining half with, ideally, a variety of fruits and vegetables. Incorporate healthy fats either as meal components or by cooking and dressing your food with healthy fats like olive oil or vegetable oils and drink mostly water.
How does this translate in terms of servings? A meal translates into one to two servings of a protein food. If we’re talking about meat or fish, a serving is three ounces cooked (about the size of your palm). Two eggs are a serving, an ounce and a half of cheese is a serving, and a quarter cup of tofu is a serving. It also translates to one to two servings of a starchy food—that’s a half cup cooked for root vegetables, legumes, or grains. For legumes and grains, it translates to one ounce dried and raw, which is about a fifth of a cup. For example, a typical medium slice of whole wheat bread would be a one-ounce equivalent. The remaining half of your plate being fruits or vegetables is typically two or more servings. A serving of raw vegetables is one cup unless they are leafy, in which case it’s two cups and that typically translates to half a cup when cooked. A serving of fresh fruit is one cup. Depending on which vegetables you’re choosing and whether they are raw or cooked, half of your plate could even be four or five servings of vegetables. That means you could get all your vegetables for the day in one meal! By loading up on healthy foods, we are setting ourselves up for good health and well-being.
Easily track your servings of Nutrivore Foundational Foods!
The Nutrivore Weekly Serving Matrix
The Nutrivore Weekly Serving Matrix digital resource is an easy-to-use and flexible weekly checklist designed to help you maximize nutrient-density and meet serving suggestions of Nutrivore foundational foods, all without having to weigh or measure your foods!
Includes a 22-page instructional guide and downloadable interactive guides.
Buy now for instant digital access.
Nutrivore Explained
