# The Science

## One number. _Built by dietitians, not marketers._

The FoodHealth Score™ (FHS) is a 1–100 rating for every packaged food in the U.S., powered by peer-reviewed nutrition research, calibrated against the Mediterranean dietary pattern, and tuned for people on GLP-1 medications.

## Composition

### What goes into the _score._

Two weighted halves. Zero mystery. Every product is scored on the same axes so you can compare apples to apples — and apples to apple sauce.

78FoodHealth Score™

### Ingredient Quality Measure (IQM)

Whole foods, minimal processing, and evidence-graded ingredients get rewarded. Ingredients like artificial flavors, colors, and non-nutritive sweeteners get penalized, weighted by the strength of the research against them.

### Nutrient Density Score (NDS)

Protein, fiber, unsaturated fats, and key micronutrients (potassium, calcium, etc.) are weighted against added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, per calorie — so a 6 oz yogurt and a 2 oz bar get held to the same ruler.

### GLP-1 Lens — adjustments

If you've told us you're on a GLP-1, the app adjusts its recommendations to focus on protein quality, fiber per calorie, and hydration-boosting foods — and flags empty-calorie, high-fat, added-sugar, ultra-processed picks that commonly trigger nausea, reflux, and constipation.

**Calibration note.** Every threshold in the score is calibrated to reward the Mediterranean dietary pattern — whole plants, seafood and lean proteins, unsaturated fats, and minimal ultra-processing. The Mediterranean diet is the gold-standard reference pattern with the most consistent clinical link to reduced cardiovascular, cancer, cognitive, and all-cause mortality risk.

## The GLP-1 lens

### What matters _when you're on one._

GLP-1 medications — semaglutide (Ozempic®/Wegovy®), tirzepatide (Mounjaro®/Zepbound®), liraglutide — slow gastric emptying and suppress both appetite and thirst. Clinical data show caloric intake drops **16–39%** on therapy, and up to **40% of the weight lost** can come from lean mass when nutrition is not optimized. That changes which nutrients you need more of. Here's how our recommendations shift:

#### Boosted

**Protein**
Preserves lean muscle when calories drop. Target: **1.2–1.6 g/kg/day** (≈80–120 g/day for most adults), distributed across meals. We reward products delivering high-quality protein per calorie.

#### Boosted

**Fiber**
Slowed digestion is the #1 driver of GLP-1 constipation. We boost foods moving you toward **20–35 g/day**, with extra credit for soluble fiber from whole plants.

#### Minimized

**Added sugar**
When you eat 30–40% fewer calories, every bite counts. Added sugar displaces protein, fiber, and micronutrients — and blunts the medication's metabolic benefits.

#### Minimized

**High fat**
Delayed gastric emptying makes fatty, fried foods sit longer — a documented trigger for nausea and reflux. We flag total and saturated fat intakes, along with processing methods like frying, to help avoid this.

**The lens adapts to where you are.** Month 1 on a GLP-1 looks different from month 6. Early on, many users can't tolerate protein-heavy foods — so the app de-emphasizes protein and prioritizes easy-on-the-stomach foods (soft textures, small portions, warm liquids) while you ramp up. As your appetite stabilizes, the recommendations shift toward muscle-preserving protein targets and fiber density. We also recommend more hydration-friendly foods (high water content, electrolyte-rich) because GLP-1s blunt thirst cues, and dehydration is a leading root cause of headaches, fatigue, and worsening GI side effects on therapy. We keep a watchful eye on shortfall micronutrients like iron, B12, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium, which observational studies have flagged as commonly deficient in GLP-1 users.

## Methodology

### How a score gets _made._

The short version. For the full scientific documentation, contact our team.

01  
### Ingest the label

Every product's Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient list is pulled from trusted data sources and vetted for accuracy. 1M+ products and growing.

New products added monthly · Proprietary data accuracy model

02  
### Assign a category

Products are assigned to one of hundreds of food categories, so comparisons and swap recommendations make sense.

Reviewed monthly by our dietitian team

03  
### Calculate a score

Nutrients are scaled per calorie (or per standard serving for zero-calorie items) against WHO/FAO, EFSA, and U.S. Dietary Guidelines thresholds. 30+ ingredient boosters and detractors are weighted by strength of evidence — the stronger the evidence, the more weight.

Overseen by our nutrition advisory board

04  
### Color-code for speed

Four colors because nobody has time to remember a 1–100 scale in the cereal aisle. Comparing two items in the same color category? That's when you look to the numbers.

The same 4-tier scale used by Kroger OptUP & Hy-Vee HealthyBites

## Real World Example

### One category. _Two very different scores._

Same aisle. Same cooler. Roughly the same price per ounce. Very different scores. Here's why.

**Protein**  5g  
**Fiber**  0g  
**Added sugar**  16g  
**Processing**  High

**Protein**  17g  
**Fiber**  0g  
**Added sugar**  0g  
**Processing**  Minimal

**Why the 55-point gap?** Per 6 oz serving, the Greek option delivers roughly **3× the protein** with a near-complete amino acid profile, while the fruit-on-the-bottom version's **16 g of added sugar exceeds 30% of the FDA's daily limit** before breakfast is finished — plus modified starches, carrageenan, and "artificial flavors" ding its ingredient quality. For a consumer on a GLP-1 eating 30–40% fewer calories, that's the difference between preserving muscle and running on calories driven primarily by added sugars.

## Built by

### The people behind _the score._

Meet the dietitians who built and continue to innovate on the FoodHealth Score™ and our app's nutrition recommendation engine.

- Stacy Bates, MS, RDN, CDE  
- Mallory Bobzien, MS, RDN  
- Caitlin Updyke, MS, RDN

External oversight is provided by the **FoodHealth Score™ Review Board**, an independent committee that re-validates the algorithm, thresholds, and taxonomy every year.

## Evidence

### Validated, _measurably._

Three layers of validation — because opinion isn't a methodology.

- **Face validity**: Whole, minimally processed foods — fresh produce, meat and seafood, legumes, intact whole grains, plain dairy — reliably score highest. Ultra-processed, sugar- and sodium-heavy items reliably score lowest. Matches expert and consumer intuition.

- **Behavioral validity**: In a 2025 controlled online-grocery study (n = 1,000), **27% of shoppers switched to a higher-scoring product** after seeing the FoodHealth Score™, even when the higher-scoring option cost more. **85% reported the Score improved their decision-making**; 80% said they would use it weekly.

- **External certification**: Benchmarked against the Healthy Eating Index, Nutri-Score, NOVA, Food Compass, and Guiding Stars. Reviewed by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

## Selected references

### The science the score _is built on._

1. Mozaffarian D, et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory from ACLM, ASN, OMA, and TOS. _Am J Clin Nutr._ 2025;122:344–367.
2. Urbina et al. Micronutrient and nutritional deficiencies associated with GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy: a narrative review. _Clin Obes._ 2026. (Vitamin D deficiency is 13.6% at 12 months; iron, B12, thiamine, calcium shortfalls are frequent.)
3. Tinsley GM, et al. Preservation of lean soft tissue during weight loss induced by GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists: a case series. PMC12536186. 2025.
4. Sattar N, et al. Optimizing GLP-1 therapies for obesity and diabetes management — 42nd Int'l Symposium on Diabetes and Nutrition commentary, 2025. (Protein >1.2 g/kg/day, evenly distributed; resistance training.)
5. Dinu M, et al. Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses. _Eur J Public Health._ 2018;28(5):955–964.
6. Estruch R, et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts (PREDIMED). _N Engl J Med._ 2018;378:e34.
7. Shan Z, et al. Adherence to healthy dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular disease. _JAMA Intern Med._ 2020;180(8):1090–1100.
8. Hall KD, et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient RCT. _Cell Metab._ 2019;30(1):67–77.
9. Reynolds A, et al. Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. _Lancet._ 2019;393(10170):434–445. (Fiber 25–29 g/day is associated with 15–30% lower all-cause and CV mortality.)
10. FDA. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Label. (Added sugars DV = 50 g; sodium DV = 2,300 mg.)
11. U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. USDA & HHS.
12. Haines M, et al. Higher protein intake protects against muscle loss on semaglutide. ENDO 2025 (Endocrine Society annual meeting press release).
13. FoodHealth Score™ Validation Study (NHANES 2005–2018, n ≈ 26,917). [foodhealth.co/the-study](/content/the-study/index.html).
14. FoodHealth Score™ Consumer Behavior Study, 2025 (n = 1,000 controlled online-grocery environment).

## Put the science _in your pocket._

$14.99/mo. 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime in-app. No ads, no upsells, no engagement loops.

A fraction of what your GLP-1 medication costs out-of-pocket.